Poll - How many first time mothers had c/s or instrumental deliveries

[Rochwen]

Just asking around my circle of friends and acquaintances it seems that a lot of first time mothers ended up with either a c/s or and instrumental delivery.

So, just out of interest I'd like to know whether your first baby arrived with c/s, instruments or without such intervention. Also, how many of you first timers had an epidural.

I know this is not going to be a very representative poll but perhaps we can establish a general trend.

Thanks, Rochwen

I had 30 hrs of labour, a shot of pethidine which wore off, g&a I found wasn't helpful. DS was born by ventouse and me having an episiotomy!
SIL was induced, had an epidural then given a emergency c/s.
Our LO's are 32hrs apart

Epidural (very painful posterior position), which seemed to slow labour, so then had drip to speed up, fully dilated but baby got distressed and stuck, tried a ventous but failed and ended up emergency section.

I went into labour Friday 5pm and eventually had DS at 3.49pm on the Sunday after lots of gas and air and a ventouse and episiostomy with spinal block...........not at all what I was expecting but felt strangely Ok through it all.....

Gas and air, episiotomy and ventouse.

In hindsight, I think I could have laboured a little longer and managed without the ventouse. The midwife was insisting that my pelvis was too narrow and that I wouldn't manage without assistance - errr, so how come I did just fine thank you with DS2 then?

Of my first-timers NCT class:

1 x elective cs for persistent transverse lie
1 x emergency cs due to size of baby and failure to progress
1 x forceps and epidural
1 x epidural no instruments
1 x gas and air only

baby no 1 - no epidural but horrible forceps and ventouse (undiagnosed op baby).

baby no 2 - no drugs, easy birth.

natural birth, just gas&air

Tens machine, pethidine, gas and air, epidural (spinal block) and finally after 2 and a bit days an emergency c-section. I'd be really interested to see what your survey uncovers - it seems to be induced labours that cause the most problems IMHO.

I'm similar to St George, gas and air and ventouse. Could have probably managed pushing her out myself if I had been upright and given more time.

I used a TENS machine, gas and air, had an injection of diamorphine and had a forceps delivery, due to DS's heart beat dropping very low.

I had epidural and then although I was fully dilated an emergency c-section.
The rest of my antenatal class

1. pethadine
2. ventouse
3. emergency c-section
4. pethadine, epidural then ventouse
5. epiduarl adn ventouse

Emergency c/s, after 24hours of labour and 2hours of pushing, epidural set up 14hours into labour. Baby very distressed meconium present and heart rate dropped. Failed attempt at forceps and any other instruments they fiddled with! Baby born not breathing and taken to special care, turned out baby was babck to back and stuck.

Sounds right to me Piglit: induced then Tens machine, gas and air, pethidine, epidural, ventouse and threatened with forceps and C-section but luckily last tug on the ventouse did it. Terrible start to life IMHO for parents and baby, but then again as the quack said, any way that gets the baby out safely for you and him/her is a good result.

Water Birth with Gas air then pulled out of the water at the last minute like a beached whale to have a ventouse as he got stuck. No cut but tore a little with a few stiches.

emergency c/s following waters broken for 3 nearly 4 days, went for induction but cervix open, failed to progress despite drip ? Syntocin, high temp 39.9 Intravenous antibiotics etc. Baby to special care 4 days

I ended up with a c/s for failure to progress/arrest of descent - labour started spontaneously, got stuck for a few hrs at 6cm, was put on syntocinon drip with epidural - about 8hrs later was still only 9cm dilated and baby showing signs of getting tired, so into theatre I went.

Out of 8 women in my NCT class, I was the only c/s, but everyone else had at least some intervention (drip/ventouse etc)

failed ventouse then forceps here, gas and air.
back to back.

Induced, epidural & forceps (thank god I'd had the epidural!).

Ditto Mistress Mary, with dd1 failed ventouse, forceps delivery & episiotomy,(midwife didn't notice dd's shoulder had got stuck!) just gas and air! ouch Thank goodness dd2 was like shelling peas!

Epidural (after 16 hours), forceps - 6 hours later on. God, I was glad to get her out!
2nd time, gas and air, 4 hour labour. Totally different experience.

induced, epidural, ventouse, forceps. soooo hoping to avoid the same with no. 2, due in a month. though the induction is a given (i have diabetes), so who knows.

induced, epidural, ventouse first time round

(very quick labours, no pain relief (bar small amount of G&A) for 2nd and 3rd)

No epidural, no instruments, no c/s (but loads of stitches ouch!)

Induction - no epidural, no instruments, no c-section.