Elective C-section

[LittleDoveLove]

Hello, this is my first child and for a few I reasons I am likely to go for an elective c section. I don't have anyone I can really ask on these things and I was just wondering has anyone else done this by choice and how was it? Have you regretted your decision/ had a bad experience? Or was it as calm as I have heard. How long did it take you to heal and do things? Thank you for your experiences in advance.

One EMCS after failed induction at 42 weeks, and an ELCS at 38 weeks for twins here. Both positive experiences with swift recovery. I was up walking around after a few hours after both. One 4 inch straight narrow scar, v low on the belly. No overhang at all now at 6mo. I would highly recommend!

I had an elective c section. It was calm and routine and DS and DH stayed with me the whole time. However several hours later nurses realised I was bleeding internally (so not coming out onto a pad), and had lost half my blood volume. An artery had been knicked during the operation. I didn't feel great but then thought I'd just had a baby so didn't know any different. I ended up in ICU in a coma and on a ventilator. The blood loss then caused me to have no milk.
The bleeding was just a risk of any surgery, but did mean I lost the first 2 days with DS and was unable to BF.
On the upside, my recovery from c section part was fine, minimal pain and I was up and around the same way/time many friends had been after natural births.

1 week post ELCS. The procedure itself was v calm and all went v well. I felt quite sick throughout but they look after you. It was all v professional.

Post delivery issues:
Mucus baby requiring time on neo natal
Blood loss for me
Nausea for me - requiring additional meds which have only just started having an effect.
Difficulty bf due to late milk and baby used to formula on nn. We are mix feeding now and things are a lot better.

I'm a FTM so I don't know how much of this is ELCS related or not. The procedure itself was the right choice for me.

I had an emergency section. I will have an elective this time.

Ask for strong pain relief in hospital. If you can't turn to pick up water, then you need more drugs.

The first week isn't fun but if you take all your paracetamol one time, it'll be easier. Just don't go shopping etc while you are still wobbly.

You may need help getting in/out of bed. I had to sit in a dining chair because the sofa was too low. So ask for help in the first few weeks.

Blood thinning jabs are nothing to be scared of. I've been on them since 17 weeks and do my own every morning. It doesn't hurt anywhere near as much as a blood test etc.

I had to do these infections after my first labour (vaginal) and it did feel grim at the time but I'd been through an ordeal. Looking back they really weren't that bad I was just fed up in general x

Horrendous experience!
If anyone has the choice, being no medical grounds, I always think go natural. It's the safest option.

Tips for the injections.. I had them for six weeks. Pinch an inch, a nice bit of flab is less painful to inject into. Further away from the belly button is less painful and try to do it the same time each day that way your prepared, the smaller your stomach the sorer it can be. I was so happy to get down to that last one!

This is great thank you, know a lot of people who have had very bad VBs . ELCS I think is probably the way for me. Historically I have recovered well after surgeries so fingers crossed this would be the same!

I have had 2 ELCS. My first was for breech. First time round I realised after the fact that I was in fact anaemic which was making me completely exhausted. I didn’t realise this wasn’t normal. Second time I was onto this before I had the baby and felt MUCH better. I was walking to the shops by day 3 and had mostly stopped taking painkillers by 10 days, started driving by 4 weeks - could have probably done it earlier if I’d had to.
It is painful at first no doubt about it. I have nothing to compare to vis a vis a vaginal delivery. My personal order of pref based on experiences of myself and many friends would be - straightforward vaginal delivery with no/low intervention, ELCS, Interventional vaginal deliver, crash EMCS. Obviously ELCS takes out the risk because you can’t control the type of vaginal delivery you have. There are some negatives - mucousy baby who may be a bit less “ready” to come out and slower to feed - both of mine had a few issues which I partially attribute to c section (nothing major), milk can be slower to come in, for some people serious damage to abdo muscles and belly overhang (I haven’t had this so by no means universal). If you are thinking of having 3+ children think carefully. Multiple sections carries more risk. Re the blood thinning injections - you may not need them if low risk. I didn’t have any. Depends on your hospitals policy. Good luck with your decision!

My local trust gives every woman a ten day dose but the midwife told me they used to only give a seven day. Anyway I stopped them after day five, the pain was too much. I don’t have any issue with needles whatsoever and actually have a fairly high pain threshold but they burn like hell and when you’re already in pain as it is it’s just not what you want. I literally wanted to kill DP every time he administered one .

What experiences have FTM's had with getting an elective csection agreed? I've had a particularly difficult pregnancy so far (HG/surgery for removal of an ovarian cyst and problems with circulation/low BP). I've an appointment with consultant in January, at the moment I'm leaning towards requesting a cs. Thanks in advance!

Hi @Priscilla83 my trust says as long as you are counselled twice you can choose/ they won't refuse you. I've had one session, second in Jan. I am finding it hard to get balanced views when hospitals have policy's to reduce c sections. NICE guidelines say you're supposed to be given pros and cons of both for your situation but so far I've only been given bad for c section not possible risks of VB - and I know there are some!

I had an EMCS, had been induced due to pre eclampsia but after 60 hours was only 7-8cm. I didn't want to have one as I was terrified of hospitals & just wanted to go home. I as still arguing that I didn't want one as they were wheeling me in to theatre, the actual section was ok considering I was scared stiff, I'd already had an epidural when I was in labour, my mum came in theatre with me & I wouldn't let her leave me alone for a moment. Between her & the anaesthetist they managed to calm me down, I started to feel a tiny bit of pain as they were stitching me up, I'd had a pph & lost a lot of blood, got HELLP syndrome & had to spend 48 hours in high dependency, I didn't want to bf but was pressured to try, DS took to ff really quickly once I had showed off & demanded a bottle for him, was very mucousy for a couple of days, would gulp his bottle down & then 10 minutes later throw most of it back with lots of mucous. Because I was so poorly they didn't get me out of bed or remove the catheter for 48 hours, once I could get out of bed I was ok, a bit scared of tearing my stitches but soon got over it. I was very bruised & was horrified the first time I saw my stomach afterwards, I was purple from top of my thighs to under my boobs. I was in for 4 days after my cs, once I was up & about I demanded to go home, they wanted me to stay in because of my bp but I insisted on going home because I felt that being stressed & frightened in hospital wasn't helping. Things I would do differently if I had to do it again, I would take a good supply of my own painkillers, you can ask for them but chances are you will have to wait ages for them to give them to you or if you are tired & want an early night the drug run won't be until 11.00pm. Take some comfortable loose shoes to come home in, I couldn't get my feet in mine as my ankles & feet were so swollen, take loose pjs to wear afterwards, I only had nightshirts & felt a bit exposed when I had to go out of my room even with a dressing gown on. Pack lots of snack food, they expected you to go to a room at the other end of the ward to get breakfast but impressed on us not to leave our babies alone in our rooms, take things like cereal bars or instant porridge that you can eat in your room. Eat as much fruit as you can, the first time poo is scary especially if you have had a lot of pain relief. Rest as much as you can, get your feet up on a couple of pillows to help get rid of the fluid, accept any offers of help you can get. Try to stand up straight as soon as you can, it will help you feel better & be less painful.