Failed ECV - positive C-Section stories please

[AKP79]

Would really like to hear some positive elective C-Section stories as well as some tips and advice on how to make the experience as personal and special as a vaginal birth.

Baby has been either transverse or breech for whole pregnancy and despite doing everything on the spinning babies website, yoga and aqua for months and moxibustion and homeopathy more recently at 37+3 baby is still breech. Had an ECV yesterday, which wasn't pleasant and worse still was unsuccessful. Consultant has offered to try again tomorrow, so I'm giving it another shot then as well.

However, realistically I need to start preparing myself for a C-Section. I am not remotely scared of the operation, having had lots of operations. My worry is that I have always looked forward to having a vaginal birth and was really excited about it. I have a huge mental obstacle to overcome as I don't like the thought of a surgeon deciding the date and time of my baby's birth and then after 9 months carrying it having it removed from my tummy, I deperately wanted to go through the stages of labour or at least start labour naturally when the baby and my body's ready. I'm worried I'm going to find it harder to bond and breast feed. I wanted the opportunity to delay the clamping of the cord, wanted the baby to be passed straight to me for skin to skin and wanted it to be a personal experience between me and my OH - I was well aware these were all ideal scenarios and even with a vaginal birth they may not be possible, but I now feel that all options and choices have been taken away. I've been crying constantly for the last 24 hours about it all and need to start mentally preparing myself for the reality.

So please ladies I'd love to hear your positive stories to help me with this as well as any tips you may have to help make everything less clinical.

By the way, as it's my first the consultant is strongly against me trying a breech vaginal delivery.

I had a semi planned emcs in April after my induction failed totally. not one contraction! I had at least 12 hours to prepare myself. they asked if I would like any music and took away my ipod and played my birth playlist during the surgery. I suspect the surgeon had a quick listen first to make sure it wasn't slipknot or the like! My anethsitist came to Dee me and went through what would happen clearly and put me at ease. I trusted her completely. it was the day after the royal wedding so we all had a chat about that un theatre waiting for my spinal to kick in. it was all very relaxing. like you say I didn't get to do skin yo skin right awAy but dh did. and I got him latch on foe his first feed within 30 minutes.

Ask your consultant what you can do to make it a more personal experience. you may gr surprised as yo what they let you do.

Oh and if you dh is on the larger side make sure the have ssc rubs big enough for him! Dh looked like he was weAring a crop top and skin tight trousers. any tighter and we may not be having any more!

I thought I was going to feel a failure for having a cs but it is a tiny part of motherhood. you carry them fir 9 months and then have a lifetime to care for them. please don't worry about a cs so many of is have had them and cs say it was a positive experience.

Congratulations!

Please excuse the typos I am on my phone!!

No tips, but I can say this much - my ELCS was one of the best experiences of my life.

My VB was hands down the worst.

Best of luck.

Re: breech vaginal deliveries for first babies - there are MNers here who have done this. I think, if you can afford to hire an experienced private midwife to assist you it can be possible. THere is/was a poster here who was really knowledgable on this, think her name was Tangle so worth searching the archives. Also google Mary Cronk if interested.

My DD was breech the whole way through pregnancy, and I tried all the things to get her to turn, but it didn't work. I was like you too, had done all the classes before and had an idea what I wanted, but in the end we went for an ELCS after the advice from the Dr.

It did feel weird picking her birthday! However the actual CS was fine, I healed very quickly and was so wrapped up in her that I hardly remember much about it to be honest. Only thing I would say is that I had trouble bf'ing for about 6 weeks but that was because I didn't get her latched on till about 90mins after the birth. So I would say you have to get the baby latched on as soon as poss. Did go on to BF her for a year so all was good.

Went on to have a VBAC which tbh was horrendous, forceps and 3rd degree tears...but thats another story....

Would pick an ELCS anyday!!

Thanks ladies for your stories, I really need to hear the positives as I keep focusing on the negatives at the moment - so keep them coming! Have got a midwife appointment in half an hour so hoping to talk it all through with her.

Fire - I am interested in breech delivery, but my consultant put the fear of God in me yesterday with all the negatives it can have on a baby, will look into your suggestions though...

Have had 2 elcs due to breech and transverse babies and booked in for no 3 in April. No probs bf at all and skin to skin once out out of theatre. I wore a gown on back to front to make it easier. I didn't feel safe to do in theatre, but they were near my head with dh so wasn't a prob for me. Could have chosen music but didn't want to. Chatted to dh and blocked everything else out.

It was odd waiting to be called down , but once we has started was absolutely fine.

Don't feel robbed of natural delivery, have plenty of friends who have had difficult labours and births. Odd not knowing what a contraction feels like though!

I was advised not to try with breech delivery with my first too. I guess if you could find someone experienced in breech deliveries it would be worth getting in touch with them.

Good luck.

I don't feel robbed that is, not trying to tell you how to feel

Hi I havent had a cs myself, but just yo let you know with my first, I gad a straightforward delivery znd skin to skin etc, byt still had problems bfeeding as she was a poor latcher. I aldo know lits of people who b/f without problems with s c/s. Dong beat yourself up about it, just imagibe there are adoptive mithers who manage to breastfeed!

Best of luck!

I had a elcs for breech three yrs ago. I found it to be a lovely and special experience. We went to bed knowing we would have a baby the next day and it felt like the sort of Christmas Eve feeling I had when I was little and believed in santa! We had to get up early and there was this big beautiful moon hanging over the trees. I know this sounds sentimental but I think I'm saying that just because it's planned, it doesn't mean it has to be clinical it's still the birth of your first child and will be amazing. We had our music playing during the operation and DP was there and sharing it all. I had a young female surgeon who has left me with a virtually invisible scar.

I had skin to skin within minutes of his arrival (they weighed and checked him first) and bf shortly afterwards in the recovery ward. BF was a slow start, but I stuck with it and exclusively bf for 6 months and kept going until he was 22 months - I'll never know if the slow start was due to the cs or not.

My only problem with it was that it was such a positive experience that I'm finding it very hard to be tempted by a VBAC this time (though suspect this one might be breech too)!

And you can talk to your consultant about when the baby is born; try and push for as close to your due date as possible (this seems to be a good idea for breastfeeding and general 'readiness' of the baby to be born afaik) and this way you are having some say it when it happens! Good luck.

Hello AKP79 also had a breech, footling it turned out so know that fear of god talk they're giving you. I had half an hour to come to terms with CS as went into early labour and wasn't given any choice so at least at this point you can explore other options. If you have the means to look into a private midwife and feel its very important that you give VB a go then do so while you have time.

I got skin to skin straight away in the theatre and am eternally grateful for that, had no issues with BF. Hope it goes well x

Just switch to being excited about meeting your baby, if you can. I bonded with my ds the instant I heard him cry, and I bf happily for 2 years. I know it's not what you've been hoping for, but it really will still be wonderful.

Just switch to being excited about meeting your baby, if you can. I bonded with my ds the instant I heard him cry, and I bf happily for 2 years. I know it's not what you've been hoping for, but it really will still be wonderful.

My DD was breech, so I had a planned C Section. It was amazing, so quick and totally painless. She was teeny tiny (5lbs 5) so she was taken away for about 3 minutes to get weighed & warmed up. I breast feed, although I did struggle at first, but I think that it is fairly normal for any new mother to struggle at the beginning.
It was a totally positive experience.

Hi everyone, thanks so much for all the positive stories, it has really helped and made me feel a lot happier about everything.

I went in this morning for a second ECV, which failed again. The consultant tried really hard, but said there was no way it was going to budge. We spent a long time discussing next steps with a supervising midwife and the consultant. They both said that the baby was in a perfect position for a breech delivery and they would be happy to support me in that choice, but that they wouldn't want me to go over 41 weeks. So the upshot is I am now booked in for a section at 41 weeks, but should I go into natural labour before then they will aim to deliver baby naturally, but I'm to keep in mind that I will be monitored throughout and will be taken straight through for a section if there is the slightest concern.

I feel like I've been given the best of both worlds as I was even told that if I do start to go into labour and I decide it's the wrong decision, I can ask for a C-Section and forego trying to do it naturally.

The team at the hospital have been amazing and so supportive. I was warned by my midwife yesterday that I may feel a bit bullied by the consultant because they generally push for a C-Section, but I struck gold with the guy I had today.

So, now I'm going to write two birth plans, one for my C-Section using everyone's feedback above, and one for my natural delivery.

Thanks again everyone for all your feedback! xx

Hiya akp79 My baby was breech at 38 weeks, i went for the ecv option but seeing as though he was fully grown and not much fluid. We all knew it would really work. They did try but it failed. I had then opted for a c-section, which was planned for 40+11 as they were full! I guess lots of people had busy valentine weekends this year! I was also told i prob wouldnt go into labour as he couldn't push down properly! Little monkey was firank breech with his head wedged under my ribs! At the beginning of the pregnancy i had my heart set on an attempt for a water birth knowing that you cant plan births! Never even thought about a c-section for any reason. I went into labour 5 days after my failed ecv, if you do get any pains that resemble labour, don't hang around. Make sure you contact the labour ward in case you are in labour as they don't like you wait to long at home. My c-section went well and i didn't have time to stop and think it wasn't what i wanted as my opinion was what ever needed to be done had to be done! He was handed to me more or less straight away in a towel and then i bf as soon as we left theatre (may of been a good hour after) and still bf well now. They had so many nice staff in theatre and they played music, can only remember snow patrol as they were doing meds etc. I had a really good experience! You go with what ever you feel you want to do, try not to worry too much. Good luck with it all

I had an emergency cs with my first (preceded by 40 hours of labor) and a VBAC with my second. If I had it to do all over again, I would have had an elective CS with both. The amazing part of having a baby is the baby, not the pain and ripping apart of your body getting there. It took a few weeks to recover from my emergency cs scars; it took years to recover from my ripped apart vagina from the VBAC. I had no problem bfing both my children. Ds (the cs baby) was handed immediately to me after birth and then dh got to hold him while they stitched me up. For dd (the vbac) i had a post-partum hemorrhage and it was ages before I got to hold my baby. Please just look forward to having a healthy child and enjoying being a mother, no matter how you get there.