First Time Mum To Be - C-Sec or Natural?

[Firsttimetobe2019]

Hello,

I’m still early days but i’m absolutely petrified about labour and what option to take!
I have a little while yet i’m 16+3 but I want as much information as possible! After being in a labour ward the other day following a scare, the amount of noise and pain these women sound like they’re in is petrifying! Also, a lot of family labour stories too have never been easy and have been very long winded... i’m OK with pain but have been put at high risk for pre-eclampsia.
Just after some advice and opinions really ladies, i’m only 19 - due in March but my anxiety’s in overdrive about it!

If you're high risk for pre-eclampsia you may end up with a c section...

I was induced as my waters had broken and contractions started but no progress was being made. About 24 hours later I was wheeled in for emergency c section.

I'd planned for a water birth in the birth centre so couldn't have ended up more different. I think you should have a chat with your midwife about the options and be honest about your fears... I was petrified of labour but a c section is not an easy answer, it is major surgery and the recovery period is much longer. But in the end it's about what feels right for you weighing up all the pros and cons.

I will say though, I do not have a high pain threshold and got through 24 hours of labour before a c section, it's something our bodies were made to do and you'll get through it just fine.

As PP said a csection is not without pain. I was induced and coped fine with the pain until it was realised DD was distressed so had an emergency c section.

A relatively straightforward ‘natural’ delivery will be healed much quicker than a csection. Admittedly my csection wasn’t straightforward but I am still having related problems 4 months on.

I was in labour for 37 hours with dc1. Most of it at home but with a couple of trips to triage to check progress. Last 16 hours we’re at hospital. It was a fairly straightforward birth, I had gas and air and an episiotomy. It was pretty painful but I managed. Now to the point-the worst part by far was hearing/seeing other students in labour, particularly when I was early on. The pain and primal noises looked unbearable. But when it was me it was bearable and I did it. Each birth is different but try to put what you’ve seen out of your mind.

Students?? Women.

I took 5 months to recover post c section. That was just the physical scar healing. I took about a year tk feel normal again. C sections are not an easy ride. It is major surgery.

I'd aim to go natural.

Not sure how helpful this is, but I was in a similar position to you and a friend told me this: there is no easy way of getting this child out of you. But you will. And by the end you'll be so desperate to meet him or her that you'll be glad it's happening.

I agree that if you're at high risk for pre-eclampsia, you'll probably end up with a CS. It's major surgery, but you'll only do it a couple of times in your life at most. The doctors have done it hundreds of times.

Talk through your fears with your midwife, you are not the first woman to feel the way you do and she'll be able to put your mind at ease a little!

May I suggest you look into hypnobirthing.. xx

@Thetimehascometo if you don't mind me asking what issues did you have/ are you still having? I am likely to have elective/planned c section due to other factors.

I had a 2 year recovery from a natural birth, so I wouldn't say recovery is necessarily quicker. It was hell (recovery more than the birth but that was also traumatic). I'm having a c section this time.

Go Natural completely

I disagree that high risk of pre eclampsia means you'll "probably" end up with a section. Plenty of women have a natural term delivery with PE as you tend to labour fast. Being at risk of something doesn't always mean it will happen, especially with something like pre eclampsia where there are so many risk factors. I've actually had pre eclampsia twice and delivered naturally both times - once with quite severe PE at 34 weeks.

Talk to your midwife. And consultant, as presumably you'll be seeing one if there are complications. Childbirth is a scary prospect but in most cases a vaginal delivery is possible and most women recover well from it. I'd be wary about basing your decision on anyone's stories or online recommendations.

Childbirth is a scary prospect but in most cases a vaginal delivery is possible and most women recover well from it.

^this. I'd also look into hypnobirthing to help you stay calm and cope with whatever happens. CS is not the easy option and all other things being equal, a vaginal delivery has advantages for the baby.

Both of my vaginal deliveries have been very positive experiences and I have been back on my feet straightaway. Incidentally I was high risk for preeclampsia in my first pregnancy. I never developed it and had a textbook natural delivery in the MLU at 40+1.

I've done both and I would recommend a c-section every time

I've also done both, and would choose natural any day.

I could actually walk about straight after!

See what your midwife and doctors say, I was terrified too op,,but once it starts you just do it.

Best of luck with your pregnancy and birth

My vaginal delivery ended up in an episioptomy and forceps and recovery was very very slow. A planned section may have been better to recover from. I will be refusing forceps next time.

@littledovelove I was just pretty unfortunate. I lost enough blood to need a transfusion, but have still landed being severely anaemic since. My wound also got infected and has lead to several rounds of antibiotics (not exactly what you need with a preemie) so hasn't healed the best.

Don't let this put you off, I'm pretty sure I was just unlucky, most importantly DD was delivered safely ❤️

I had a c section with my first as she was breech and a VBAC with second. I developed pre eclampsia with the VBAC.. opted for a c section as they were worried about her size. However, pre eclampsia meant labour went really fast so I was 7 cm dilated after 2 hrs so decided to push on. Labour less than 4 hours in total... really pleased I did it. Managed on gas and air which is a wonderful invention!! I was so worried beforehand whether I could do the pain thing but you know what, it is agony but you cope cos it's about getting baby here safely. like with so many things about being a Mum, you don't give two hoots about yourself, just about getting little one out. And midwives are bloody amazing people who coach you and encourage you and make you believe you can do it.

Having had both, I would definitely do a vaginal birth over c section, even tho I had the pre eclampsia and had to have two drips and wasn't allowed water etc. X

The problem with threads like this is that they tend to confuse you even more because each person's answer is perfectly justified!! I'm also a FTM (27 weeks) so I have no previous birth experience to go on, but these are my reasons for getting a c-section. I also have a higher risk for PE and various other things so ELCS was offered as an option. It helps a lot to understand your personality and dig down exactly "why" you're scared of labour (which every single first-time pregnant woman probably is).

I've always had a high need for control, and I realised what bothers me most is the thought of something going wrong during labour, which will no doubt trigger panic attacks and a feeling of total helplessness/unpreparedness. Out of all the birth options, elective c-section has the lowest chance of unexpected complications. Even though it's major surgery, KNOWING that I will be getting it gives me more time to research and prepare beforehand which in turn helps a lot with anxiety. I'm already ordering things online, visualising recovery and rehearsing things I want to say regarding pain relief etc.

I think other women feel much better having their bodies "take over naturally" during labour, and hate the idea of medical equipment, guts and surgery that go with c-sections. Neither option is about avoiding pain or discomfort...but I think the right one for you is the one where you feel most in control. A planned c-section reassures me more since I know I'm in the care of calm medical professionals, rather than panicking through pain and trying to second guess contraction intervals at home. (Again, many women probably prefer the idea of starting labour naturally at home, rather than prepping for surgery but that's not me :P).

And lastly, this article was quite enlightening in that more female OBs choose elective c-sections than the general population: www.theguardian.com/society/2008/jul/11/nhs.health1

The thing about that though, Pomfluff, is that female obstetricians literally never see normal birth, because by definition they aren't needed at it. So they don't see that most births are indeed normal and don't involve them. Studies have shown that doctors aren't any more rational than the general population and are disproportionately affected by personal experience the same as the rest of us.

It's SUCH a personal thing. I wasn't scared of labour particularly and had a pleasant enough vaginal birth (induction) and the thought of major abdominal surgery is utterly terrifying to me. Every woman's experience will be relative and personal to her.

A vaginal birth doesn't have to mean dreadful pain and suffering. You can make it clear in your birth plan thy you want access to an epidural, etc. maybe do some research into the different pain relief options (along with research into CS) now so you can make an informed decision, rather than making it purely based on fear of the unknown.

The noises you heard aren't necessarily pain. I made noise but the noise was due to the effort my body was putting in to deliver my babies. Like the grunting of weightlifters. I have had two babies at home without pain relief, I was planning the next baby within hours of having each one! Dc2 was delivered by DH as I didn't think the contractions were intense enough, and by the time I realised and had him call the midwife it was far too late.

If you are scared, perhaps an epidural would be a good plan? You would need similar for a c section but an epidural would give you a chance to avoid surgery.

Could your midwife refer you to a counsellor, you need someone to talk through your fears. Nobody deserves a pregnancy blighted by fear of labour.

It is major surgery.

I'd aim to go natural.

Absolutely agree with this. I've had 3 natural births and 1 emergency c-sec. Despite the natural births being quite bad, I was up on my feet in no time. With the c-sec I didn't recover for months and months and months.

@CountessVonBoobs
CS is not the easy option and all other things being equal, a vaginal delivery has advantages for the baby.
Vaginal delivery may have some advantages for the baby but a C-section can also lower certain risks for the baby too.

OP, I would advise you to do research and look into the statistics around both methods of delivery. Natural deliveries are pushed massively by the NHS and there is a lot of bias on this subject so make sure you look at objective sources of information. Lots of people will tell you that vaginal birth is definitively safer than c sections (untrue!) or massively more expensive for the NHS (also untrue in long term) so make sure that you look into everything yourself and take anything that people tell you (even medical professionals) with a pinch of salt.

PS I had 2 csections and recovered more quickly than many of my friends who opted for vaginal births. It does seem to come down to luck of the draw and it's almost impossible to predict if you will sail through a C-section/vaginal birth or if you will be one of the unlucky ones that struggle to recover.

I would say - leave your options open, until the end of the pregnancy you don't really know what will happen. You might plan a natural birth then for some reason need a c-section.
Your preferred birth will be based on your personal choice, do some research and find out about all the options. Unfortunately there's no easy, 100% pain-free, 100% risk-free way of getting a baby out.
You're young - planning who would be with you and how they can support you might help you feel less afraid of birth?
But the main thing is to just look after yourself now and focus on staying healthy.