Advice ref. asking for C-section please.

[betsyboo]

Hello, I'm 19 weeks with no.3 and due to see the consultant in 2 weeks to talk about my awful birth experience last time.

I want to ask for a section but when I mentioned it to a midwife(not my own, she was covering)she laughed and said I had no chance.

This is my third DC, had VB,s with both before.

My reasons are, severe SPD. Awful sciatica, sickness all way through, carpal tunnel syndrome,very painful vulval varicose veins and the main reason being the traumatic birth last time. I had a retained placenta, the midwife panicked yanked on the cord which snapped slattering blood over walls etc. she swore alot and was rather frantic which scared the living daylights out of me tbh. Up until then I had complete trust in her as a professional. I was not told what was going on, just shoved on a trolley to theatre for a spinal, they then yanked my legs apart despite me trying to explain my SPD, the damage done then has lasted the past 8 years During the surgery, when they were scraping the placenta away, they were commenting about it as if I were'nt there, one thing that sticks in my mind is 'whoa, look at he state of that, that wouldn't have worked for much longer'. I was a week overdue, I took that to mean my baby may not have made it if I had gone to 42+ like my first PG.
I am scared to be left to go over this time, I am dreading the whole thing and desperately want to have some control over it.

What do you think my chances are in these circumstances?

Am I being silly?

Any ideas on how best to approach the consultant? I am going to write it all down as I know I'll get upset talking about it.

I really appreciate your views, thanks.

Hi, I think it might be difficult to argue the need for a section based on sickness and carpal tunnel syndrome. For the other issues, if these are aggravated by a vaginal birth then you should be able to argue it on medical reasons. It sounds like it was quite traumatic for you - maybe if they refuse a section, you could ask to be induced early. Best of luck. Cx

Thanks Carrie, I realise the sickness and CTS are fairly minor things, maybe I should concentrate on the more major stuff? I had considered asking for induction but read that there is higher risk of retained placenta, added to the 50% or so risk already I'm not sure if it's a good idea or if they will go for that.

I do understand that a CS is high risk and have read as much as I can but to me it still outweighs the rest.

It's just getting myself across to them I am going to find hard

Forget what the midwife says it's your ob consultant who will make the decision. Write down everything you want to say and stress how horrific your last birth was. Good luck.

The midwife sounds very insenstive! I have read a load of threads on here about elective C-Section recently and the trauma you experienced during your last delivery seems like it would be a valid reason. From the threads I have read, some women with a genuine phobia of birth have been given C-section for a first baby, so your experience if it has left you traumatised should surely have some weight, particularly coupled with your ongoing sciatica.

I have recently had my consultant appointment to discuss a C-section due to bad recovery from my last delivery and it went well. He did stress the risks of C-section, but ultimately couldn't tell me whether they were better or worse than my risks of similar problems again if I have another VB, so he has said he will support my decision, whether to go for a VB or CS.

I am sure others with more experience and knowledge than me will be along. I hope you have a successful appointment and get the support and advice you need to get the delivery you would like!

It is totally up to your consultant. When i first raised it with my mw she started saying how I shouldn't make early decisions, should wait to see how I felt etc. But I knew what I wanted and got to see the consultant. Told the consultant how I felt (all emotional reasons for me) and have to confess that I actually broke down in tears. I am now booked in for an elective in 6 weeks time.

I was told by my mw (who is now very supportive) that I may have been referred for counselling but even that didn't happen.

Can you take your dh/dp with you when you see the consultant to make sure that you don't feel pressured into something you don't want?

Also - you can ask for another consultant if you are not happy.

Hopefully it will be easier than you think - mine certainly was - had it approved within about 10 mins of speaking.

Hope it all goes well for you.

An elective c-section is low risk in comparison to an emergency one - they will explain the risks to you so you can make up your mind.

Thankyou, that is very reassuring. I have got myself so worked up over this and I know I'll burst into tears so am taking a letter to shove under his nose in case I can't get the words out.

DH is insisting on coming with me as he is adamant that he doesn't want me to go through that again.

Not sure about asking for another consultant, as far as I know there is only one down here (far end of Cornwall) but will look into it just in case.

Thankyou all