How do i get a c-section?

[singleteenagemum]

I know this probably sounds really stupid, but i really want a caesarean, how do i go about getting an elective one?
What's the process for it all? am i just plain stupid wanting one?
HELP!!

id like one too, but it isnt an easy option. SPeak with your midwife x

do a google for the NICE guidelines (NHS guidelines), on elective C-Sectins.

i asked my midwife about it when pg with ds2 cos i was so knackered by end of ds1 pg i found the birth really hard. she talked me out of it though and im glad she did cos ds2 was much easier as i felt more prepared. if you are just scared and dont need it for medical reasons then i would look into alternatives like waterbirths. it might make life easier for a couple of hours but i was advised it can cause problems in later life and recovery is not much of a laugh. totally natural to be worried about giving birth btw, how far along are you? is this your first?

Am 27+4 today and yes it;s my first. it;s not the pain i'm worried about it's just, well i don't really know what it is, just know that i won't be able to cope i suppose.

I know there's pros and cons for doing it but i dunno i guess i'm trying to think through every option and not necessarily take the easy one but just to be aware of everything.

I'm looking at waterbirths aswell but you can't have many forms of pain reliefe so i dunno....think i'll write my birth plan while i'm having contractions at home, do it spare of the moment...lol

i have had 2 elective c-sections and got them very easliy - I was terried of giving birth naturaly noone can convince me that it is nothing but agony even with drugs and my mum had a horrendous time having me... then a few friends had bad births when I was pregnant and I got quite worried and upset then was told was having 11lb baby.... so asked for elective and the consultant agreed, saying there were no prizes for birthing huge babies and chances are I would land up with emergency C section - so it was booked, had it - was FAB FAB FAB experience no pain -- amazingly fast recovery and just great all round.

With second, had a bit of hassle from consultant but I just put my case for having it and he agreed... again another fabulous experience... I am a huge advocate of the elective c section but am sure will be shot down by the earth mothers on the board --- but I fail to see how suffering that amount of pain is a necessary part of giving birth...

totally respect your opinion Mancmum

but fear you might come in for some flak now . Get your tin hat on!

agree, mancmum. I had an elect c-s 1st time but due to placenta praevia so didn't have much choice. can't say I was gutted when they told me I'd be having one though! Whole experience was very positive. I'm now 23 wks and will probably get another elec c-s (I also have spd) BUT I would say that having a c-s is not a walk in the park. The recovery rate can be longer; it is a major op and you need to be sure that you will get LOADS of support at home when you get out of hosp. If you're scared of hospitals and injections then I'd say it would be just as scary as a natural birth. Dh is a nurse and so helped me loads with this side of things. Natural birth is obviously better for your body - IF IT GOES WELL. I also think the younger you are the easier natural birth is to recover from (but might be wrong?) Be prepared that with an elec c-s the baby may not breastfeed well - mine didn't but many do with perseverance.

Be prepared for your wishes to be a bit of a struggle if you are not under a consultant - midwives are generally against a c-s for anything other than medical grounds. Don't count anything out, though. Try to look at all the options and listen to other mumsnetters posistive experiences of their births. There are pros and cons for both.

mancmum what kinda things did you say in putting your case forward the second time round?

I had a real fight to get a c section, and I was carrying twins, one of which was def breech and the other was thought to be head down. I knew they were both breech and had to request a second opinion as my consultant refused the section.
I found the section a bit scary, but recovery was fine. I was prepared for the worst, and got up and about a lot quicker than expected. I've had two babies naturally too, and one as really enjoyable, and one was bloody painful.
I think there is a drive to reduce the number of csections and you might have to fight to get one. Have you considerd an epidural? I's hav one like a shot if I ever had to give birth again.

just picking up on moomins point - makes you wonder why most midwifes are anti cs.

I'm all for elective sections!

But I believe it is not the responsibility of the NHS to fund. I think the stats I got last year as part of my course estimated that a c-section costs the NHS around £2½k compared with, I think, £300 for a vaginal birth.

I think we're all intelligent enough to know that recovery from a section is pretty long haul as opposed to a normal vaginal, so purely on the basis of economics, no, they aren't and shouldn't be routinely offered on the NHS.

They told me they didn't want me to have one because I had already had two vaginal births (so it should be easy), recovery is longer, and risks associated with section.
Maybe I'm cynnical but I think the extra care and cost comes into it a bt too.

yea but if i go natural i'm going to want to be active, moving about and all that, so epidural isn't really an option as they say the mobile ones need a longer recovery time. if anything will have a spinal block...got a while to think about things yet. I'm a pretty organised person and so to have an elective and know when he's comin would be nice, but that's just sad! lol

yea but if i go natural i'm going to want to be active, moving about and all that, so epidural isn't really an option as they say the mobile ones need a longer recovery time. if anything will have a spinal block...got a while to think about things yet. I'm a pretty organised person and so to have an elective and know when he's comin would be nice, but that's just sad! lol

If it helps, I managed on gas and air (thought it was wonderful!) and had a quick and easy labour. You always end up hearing the horror stories, any good stories you always end up dismissing as too good to be true. But they do happen. Talk things through properly with your midwife.

Just a little word of warning, in labour you might not actually feel like being active. I was all for that first time round, but I found in reality, when you do walk around contractions are intensified as it speeds it all up. I stayed firmly on the bed. Labour lasted 6 hours or so, so not too long.

Can the problems be hereditry? my mum tore really badly and needed three layers of 63 stitches with me...bit of a scary thought if it is.

bloody hell, that would be a bit scary. I don't think so though. I know my births were nothing like my mothers, except for that fact that we both were well in labour before waters broke.

Flossam - most midwives encourage women away from the thought that elective C/S in an easier option because it invariably isn't.

I regularly scrub to assist at Caesarean section and I think once you have observed it so closely you would not want to have one unless you really needed one. Now that need may well be psychological but real never-the-less.

Never forget it is a major abdominal operation!

I'd love to see one, but I bet it isn't a pretty sight!

that's a bit reasuring. I don't really know why i'm worrying about it. Just wanted to look at pros and cons to both c-section and natural. have kinda discussed it with midwife, she said the hosp i'm going to is the best in the area for water births so that's nice if i do actually opt for that

If you want a section I have to agree with others that you may have a bit of a fight on your hands. But IMO they are fantastic. I had one for placenta praevia first time around which went really well, second time round I had the misfortune to go into labour first - an experience of such horror and misery I doubt I will ever forget it. Then I had my section. Bliss.
Not everyone has such a good experience as I did though. And if you plan on having six kids then you are probably better off having a - horror! - vaginal birth.

i never actually wanted to give birth in water, but the first time round I did spend a lot of my labour in a giant bath thing. Water is def very relaxing and helped with the pain loads. I enjoyed that birth.
There are prob some other mums around who have done waterbirths if you have a look.

singleteenagemum - there is nothing worse than people/mums sharing birth horror stories with poential new mums. Tears are stitched in 3 layers because that is normal. There is vainnal wall, muscle and skin. Nowadays the skin is stitched like invisible mending so there is one running stitch underneath the skin. Women often ask how many stitches they are getting. Because stitching has changed over the years, it is probably 1 or 2 because the stitches are no longer individual. I have to say though that I can't visualise where 63 stitches would go. Definately a scary thought, but not sure how likely now.

please please please just take other people's birth experiences with a pinch of salt. even your mum's! (incidentally, we don't actually count how many stitches we're giving women, and I really don't think there is enough room in the vagina for 21 stiches per layer! It just feels like that! )

everyone's birth is different. singleteenagemum, it seems to me you need to speak to you midwife and get some reassurance. You'll probably not have the same midwife for your labour but you probably will build a good relationship with her and she'll get you through it all in one piece.

birthing partners are also an asset. A trusted female birthing partner can reduce your time in labour (it's all psychological stuff, see?). Do you have a best friend who'd be willing to hold your hand and do what you want her to do.