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Talk about every stage of pregnancy, from early symptoms to preparing for birth.

Original poster

why DON'T people want caesarians?

197 replies

HPonEverything · 14/09/2011 21:19

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.

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mosschops30 · 15/09/2011 12:42

hazey i know what you mean. Plenty of arse covering went on at my hospital and de brief. It wasnt until i went private that i got some honesty. What a shame you have to pay people to be honest!
I found the PTSD trauma focussed therapy very good, and medication worked very well fir me, i had weaned off them but am seeing my doctor about going back on them next week because the panic attacks and flashbacks are returning Sad. Counselling was a bit wishy washy for me, and the de brief offered by the hospital was useless.
Im so sorry about what happened with your birth and your ds problems. Its so hard when there are no concrete answers.

LiegeAndLief · 15/09/2011 12:43

Personally, I never wanted another cs after ds ended up on a ventilator in NICU. He was a bit prem, but the cs probably contributed to his terrible lungs which are uncommon in a baby of his gestation. I also struggled with recovery. Dd was a VBAC, which was great.

But as this thread shows horror stories abound for both types of birth, as do good experiences. I would imagine most people are swayed less by statistics and more by their own experience, or those of their friends and family.

Anchorwoman · 15/09/2011 14:08

Some of the reasons people have given here why they don't wish to have a CS can also happen in a VB, so are not specific or exclusive to having this operation

I had VB with

  • allergic reaction to spinal block
  • large incision followed by infection, burst stitches and problem scar tissue
  • Sickening pain for months afterwards, unable to walk, lie or sit. Had to live downstairs. Couldn't pick up or carry DS properly for weeks.
  • bowel/bladder problems
  • major problems breast feeding (milk didn't arrive until day 5, no comfortable feeding position)
  • major problems bonding with DS due to exhaustion, pain and sickness
  • repair operation at 4 months afterwards (general needed for this, which I haven't ever had before and would never have needed if I hadn't had VB)
  • slow recovery and ptsd
  • endless time in and out of hospital, increasing risk of further infection

I know which option I will be going for next time.

Moominsarescary · 15/09/2011 16:11

I had a bad vb with ds1

He was 11 lb 2 oz and caused a 3 rd degree tear which took 45 mins to sew up. I needed forcepts and lost over 4 pints of blood so needed a transfusion so struggled to pick him up when they left me on my own with him. My blood pressure dropped dangerously low and I was tachycardic.

I left hospital 5 days later but didn't know that they had left a stitch in. It got infected and was agony when they took it out 12 weeks later as skin had grown around it. Also they way it was stitched left a flap of skin that they wanted to burn off. For two weeks I could only wee in the bath on all fours and had to have supposatorys for my bowls. My womb began to prolapse and it took getting on for a year till everything was ok down there.

I still prefered it to my c section allthough I recovered from that a lot quicker

goodnightmoon · 15/09/2011 16:20

i'm contemplating what i will have this time around after a traumatic vaginal birth last time (forceps and scarring for me that required surgery later). Of course the consultant will likely decide since I don't seem to be able to take a strong enough view either way to kick up a major fuss.
I'm curious though why CS would affect the bowels? Mine haven't been quite the same since VB but I don't see why CS would affect them?

CoteDAzur · 15/09/2011 16:30

LOL @ "macrocosmic baby"

Do you mean macrosomic?

exoticfruits · 15/09/2011 19:08

When DS2 was breach I was terrified of having a CS. I was so pleased he turned at the last minute.

Africagirl1 · 15/09/2011 19:21

I was hoping for natural but baby was breech so had a c-section. I know LOTS of female docs and they have all had elective c-sections... nuff said. When things go well with natural, they go great, but equally they can be complicated. Saw my doc today and opposite me was a woman in for her 6-week check-up post birth. Every time she moved in her chair she winced - nasty nasty tear....

Africagirl1 · 15/09/2011 19:22

PS I am also really glad I won't wet my pants every time I cough in my 60s....

SoupDragon · 15/09/2011 19:34

Pregnancy puts a strain on the pelvic floor so you may not be so smug if you've not been doing exercises.

CoteDAzur · 15/09/2011 20:44

Here in France, everybody is sent to pelvic floor physio after birth (VB or CS) and having had one each, I can safely say that my physio after the CS was a breeze compared to the one after VB. In fact, when I started the physio, nurse said "We will just see if you need physio. Probably not, as you have had CS".

It is a self-comforting feel-good myth that it isn't the vaginal birth but the pregnancy that weakens pelvic floor muscles.

SouthernFriedTofu · 15/09/2011 21:24

WHy the hell would I want to have surgery? WHen you can just push a baby out like we were pretty much designed to do?

csecs can be life savign for some people but they aren't the easy way out

SouthernFriedTofu · 15/09/2011 21:26

Africagirl1

yeah cause we all sit around pissing ourselves? Hmm

Moominsarescary · 15/09/2011 21:46

What an odd thing to say, I've worked with people 60 and over in nursing homes who haven't had children but are incontinent

yellowsubmarine41 · 15/09/2011 22:43

"There is an increased risk of stillbirth in subsequent pregnancies."

Could one of the posters who have said this point me in the direction of evidence, because in my extensive reading about stillbirth I've never come across this before.

Moominsarescary · 15/09/2011 22:51

The only thing I can find is bleeding during labour can cause stillbirth, so I suppose the higher risk of uterine rupture during subsequent labours would be the reason?

SoupDragon · 15/09/2011 22:57

Yes, Cote, because no one has pelvic floor issues whilst pregnant do they? They couldn't, what with weakness only being due to a vaginal birth. Hmm

Why would they send anyone for physio after a CS given the pregnancy would have had no effect? What a silly waste of money, for they do it just for fun?

Probably best contact all those websites that state pregnancy and childbirth put a strain on the pelvic floor and tell them it's just a self-comforting feel-good myth.

piprabbit · 15/09/2011 23:26

BTW - did you know that men have pelvic floors too? and need to keep them nicely toned to help with continence and impotence issues?

So VB not a factor there Grin.

Kaekae · 16/09/2011 00:08

I had an emergency csection, failed ventouse forceps the lot and hadn't researched into csections at all beforehand. I had missed the brief session covering it at my NCT class!

I had an awful experience and the recovery for me was horrendous. It did interfer with BF, basically my milk didn't come through for over two weeks, I was told it was because my body hadn't worked out the fact that I'd given birth due to having a caesarean. I was so down after having my son, but that was all to do with the fact mine was an emergency section and this was my first baby so didn't know what was going on. I couldn't hold him or feed him I felt like a total mess. Anyway, then I discovered my son had a tongue tie so couldn't BF him anyway. I then went on to have a VBAC with my second baby, I was certain I wanted to avoid another csection. I must say though, my scar is fantastic, four years on and I can hardly notice it at all.

debivamp · 16/09/2011 00:27

I had an emergency C-section and it was horendous - I suffered from uncontrollable haemorrhage and lost over 2 litres of blood - truely horrendous for DH who had to witness the whole thing (weighting the blood loss). they also allowed him to stay in the bed next to me that night. We thought that was really nice of them, however, it turned out (was told later) that they expected me to die and they wanted him to be with me when I died. I woke the next morning to have a bag of blood attached to my right hand, both feet and one in the groin.

OrangeGloss · 16/09/2011 04:31

I had an emergency CS under general, which caused my milk to come in late and (hopefully) just a temporary set back with feeding/weight gain. DS was very sleepy from the anesthetic so I struggled to keep him awake to feed, and also mucusy which is common for CS apparently meaning he was mildly sick a few times to start

I wasn't able to sit up to change him or pick him up, but the staff were wonderful and ensured skin to skin/1st feed straight away and I fudnt have a bonding issue

However, I've heard equally problematic, if not worse, vaginal birth stories so it's difficult to make a judgement. One thing I would point out is that if I wanted a 2nd dc, I wouldn't be allowed to go to my local MW-led unit as a previous CS makes me above low risk apparently

hazeyjane · 16/09/2011 06:27

Pelvic floor issues can be exacerbated by a difficult vb, but can be the result of all sorts of things, pregnancy being one of them. Having seen a physio pre ds and post cs, she noted a definite decline in my pelvic floor function post cs.

hazeyjane · 16/09/2011 06:32

Debivamp, your birth sounds very frightening.

Does anyone know what the allowable amount of blood loss is, before they consider a transfusion? I lost just under 2 litres - is that normal?

OrangeGloss · 16/09/2011 08:47

Hazeyjane I lost over 1 litre but they were more concerned about my iron levels afterwards. Mine were 8.4 which made me a transfusion candidate but not sure what the threshold is. As I wasn't fainting they gave me iron tablets and told me to rest

thetasigmamum · 16/09/2011 09:29

OrangeGloss When I had DD2, my iron levels were well below 7. This was picked up at the pre CS booking in, where, among other things, they take your blood. My CS was booked for the Monday, so I had the pre procedures on the Friday morning, went off to the gym, swam 50 lengths, felt fine, went home....phone call. Come in for a transfusion NOW I wasn't happy, because I have congenital anaemia anyway and, as I said, I felt fine, but DH persuaded me to go in, and I spent the rest of Friday and all Friday night/Saturday morning have transfusions. Then I went swimming again after DH and the DCs picked me up on the Saturday. :) Thing is - if I'd been having a VB, that extreme anaemia wouldn't have been picked up, because I felt fine. And thatcouldd have had very dodgy consequences.