Are C sections scary, painful afterwards and dangerous?

[dinny]

probably yes, just wondered

Scary - no, too drugged up to be scared. Painful - no, not very, but I still know where the spot is, 18 months later - kinda numb. Dangerous - not for me, clearly.
Sure you'll be fine. Happens all the time.

yes. if hospital was my destination.

but if i do ever get pg again it will be homebirth over ecs. am conscious and worried i have done nothing to allay your fears dinny. you have done it more times than me!

I had an emergency cs, and I would say the lead up was scarey, but it was almost a relief once we got the the point of actually having it. I don't remember being that scared, dp tells me i was terrified, so there you go! The actual cs itself was ok, a bit wierd, but the birth was lovely, and it was just as wonderful when ds came out. Afterwards was very painful, getting up to feed in the night was agony. Was very bruised, but this might not happen with a planned less rushed cs? Im not sure.
Dangerous? There are risks, obviously. But if I hadn't had it, the alternative may have been very bleak.

no, it's honestly helpful, Fishie

I'd be as scared at home as hospital, I think!

dinny.

I think I should go away as I'm labouring (ha ha) the point.

If you want a (pretty much) guaranteed lovely VB - go private.

If you're with the NHS. Have an elective CS.

private hosp? or private mw, Bubble? for VB

BUBBLE - bless your heart and kisses to your ahining star. Sweetie - Words cannot take away the pain you and I have been through. God bless xx

Private hospital, unless you want a private MW for a home birth.

Private MWs lose their powers when they enter NHS hospitals, as it is the hospital that is responsible for your care. If you go to an NHS ward with a private MW or doula you will be paying for an advocate with no more power than an articulate and forceful DH/DP.

bear in mind also, that if you have a c.s, you will be in hospital 2 -3 days if not more, depending.. and you will most likely be on an understaffed PN ward, with little to no help, with a VB, you have more chance of getting out PDQ !

do a list, pros and cons..

agreed that a doula cannot prevent something bad happening, but can be an extra pair of eyes and ears to get help in there quicker and to support the parents

lulumama, true about the understaffed postnatal ward after elective cs (NHS)

But I had a full theatre and world's loveliest midwife and a calm environment during my elective cs and 2 obstetricians (one in training) who painstakingly cut away my previous scar at my request so I could heal better this time round (first time was a crash section). Meanwhile, mothers on the labour wards were delivering, not just labouring, 4 to a room, the maternity services were completely overstretched.

My cs was straightforward and I got the obstetrician's approval to discharge myself early - not saying that is for everyone.

I had had to choose, I would rather be supported during the birth rather than the postnatal care (such being the state of maternity services in some hospitals on the NHS ). In fact, if I had to deliver again, I might actually go private.

FOUR TO A ROOM< BS< that is terrible - which hospital is this????

blueshoes - in our local hospital they have one midwife to four rooms at some times - I'm not sure what is worse actually, the lack of privacy or the lack of anyone there in the room. Hobson's choice I guess!

it makes you SO angry, the lack of funding and resources - they can find billions to pump into the banks, ffs

This has been an interesting thread.

As a midwife I have to say that it is really unlikely that you will have another shoulder dystocia, and as your last one was dealt with competently, there would be no reason to think that another one would not be dealt with equally well in a different hospital.

All midwives are trained in dealing with shoulder dystocia annually, and should be able to perform the maneuvers in their sleep! Also if there is a patient with a previous SD about to deliver, the Docs will hang about outside your room waiting.

I have no knowledge of the hospital you are going to, but any hospital can get a bad rep from just a few crappy midwives - doesnt mean that the rest of the staff are equally bad. When I did agency work a few years ago, I deliberately went to work in the labour wards of some of the so called 'worst hospitals' in London, to see how they were, and surprisingly, most staff were actually ok, but obviously a few bad apples let the place down. The standards in the postnatal wards were just third world in some hospitals though

I do completely disagree with Bubble about going private or IMs at home being the only way to guarantee a great birth experience (postnatally, it would definately be much better). If its going to go pear shaped, it will happen in the NHS or privately or at home, and the only difference is how they will deal with it. I have seen women saved in my NHS hospital who would have most certainly died in most private hospitals or at home. But these are exceptional cases. (Incidentally, I am a great advocate of homebirths, with 2 of my dcs homebirths, 1 successful and 1 transferred in)

In the NHS, most people will have a reasonably good experience, as you have twice, and of course things can go badly wrong and it is devastating for those involved, but they are very rare.

An el c/s is a very safe op generally, but I really think you would do well having a vaginal birth, but the choice is yours and most OBs would support you if you really did want a c/s.

HTHs

thanks for your post, Mintpurple,

I've gone all teary rading that - feeling ridiculously emotional about it all

I was just wondering to myself if I could change from being booked into our local hospital (10 mins away) to St George's (30 mins at best, hour prob at worst away) - where I had dd and ds, would they even take me? and would I get there in time, it being my third baby - dh thinks I'd end up delivering on the dual carriageway

is a HB out of question after SD (I tried to have HBs with both dd and ds actually - dd was 4 weeks early and with ds I had Group B, so couldn't for either)

just don't know what's for the best

I was told I HAVE to have a section as I have had 2 already (one emergency one crash and 2 full term VBs 2 prem VBs). I had a VBAC2 since but was only 20 weeks. I am high risk and have a stitch in and on heparin. I would love a normal birth but they are not having any of it. I am so scared of internal bleeding again x

It might be worth speaking to your GP and see if he can get you into St Georges, I believe they have a new MLU birth centre there which is probably a good place for you if you can get in, because if you have had GBS in one pregnancy, unless you have had negative swab and urine spec in this pregnancy, they will still want to give you IVABs. (not that they cant give them at home, but most midwives are not happy doing so).

Unless it was a severe shoulder dystocia, this shouldnt prevent a hb either, but it depends on you and your dps risk tolerance about this one!

Before making a move with your booking, it may be worth phoning St Gs MLU and asking if GBS or prev SD would preclude you from birthing there.

As for time to get there - if your last labours were more than a couple of hours you should be fine!

Good luck.

i have had three - the circumstances surrounding my emergency c-section with dd1 were worrying and a little scary - especially as a c-section was the one thing I did not want. However - the actual operation and surgical team were brilliant and I was very much at ease.

It is painful afterwards BUT and it is a big BUT - the pain is manageable. It really is.

You do not see anything although third time I watched it all in the overhead lights. You do not feel them 'slicing you open'. The only feeling I had was when they are getting the baby out and it feels like someone doing the washing up in your stomach - seriously!.

I had dh and other staff who chatted with me. I was very relaxed each of the three times. Dh and I just chatted and the staff chatted and with dd2 and dd3 - before long you have a baby to cuddle and hold and coo over. You forget then that they are stitching you up.

I fed dd2 and 3 in recovery. Was up the next day with dd2 and that evening with dd3.

I stayed 5 days with dd1 and dd2 - had dd3 fri and was home sunday lunch.

I can only share my experiences. I was so terrified of needles and having a c-section and yet when it came to the first one - I had no choice and you know - I realised that no matter what you plan - things can happen. I have dd1 here - no c-section - no dd1!

As to the others - our family situation meant that electives were the best decision to be made at the time.

I have had two natural vaginal births (dcs 1 and 3) and a cs with dc2. CS is the least painful way! Yes, there is discomfort (eg administering epidural) and some post operative discomfort, but I found it a picnic compared with giving birth naturally. I think the biggest difference is that the pain is always manageable, you know that it is a surgical procedure, there isn't that feeling of 'oh my god, what is happening to my body and am i going to survive it?'. The sensations during the actual op are strange, but not at all painful. After the op you are given pain relief, (I had morphine and then I think went straight onto paracetamol). It's more a case of what you can do being restricted (eg you won't want to laugh for a few days!!) rather than pain.

thanks for the posts, it's so helpful!

I think I'd feel a lot better about things if I could go to St George's (where I had dd and ds) - I think a lot of my anxiety is because booked at ES hosp...

so, MP, if I phone the MLU and they say it's OK, then speak to my GP? can I insist on a referral? also, would I have antenatal care still with the mw who comes to my GP practice? my fear would be turning up at St G's and them turning me away!

I feel that if I stay with ES, I won't have the confidence to even try a VB and will ask for a section, whereas I think at SGs I would feel able to try VB

Agree findariver. You either have more pain during (generally natural) or more pain after (generally cs) but the thing about an elective cs is that you feel more in control throughout the entire process, from the actual procedure to the pain management later, with less loss of dignity. It is a more predictable outcome, especially for the baby.

oh dinny, my hospital is neither St G nor ES

have just looked on SG's website re the new MLU and the mw in charge did lots of my antenatal care with ds and is LOVELY, may give them ring tomorrow as you suggested

Dinny, do you remember how terrified you were before your last one was born? I remember you posting. Is it the same fears?

I've had 2 elec CSs and they were a breeze. However, if you've had 2 straightforward births then that will be sooooooooooo much better than a CS.

Good luck - when are you due again?

Yes, Highlander!!! Except am more terrified now than then as ds got stuck!

am due beginning march..... think will phone my old hospital tomorrow and see if can book there.