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Original poster

C Section at Christmas

56 replies

TobeornottobeXmasMama · 28/08/2023 19:36

I hope this is the best place to post as I know you all love Christmas so will hopefully get my dilemma.

I am hoping to have an ELCS on 22nd December but after seeing the MW (who I get on really well with informally) she shuddered and said “ooh no I’d wait until after”

So my dilemma is, in a perfect, risk free world, would you rather have baby here before the big day or wait until after but spend Christmas heavily pregnant, distracted by the impending CS and nervous about going into labour over the (short staffed) holiday period?

OP posts:
HelterSkelter224 · 28/08/2023 19:37

Did she give a reason to wait until after? After Christmas or after your due date?

Trenchfootinthescottishhighlandstoday · 28/08/2023 19:39

Ime it's bloody awful awaiting a dc over Xmas.. Dd was due Christmas Eve. Despite mw and her sweeps daily for a week she arrived on New Year's Eve!

morelippy · 28/08/2023 19:39

Christmas would take a back seat to the health of me and my baby. I'd do whatever the professionals recommended.

ShowOfHands · 28/08/2023 19:40

The CS itself wouldn't bother me but the baby blues hitting on Christmas Day would be a reason to avoid it.

Hiddenvoice · 28/08/2023 19:42

id go with what the midwife and hospital suggest is the best time to be booked in but I didn’t know it could be changed. When I had mine I was just told the date and time etc.
I would probably like the baby there for Christmas knowing my family would be around to help.

Is there any chance of the baby coming naturally before a later c section date?

Ididivfama · 28/08/2023 19:45

I don’t really understand the mw response. How far along will you be?

Birthdays can work either way. Before Christmas can be fun and exciting, but you can always take down the tree Boxing Day and focus on birthday after.

Iseethesilverlining · 28/08/2023 19:48

DD was due Christmas Day. As was due for ELCS, Dr said he’d do it on 13th Dec so we were all home for Christmas. Worked well for us!

SnapdragonToadflax · 28/08/2023 19:50

Why are you having the c section? Usually they book you in for 39 weeks if it's being done to avoid a vaginal birth, so I wouldn't want to risk going later and going into labour.

Whatever happens you won't have a 'normal' Christmas, so I don't think it matters in that respect. If you have it on the 22nd you'll be out by the 25th providing there are no complications.

CobraChicken · 28/08/2023 19:50

I remember I was advised by a couple of my doctor friends to not choose to have my elective c-section with dc2 on a Friday if at all possible.

In your case I'd probably try to choose the 27th, but I appreciate that's not necessarily possible and I'm sure an elective on the 22nd is preferable to going into labour and being rushed in for a c-section on Dec 25th, staffing levels wise!

TakeMe2Insanity · 28/08/2023 19:50

I had an ELCS on 23/12. Definitely better getting it done rather than waiting until after. Re xmas, just do it the week before you’ll enjoy it more. Good luck.

Sickscared · 28/08/2023 19:51

I'm thinking that, unless it was related to staffing, I'd do it on 22nd.

Incidentally, is it usual to have your ELCS date so early? I'm due in 5 weeks and still don't have my booked ELCS date

YouveGotAFastCar · 28/08/2023 19:56

After. I had DS on the 22nd, we had to have extra checks on the 23rd and then couldn't be discharged until the 27th, when everyone was back online and working. The skeleton team on over Christmas couldn't do it. They emptied the labour ward to let everyone home for the day, if they were well enough, so there was just me and another miserable-looking woman stuck there... The shop was closed, the gardens were closed, it was horrible. They forgot to order me food one day. Very few babies were born on Christmas Day compared to "normal", but the ones who were, had all the on-duty staff attention - as expected; and needed, but it wasn't great for anyone on the ward.

Things clicked back into action on the 27th and everyone was happy and raring to go. It'd have been SO much easier having him then.

Xmasbabyxmas · 28/08/2023 19:57

I had second baby on 22 Dec by ELCS last year. Home on 23rd and had a lovely, albeit quiet, Christmas (no inlaws, just the 4 of us 😀) There were risks for me going into labour naturally so I didn't want to wait what would've been another week. Do what's right for you and baby and don't think about Christmas. Best of luck

Catsfrontbum · 28/08/2023 19:58

DS has a birthday between Christmas and new year. CS too.
It was the happiest time of my life. So chilled and post holiday but lots of people and love all around.

Destiny123 · 28/08/2023 20:01

TobeornottobeXmasMama · 28/08/2023 19:36

I hope this is the best place to post as I know you all love Christmas so will hopefully get my dilemma.

I am hoping to have an ELCS on 22nd December but after seeing the MW (who I get on really well with informally) she shuddered and said “ooh no I’d wait until after”

So my dilemma is, in a perfect, risk free world, would you rather have baby here before the big day or wait until after but spend Christmas heavily pregnant, distracted by the impending CS and nervous about going into labour over the (short staffed) holiday period?

I anaesthetise for sections. Labour ward has the same staff cover Christmas day as any other day of the year, don't worry about that. If you go into labour before your date, you'll just go through the emergency theatre instead.

We do see a massive massive surge in people reporting reduced movements just before christmas which staff think maybe people wanting to deliver before Christmas but obv can't ever prove it either way

Mummyme87 · 28/08/2023 20:06

Labour ward midwife, and staffing levels are the same throughout.. if it’s short, that’s because it’s always short. There are some specialities that may not be functioning normally but not directly associated with normal obstetrics. So don’t let that affect your decision

Diversion · 28/08/2023 20:07

I would politely request that you have it a few days earlier. I was due to have CS with my 3rd DC when we had a whole lot of other immediate family birthdays and other celebrations and I really wanted her to have her own special day. Hospital staff were incredibly supportive and booked the CS for 37 +2 so that no other family members shared her birthday.

MerlinsBeard87 · 28/08/2023 20:14

I was due on 28th and had my C-section on the 20th. I remember being wheeled out of theatre holding my baby looking up at the Christmas lights on the corridor ceilings. Lovely. Bit weird having the 5 day midwife visit on Christmas Day!

spitefulandbadgrammar · 28/08/2023 20:17

I had a planned section on 23rd December last year and it was a joy! Christmas songs on the radio in theatre, everyone very jolly, tinsel on the ward, home on Christmas Eve – driving home with the new baby through the fog felt wonderfully special, and waking up on Christmas Day with him was lovely. We had a midwife visit mid morning and she stayed for a mince pie, my milk came in that afternoon – white Christmas! – and I had extra time with DP for my recovery as his office is closed Christmas anyway so they started his paternity only once the office was open. Parents came and shoved the Cook frozen Christmas dinner in the oven for us. Also I had panic bought 9,000 boxes of chocolates, marzipan fruits, florentines, jellies, mince pies, stollen, etc, so I spent the entire fourth trimester awash in delicious things and my lovely Christmas baby. Given my pregnancy had been marred by PGP and HG and insomnia, Christmas would have been bloody awful if I’d been pregnant. It was delightful with a sleepy brand-new poppet. And every year we get to do his birthday then Christmas Eve (favourite day) back to back. Happy with my choice!

aSofaNearYou · 28/08/2023 20:17

I would much rather be heavily pregnant than recovering from a C Section with a newborn on Christmas, but I don't think it's a good reason to ignore medical advice. When I had mine, they wanted it to be at a specific point - past 39 weeks I think, but obviously if you then waited too long the chances of going into labour naturally would increase.

cardiganboo · 28/08/2023 20:19

I was 2.5 weeks late on Christmas Day and wasn't scheduled until the 27th. It was absolute torture. Get it over and done with. For sure xxx

MillWood85 · 28/08/2023 20:28

I was due to be induced a few days before Christmas but ended up going in on the 28th. They were horrendously short staffed, and I had a very long wait for an anaesthetist.

I'd go for before in all seriousness when they have a full quota of staff on duty. You've got the perfect excuse to be waited on hand, foot and finger all over Christmas and New Year.

Original poster
TobeornottobeXmasMama · 28/08/2023 20:36

Thank you for all of your replies, I really appreciate your personal experiences.

I’m intrigued by the “avoid Friday” advice.

To answer a few questions, the medical indicator for ELCS is to avoid vaginal delivery. On the 22nd I will be 38 weeks so a week later would still be practical. Re dates, my Consultant is very pragmatic and for last baby we literally got out our respective diaries and agreed on an agreeable date (he was performing it if that’s not obvious) he has pencilled in the 22nd (in the words of my MIL it’s still a way away) but we will confirm closer to the time hence wanting everyone’s advice.

Thank you again everyone, it means a lot to me

OP posts:
Frightenedbunny · 28/08/2023 20:45

I opted for 27th December, had a lovely Christmas dinner at my in laws on Christmas Day and was waited on hand and foot. Then had Boxing Day at home with the kids and husband. C-section on 27th and home on New Years Eve, straight out to a friends house for New Year. It was perfect!

TheIsleOfTheLost · 28/08/2023 20:50

It will be busy at Christmas time. I had a baby around that time and the midwife said the phone kept ringing with people wanting to be induced before Christmas! They said no.

If there is a medical need to plan the date, I think a birthday just before Christmas is better than on Christmas or the week after. Ds loves getting tons of presents in a short time and has been off school every year so far. Between Christmas and New Year, people tend to forget your birthday or be unavailable. We do make sure his party is either early December or later January so more people are free.