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Childbirth

Share experiences and get support around labour, birth and recovery.

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Original poster

C-section under a GA - experiences please

36 replies

rubyslippers · 14/09/2009 11:14

Am 37 weeks pregnant and baby is breech

am having an ECV on Wednesday and if baby doesn't turn i will have a section but under GA because i cannot have an epidural

I would like to hear experiences about this (good, bad, indifferent) as i just don't know what to expect

If baby hasn't turned then i want to be armed with good questions and information as well

TIA

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

Bleatblurt · 14/09/2009 11:23

I've had 3 c-sections under GA (I can't have an epidural either!) and all went well. They do all the uncomfy stuff when you are under (like putting a catheter in).

It took me a while to wake up afterwards and I was very woozy for a while thanks to the pain relief they give you, and I kept drifing off mid sentence.

Recovery was quick - I think when it's a planned c-section you cope better than an emergency one, especially as you wont have had hours of exhausting labour first.

Good luck with the ECV, and hopefully you wont need the section.

Oh, and my DH was allowed in with me for 2 of my c-sections so if you do need one then do ask if your DP/DH can be there. DH got to cut the cord etc and have first cuddle which was great as obviously I couldn't so was nice for him to have that.

l39 · 14/09/2009 11:49

I had an emergency section under general anaesthetic.

It really wasn't as bad as I would have expected. Like Butterball I was rather woozy and kept falling asleep for the rest of the day. However even when I first woke up I didn't feel nauseous or have much pain. I was freezing cold for some reason but it didn't last long.

I had a catheter in when I woke and I think it stayed until the next morning. (Section was at midday.) I was allowed out of bed then and went for a bath, with my husband along in case I keeled over. It was fine.

Positioning the babies for breastfeeding was hard at first because I couldn't bend well. I felt guilty about keeping the nurses from other patients to help me. I knew what to do (had already fed 2) so didn't need a trained person, anyone who could hand me a child once I was propped up would have done. So I would advise against trying to cope totally alone for more than a few hours at a time in the first few days.

I left hospital on the third day after, but I've seen some people say they were only kept 24 hours - you'll probably want to check your hospital's rules.

They sent me home with some tablets - ordinary painkillers I think - which I took for the first day home (so day 4 after the operation) and then didn't need any more.

The midwife took out the stitches (in fact a long wire) on my sofa at home. I was a bit doubtful when she said I wouldn't feel a thing, but it was true.

Hoping all goes well for you

Original poster

rubyslippers · 14/09/2009 12:34

thanks for this

i am most worried about the breastfeeding and just feeling bleurgh after

I have always been sick after GAs

will check if DH can be with me ...

OP posts:

Bleatblurt · 14/09/2009 12:39

They can give you an injection of err 'something' (like my medical knowledge? ) to stop the sickness. I had it after my DS2 as I sick that time.

Breastfeeding was a bit impossible for me for the first day (and I had awkward children that insisted on taking ill and being whisked off so I couldn't breastfeed them anyway!) but I did have someone express colostrum for me. A bit odd having someone do it for you as you lie there but it did mean that they could give my DSs the colostrum via one on those wee syringe thingies. But all going well I don't see why a midwife can't help you hold your baby and help you feed him. Be pushy if you need to be!

Original poster

rubyslippers · 14/09/2009 12:42

good tip re colostrum - may have to write a list for DH to make sure this happens if i am feeling a bit rubbish

did you heal well?

OP posts:

Deeeja · 14/09/2009 12:47

I had a c-section under GA, and was so woozy when I finally woke up that I insisted that I couldn't possibley had a baby, and argued with the midwife for approximately 20 minutes, much to their amusement. Dh came in with ds to convince me, also laughing hysterically.
Was a strange feeling coming round.
I recovered quickly after that c-s, and was out after 3 days.
It wasn't too bad.

Bleatblurt · 14/09/2009 12:48

I healed pretty fast. I think the sooner you get up and about (as long as you feel well!) the quicker you feel better. I was up and about very quickly with my 2nd and 3rd sections and I really felt better for it - felt in less pain, could laugh/sneeze without wanting to cry much quicker than with my first section where I was in bed for the first 2 days.

Going for a pee is always a terrifying experience though, and don't even talk about going for a poo! It's not that it's sore really, it just feels like your scar will burst as you squeeze! Of course there's no chance of that it's just a feeling when you first go. But now you are prepared for it it wont be so scary I hope.

Bleatblurt · 14/09/2009 12:50

Deeeja, that made me laugh!

With my DS1 when they woke me up I actually thought that they hadn't done the section yet and were waking me up as there was a problem and they'd have to do it later!

To be fair, I was very woozy and still had a giant belly!

Original poster

rubyslippers · 14/09/2009 12:56

thanks for all the frank comments - doesn't sound half as bad as i had been imaging

so, it sounds like you come round fairly quickly which is reassuring

OP posts:

moocowme · 15/09/2009 20:28

just to wade in with a different story, i had DS as an elective under GA due to complications. I woke from the GA to find that the epidural did not work so screamed for some time till they fixed it. one of the doctors was then struck of by the GMC over my CS. I am mostly over that trauma now.

Original poster

rubyslippers · 15/09/2009 20:30

moocow - do you mean you awoke during the section?

i cannot have an epidural which is why i must have a GA - there is no other pain relief option for me

it sounds like you had a traumatic time - am sorry to hear that

OP posts:

jcscot · 16/09/2009 11:13

I've had two sections under GA - both elective - and they were fine. Like otehrs have said, I was pretty woozy for a few hours after the births but I was up and about the following day and out of hospital four days after the ops.

Although they say it takes six weeks to recover, in reality I felt OK by the end of the first week and pretty normal by the end of the second. It all depends, I suppose.

I think that knowing in advance that I was having a section and having GA made everything easier. There was no fuss, no scares and everything went as well as could be expected.

There were complications with the sections but they were expected complications to do with my underlying medical condition, so not scary, if that makes sense.

brightredballoon · 21/09/2009 22:33

My DS was delivered by CS under a GA as it was a crash section so nooo time to lose therefore no time for a spinal or epidural.
He was born at 02.47am and I woke up around 6am. They wheeled me round to SCBU in my bed at 9.30am when I gave him his first feed (I breastfed). Then around midday I was wheeled round in a wheelchair to feed him again (I was staying on the post natal ward in a side room whilst he was in SCBU, about 5 ward lengths away). Then the MW told me if I wanted to feed him I would have to walk round to him the next time! At the time I was horrified at walking that distance still with my morphine drip thing round my neck etc but I did it time and time again when they called through to me that DS needed feeding so around 12 hours after the cs I was walking 5 ward lengths to get to him then 5 ward lengths back to my bed. However I did heal well and wonder if that had something to do with all that walking during my stay in hospital (he was in SCBU until we went home 2 days later).

I think the fact yours would be planned would enable you to prepare for it so much better, when I was put under I was still being undressed by the staff and I wasn't sure my baby would live so when I woke up I was in a real state.

e3chick · 22/09/2009 18:36

Brightredballoon, that sounds like a long time to be under. Can I ask everyone else if they were asleep for over 3 hours? I think I had imagined coming round after about and hour.

Grisette · 22/09/2009 18:54

Brightredballoon. That's really shocking. I had to get the midwifeto pick my baby out of the glass cot and give him to me to feed for the first 3 days!

Grisette · 22/09/2009 18:55

I was asleep for about 2 hrs. They didn't wwant me under too long cause i was too ill.

sarah293 · 22/09/2009 18:58

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

Portofino · 22/09/2009 19:09

I was out about an hour I think. I came to to DH asking me to do mental arithmatic! He said he wanted to check i had retained my mental capacities!

Then he said that i had a beautiful dd whose name was XXXX and did I want to see her? I think I replied "in a minute". He could honestly have said her name was Kevin and i wouldn't have cared...I was off with the fairies after 20 hours of contractions and a crash cs!

I think we all slept the rest of the day. The first "real" memories I have of dd are after dh went home and I just lay there watching her sleeping. I was out of bed in the morning and in the shower - I was MINGING! - as soon as they removed the catheter. I was uncomfortable to start with, but went home 2 days later.

My main regret about the GA is that i didn't see dd born, or more that i didn't get to see dh when he met her - obvious really I suppose. I guess with a planned section you can maybe get some video footage? DH cried apparently but never wanted to talk about it afterwards - too traumatic i guess? I DID feel a bit cheated about that, but the rest was fine.

brightredballoon · 22/09/2009 19:54

Grisette - at the time I didn't think I had a choice (still don't know really, they just said they didn't have enough staff to push me round in a wheelchair to DS everytime he needed feeding).

Like Portofino, I was really sad I dont know who cared for my newborn for the first few hours after he was born and am so very sad he didn't have skin to skin until over 6 hours after his birth. I tell you though the boy knows cuddles now!

e3chick · 22/09/2009 21:07

To everyone who has done this, did it take you long to bond with your baby, or did you feel the bonding was unaffected?

brightredballoon · 22/09/2009 21:10

I didnt find it affected my bond no, just a wee bit sad. However I really think it would be very different had I gone into hospital knowing I was going to have a GA and a section - think alot of my sadness and issues were over the circumstances and fear of losing my DS.

MamaG · 22/09/2009 21:11

echick I bonded just as well with my third CS under GA baby as I did with my first two VB babies

l39 · 22/09/2009 21:19

Missing out on the wonderful feelings one gets just after a vaginal birth was a shame, but I had no trouble bonding after my caesarean. I did find the twin delivered by section was more unsettled and cried more than the twin delivered normally for the first couple of weeks. I think she had a bit rougher treatment (attempted internal version) than a caesarean normally would mean though.

Portofino · 22/09/2009 21:38

I think I had a bit of trouble accepting that this was MY baby! Though actually I'm not sure if that is anything to do with the CS and that i would have felt the same if I had had a normal vaginal birth ifyswim.

I was 35 when dd was born, had never been particularly broody and had kind of given up on the idea of dcs, especially as dh was older. Dd was a happy accident! I do think the reality of having a real live baby came as one hell of a shock to me. I think, but can't know for sure, that it would have been the same cs or not cs.

aoifesmama · 22/09/2009 21:55

Hi, I had a 16 hour labour and then crash CS under GA (because I had stupidly decided on gas and air only and so had no other option when it was needed). I totally agree with Portofino, the thing I really had a problem with is the fact that I wasnt convinced this was my baby (also because baby is mixed race, but at birth was whiter than my irish whiteness...now making up for it) and that DH wasnt a. there for the birth or b. with me when he first held her.

When I found out DD had the cord wrapped round her neck, was swallowing meconium (sp?) and heartbeat could not be found I was traumatised! But more so when we were rushed into theatre DH was allowed in and then the last thing I remember hearing was him being told to leave immediately

In terms of feeding, I found it difficult for the first few days, and I think, as with vaginal birth, much depends on the midwives (I had to stop at a couple of weeks due to complications with DD, but nothing to do with CS - I was advised though that sometimes CSs slow down your milk coming in). I was in for 3 nights, 1 night was great, 2 were terrible as I was in a room on my own and could barely lift DD up on my own, but midwives took AGES to come in and so I felt I had to. I remember on night 3 getting up to her at 4am after waiting nearly ten minutes for a midwife and not knowing whether I was going to pass out or drop her from the pain. Having said that, as soon as I got home and started moving around in a place i felt confident and surrounded by people things got better much much more quickly. By day 6 I was in mothercare and driving just pre 6 weeks, when I felt back to normal.

Now at about 5 months I get the odd twinge but nothing major. In the first few weeks I do think not really "being there" when DD was born affected my relationship with her, because I allowed it to. At 5 months it certainly doesnt.

I know that all sounds a bit mixed and probably not what you were hoping for...sorry. BUT at the end of the day, I have my fab DD and so it was all worth it!

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