why DON'T people want caesarians?

[HPonEverything]

Apart from the scar and it taking a while to be able to drive and lift things, what are the other reasons?

I really haven't looked into a caesarian but it now seems to be looking like a bit of a possibility, and I know a lot of people are very against it so I just wondered why.

I would LOVE one
I cannot imagine why someone would NOT love one
Birthing the normal way sucks

its major surgery and a long recovery, i would have one if really needed but i dont get why some people would see it as the easier option, it looks the harder option to me! but if medically needed obviously it would be worth it
i would find it hard about not lifting while recovering, cos unless its your first baby or you have big gaps, then you need to lift and carry with toddlers so would find that a bit of a nightmare and also dont they say if you have CS then you need to limit the amount of times you have it, so limits the number of dc you can have, to about 3 or 4 only? and i wouldnt want a limit

BUT don't forget that with a VB you can still have:

1. infection
2. horrendous pain which means you can't walk far, can't pick things up without feeling your nether regions are going to burst apart, can't get in and out of bed easily. My friends who had CS all gave me their diclofenac as my burst episiotomy caused horrendous pain for weeks/months after they'd happy stopped needing any pain killers at all.
3. a very slow recovery due to exhaustion and loss of blood
4. problems with bf due to the traumatic birth (my milk came in on day 6 after DD had had to be readmitted to hospital and fed formula through a gatro-nasal feeding tube)

The risk factors of CS stated here are all fact but please don't think that a VB will insure you against those risks I've listed above. They tend to miss them off the NCT guide to vaginal birth but they happen. Believe me.

Just to be clear, I don't want one! I'm a control freak and I was very convinced that everything was going so smoothly and the baby would just sail out of my vagina, but it seems that might now not be the case. If it's medically necessary to save my baby's life then I will suck it up and I wanted to be aware of the reasons why they're not a good idea.

A friend of mine had both hers by caesarian by doing some major kicking-off ('too posh to push') but she lives in Spain. I had assumed that a caesarian must therefore be an easy option and wanted to get my head around reasons why people were so against it.

Thanks for being so honest.

I had a c-section under epidural first time round. Problems afterwards: (1) truly terrible constipation, incredibly painful and I thought the wound would burst open, very scary (sorry, but you did ask); (2) had to stay in hospital for 5 days (eating hosp food - didn't help with problem 1), lying in bed with surgical stockings on; (3) struggled to breast feed, leading to the midwives insisting on giving DS several bottles of formula, which I really didn't want, but otherwise they wouldn't let me go home; (4) slow recovery - some people say they bounce back quickly, I certainly didn't; (5) my very painful wound ruptured after about 4 weeks and oozed pus so I had to go around with a sanitary towel strapped to my belly for a couple of days (sorry again); (6) my belly took much longer to go down than after a vaginal delivery; (7) the scar has left a "shelf" in my stomach - much reduced now after about 10 years; (8) the nerves around the scar took approx 2 years to regain feeling, during which time the skin itched and felt very odd.

Mind you, a vaginal birth isn't a walk in the park either!

Hi. I had a C-section with my dd when 4 inductions failed. It was totally painless, and I was allowed morphine to control the pain although I was breastfeeding. I breastfed for two years, and I was offered an elective for my second, given there are increased risks of problems with a natural birth if you have had one C-section. As we were happy to stop at two children we opted for this as I could have a sterilisation at the same time. I don't regret any of it. Obviously I can't compare with a natural birth as I've never had one, but my experience was positive. However, there are stats on the risks here: pregnancy.about.com/od/cesareansection/a/csectionrisks.htm

How does a c section increase problems ttc in future? I've never heard that before.

OP, I had an ELCS due to low placenta and it was fine. Please don't worry if you have to have one for whatever reason. It's right that it's not an easy option though. Slower recovery, tough to kick start breastfeeding. Just be prepared for those issues and you'll be fine. FWIW, my scar is tiny and very neat - my stretchmarks are waaaaay worse!

I was very scared of a CS - I didn't want a general, because of the grogginess you feel afterwards. And the thought of being cut open whilst awake made me cringe - a few people I know who have had a CS say that you can feel all the tugging and pulling, but it just doesn't hurt. The thought makes me very squeamish. I didn't like the thought of the stitches, the not being able to lift anything heavy (like existing toddlers!) and not being able to drive for 5wks - although my own mother drove 5 days after her CS.

Saying that, all my VB's have caused stitches - and the birth of my third child was so traumatic I almost wish I had had a CS now.

Oh, and the hospital gave me loads of pain medication plus I was out in two days. No agony or long hospital stint, both of which worried me beforehand...

All of the above, and risk of uterine rupture in subsequent pgs.

Why would anyone want to traumatise their child and volunteer for major surgery at the same time?

Certainly interfered with bf for me too.

Personally, I found my elcs awful.

The op was terrifying, I lost tons of blood, my bp kept crashing, i felt completely out of control.

When ds was out, I was too shaky and sick to hold him (I vomited for the rest of the day)

Ds was grunting and struggling to breathe so taken off to SCBU, it was 4 days before I could hold him.

Ds had respiratory distress syndrome, and was in SCBU for 8 days, this was in part due to him not having been squooshed down the birth canal.

I was in agony for weeks after the cs, despite every painkiller going.

I had an infection in my scar at 6 weeks, leaving me sick, sweating and shaking

I felt as though I had been sawn in two, even now ( 14 months on) my body still doesn't feel right. I had nightmares and flashbacks to the birth, leading my gp to think that I had ptsd, and prescribing antidepressants.

I think that pretty much covers why i am not a fan of csections!

If you do have to have one, make sure you drink plenty of water, don't get constipated. Go to the loo immediately beforehand if poss.

Invest in some big knickers - if you can find net knickers, I found them really good.

If you're not bouncing back quickly afterwards, don't assume all is OK, get it checked out regularly to ensure no infection - I hadn't realised what was building up in there.

Just to give a different view, I very reluctantly had a cd with dd1. It was great. Calm, good nursing care, minimum pain, lots of good bonding with Dd and no troubles breast-feeding. And I was up and about driving (and packing for a house move) at 4 weeks. Not nearly so bad as I feared. And 18 months later, scar is almost invisible.

peggyblackett 'Risk of problems TTC in subsequent pregnancies'

and

piprabbit 'It could also go on to impact any future babies I might have.'

in what ways? can you elaborate please?

I had a traumatic VB with DS and was medically advised to have a C-section with my DD. As I had such a difficult time first time round, the recovery from C-section was asctually not as bad, even though I had a toddler to care for. Both births were incrediable in their own way and I feel fortunate to have had two very different experiences.

However, at no point did anyone mention that having a C-section would affect future pregnancies.

God there?s a lot of **llocks/old wives tales on this thread

1. It is not bad for the baby. The risks that are mentioned here e.g being cut, asthma, are no greater or worse than the risks that can happen during routine childbirth
2. There is no conclusive evidence to suggest it damages your chance of conception nor does it increase chances of stillbirth in subsequent pregnancies
3. No evidence to suggest that women who have planned c sections under local are less successful at breastfeeding than those who give birth naturally. There is some evidence that shows that women who have GA (emergency) have a lower success rate for breastfeeding, but again, that could be due to overall trauma of birth not necessarily the c-section itself

sorry, but lets be balanced her!

Riveninabingle Can I ask, why you chose to have a homebirth after 3 caesareans?

Amazing that they let you.

For me it was because I don't want to be cut open when there is a non-surgical and perfectly natural option that women have been doing since time immemorial.

My sister is having an elective c-section after having had a vaginal and ceasarian (emergency) birth previously. Her reason surprised me greatly. She said it required less effort since you don't have to push, or listen to instructions, or communicate with anyone (!) - just get wheeled into room, have c-section and come out with baby . But then she's always been pretty lazy .

All the above mentioned risks. I have had two CSs and no natural birth.

The first CS I could barely walk afterwards. I was utterly unprepared for the level of pain involved recovering, certainly the first few days. I cried trying to walk down the hospital corridor just to go to the loo, could just about push the handle to flush the loo. Everything done very very slowly and wincing all the time. It is massively uncomfortable to hold your baby, I could not pick him up myself, had to call a midwife every time I needed to pick him up (lots). I had to sleep propped up on my back for weeks which gave me awful backache. I had infections in the scar both times.

During my second labour the CS scar completley ruptured and I had a CS under general. DD went to NICU and I did not get out of recovery for 36 hours: I did not see her until 36 hours after she was born, other than a flimsy little photo of a baby with lots of electrodes stuck on her. I feel that I was not present for her birth. She did not seem really real when I saw her. The physical recovery oddly was easier because I was prepared for how much it would hurt. I cannot take diclofenac (if that's what it's called) due to ibuprofen allergy and I think this does make a difference - to get up to NICU to see DD I had to have oral morphine to get from the bed to the wheelchair, IV morphine before that (after I came round from the GA).

Oh yes, I got incredible trapped wind in my abdomen both times, like all these different balloons of air underneath my skin - I had no idea this could happen! First time it was too painful to eat while I was in hospital. Having the catheter and the canula out, not nice. They come along and jab a shot of something in your abdomen every day (to stop clotting, I think? - not sure).

I am sorry, I have written this in a bit of a scary way! I don't mean to tear in with the bad stuff. But I do wish I had known some of the negatives that were possible. The massive plus side is of course that both my children and I are alive and well! That would not be the case if I/they had not had the option of a CS birth.

This is just how it was for me and is naturally coloured my the sense of regret that I did not deliver my babies naturally, as it were. From what I know, a planned CS is far better, and I did know one other girl who had a CS around the time I had my first and when I said about the scar hurting she said 'Ooh yes, I got out of bed and thought, ooh, that hurts' like it was a bruised shin. And she opted for a planned CS for her second, no question.

I read what happened to a poster on here after her section. I think her name was Mosschops. That was enough to put me off ever having a section.

BamBam I'm sorry you had such a bad experience but that was just your experience. My experiences - I have had 3 CSs - was that I was out of hospital after 2-3 days each time, and Zi was back in the gym (taking it gently, but still, there) after 2-3 weeks each time. There are all sorts of factors that affect how you withstand a CS - luck being the main one, I suspect, but also things like general fitness, weight, the reason for the CS in the first place.......I also had no trouble with BFing - all 3 of my DCs were exclusively BF, not a drop of formula ever passed their lips.

I think it's important that people know there can be considerable downsides to successful CSs, even after avoiding all the medical risks of having abdominal surgery - but it's also important tha they know that just as often everything is just fine. I was very scared when I was told I had to have a CS with DD1. I wish I had known then what I know now - that it was fine (and way less traumatic than orthopaedic surgery I had had some years earlier). That would have saved me 3 weeks of, basically, terror.

herhonesty, sorry, but there are higher risks of respiratory distress in babies born by elcs. They have not been through any part of labour, and apart from the physical squeezing of the lungs that occurs during labour, there is also evidence that the hormones that are produced during labour, and are not during an elcs can have a detrimental effect on the baby. There is also the risk that despite elcs being scheduled as close to 39 weeks as possible, if there is a discrepancy in dates, or if you are just someone who has a tendency for a slightly longer gestation, then the baby could be more at risk to respiratory problems due to prematurity.