Elective Caesarean - Advice

[Discomonkfish]

Hi all, I had an emergency c-section with my first baby and was told by a friend that you can ask for an elective c-section if you want one. Just out of interest I asked a midwife at The Baby Show if this was possible and she said no, they would persuade you to try for a normal birth. Back home in Leeds the Doctor who saw me at the hospital following my scan asked me what I wanted and I said I'd prefer the elective. Not sure I'm doing the right thing but has anyone else chosen to have an elective? Sounds selfish but it means I can plan my time off work, organise my parents to come up and look after dd while I spend time with the new baby and generally take the easy way out! Although yes I understand this is an operation at the end of the day so recovery will be longer / risks associated etc. The fact that they offered it to me though just makes it too easy I think. Plus it must cost the NHS extra. Shouldn't all hospitals encourage you to have a normal birth first and have any of you opted for an elective. btw there's no reason medically why I should have an elective.

DiscoMonkfish, like you I had pretty rubbish care after the CS on the maternity ward, although not as bad as you! emptying catheter although it was mainly some isolated incidents on nightshifts, but serious stuff, like one midwife propping DS on side, as he was coughing up liquid from lungs, then another one coming and saying how my baby could die wrapped like that, why had I done it... (a sensible mw explained that no baby will choke on fluids, they naturally turn their heads so it will flow out, so no-one worry about this - wish I'd bloody known that before...) I couldn't put it behind me so I did write to the consultant midwife and complain as clearly and factually as I could, and eventually, got a satisfactory letter back. So do write, it is good to get it off your chest, and also in the hope of improvement in care for the other poor souls who will follow you there - I really felt for the women on the ward who couldn't speak English (I live in Hackney) and were having to put up with what was a fair amount of incompetence and bullying from some incompetent staff, in a hospital where the treatment otherwise I have received (like you, the cs itself, and then care following a mc earlier this year) has been really outstanding.

Like you I am probably more keen to have an elective CS, rather than VBAC, but mainly because of the risks of uterine rupture and the birth not working out and ending up with an emergency c-section after long labour. I do have residual feelings of guilt about this, and did so about my entirely medically necessary elective CS for DS, and resent that some of those supporting natural birth make women feel this way. DS and I would have been dead if it wasn't for the elective CS - Sheila Kitzenger says sometimes its necessary in her book, and so did my NCT teacher, who was supportive also, so I don't see why everyone can't be as open-minded about other people's situations and choices.

Actually, I'm sorry for the little flip out earlier, but I don't think you can delete. I think it wasn't the right place for it. It's just I'm very close to having a c-section, I've read so many women being guilty or unfulfilled about having c-sections, and have experienced first hand actual pressure from friends encouraging those anxieties, and seen links posted here with scary statistics. We're just all having babies and hoping they'll be safe.

Macneil I agree with you - I had an emergency c s with my daughter and am going to have an elective cs with my next baby in March. I had a horrible experience the first time when the inductions didn't work and baby was distressed and the recovery from the cs didn't take long at all, so fingers crossed it will be like that again. I think all women should be allowed to do what they want as long as there is no danger to the baby. I didn't go to ante natal classes or breastfeed either and was made to feel guilty about that the last time round too by midwives and health visitors.

MacNeil, don't feel you have to apologise, it was the place. I read that Times article with a bit of horror, and then was going to look into it further (would I take more note of a journalist's spin on an academic article, or a doctor's/midwife's advice.. it's a no-brainer).

None of it matters if we end up with healthy babies, and in good mental and physical health ourselves. One good friend got PND after very long labour and finally, emergency section, and one of the main issues on her mind was that she felt she had failed because she hadn't delivered vaginally. It really bothers me that sensible and intelligent women are made to feel this way, and I really think we should all think carefully about how such negative attitudes are fostered and developed. There's a similar issue with discussions on childcare. If we care about children and parents, there needs to be a more level-headed debate, and I think the media lets us down enormously on these issues.