Has anyone had a planned CS booked and then delivered naturally?

[LadyRabbit]

I posted a few weeks' ago about whether to have an elective CS or not, based on advice from my consultant who feels that previous bladder problems (and repeated surgery to fix it) could re-occur should I give birth naturally. This is my first baby. You were all so helpful with your experienced advice. Not wanting to risk more surgery post birth, I gave it some thought and as a result have been given a date for a CS.

I don't feel relieved, or happy or anything like that. I feel a bit sad actually - and I'm not overly emotional about having to give birth a certain way or risk feeling like a 'failure'. I just feel as if I am interfering with what my baby quite fancies doing, and that maybe I will be fine. I am fit, healthy, enjoying a very easy pregnancy so far (for a relatively old bird) and wonder if I should just go with the flow and maybe if I'm lucky I won't have any bladder issues. Or maybe I'm just being silly and should fess up that surgical theatres scare the bejesus out of me (after having surgery over the years) and it's that which is also part of the problem. I've also been reading a lot of Ina May Gaskin and if 98% of her women give birth vaginally (I'm sure some of them have bladder problems) then surely I can too?

I'm probably posting this as much to write it down and feel a bit better, but I was also wondering if anybody had booked a CS, and then changed their mind and delivered naturally.

Thanks for reading thus far.

I had a cs booked with ds2 (problems with delivering ds1 -> em section and complications) but ds2 decided to come 5 weeks early. He was small and in the perfect position and came naturally.

I would say to you to try not to dwell on your decision. You've come to it with the agreement of your consultant and for very very good reasons. Giving birth is over in a relatively short period of time (if you're lucky... ) but any bladder problems would be with you for months/years(?). Look at the long term for both you and the baby - I'm sure he or she would rather have a mum who wasn't in discomfort/pain from bladder problems.

Has your consultant discussed with you the bladder problems that can occur as a result of a caesarean section? I'm not saying that you shouldn't have a section but a cs doesn't by any stretch of the imagination mean that you won't have bladder problems.

Thea ctual birth of a child is a teeny fraction of time in their life compared to loving and raising them over the years. If any further bladder problems caused by going for a VB were to impact in your (& your childs) enjoyment of their growing up that is far more important than the birth.

Every birth is a lottery - you have to decide what your odds may be and the amount of 'gambing' you are prepared to try.

I had a c-section booked with DS2 as I had gone overdue and they wouldn't induce me due to complications with DS1, but he came the day before the c-section was booked for.

I would second what Chynah said about the birth being such a small part of their lives. I has DS1 by emergency c-section, DS2 naturally and DD by c-section. At the time it was a big deal, but now that they are all school age I can see that it really didn't matter.