Planned Caesarian or natural delivery

[SunnyFlover]

Hi Ladies,
Can you please share what you know about the two options for delivering the baby...

• Natural birth ( with painkillers)
• Planned Caesarian

Not sure if it's possible under NHS to have a choose between two, but I live where the choice is available.

I am so confused on which is better.
Several of my friends have suffered from horrific natural deliveries and sweared to life that they would never ever do it naturally again and were Left traumatised by the experience. Two close friends planned natural birth, went through all the painful contractions, but had to still be rushed to operating theatres due to different complications that no one was aware pre-birth.

I read both, possible and negative on both option of delivery, but I would like to hear from those who have gone through it.

Currently I am leaning towards cesarian... No pain, no stress to baby and me it my partner, healing may take longer, but I would still be "in tact" down below....

I also have not delivered yet and done a research into both types(read couple of books) and talked to few doctors and a consultant and got to the conclusion that csection is my preference and it's the safest for me.

I had a planned c section, and it was a very good experience. However, the recovery was painful and took longer than I expected. By six weeks I still wasn’t back to my usual self (though this is a risk with vaginal birth too). Just something to be aware of.

With no prior complications, I would choose natural, having had both (though my c-section was not planned).

Whilst a planned section would be calmer, its still major surgery and not without risks. I couldn't pick my baby up for 24 hours, and needed help to do so for a good few days afterward. The wound site was very painful for much longer. It required injections daily for 10 days, and surgical stockings. I'll have the scar for life. Whereas my natural birth - yes, it hurt, and I had a 2nd degree tear. But I could get up and move within an hour or two, pick up my baby without assistance, and by day 3/4 the stinging had settled down and my vagina recovered perfectly fine!!

Of course you can't predict how a birth will go, and I was fortunate my natural birth was fairly straightforward. For the recovery and early contact with my baby, though, I'd prefer natural again given the choice.

I had a natural birth and am very much "still in tact". Yes some people have bad experiences, but the majority of women are fine before, during and after which is why women have multiple kids naturally. I can't imagine opting for major abdominal surgery that was unnecessary and came with a long recovery period when you're going to be home alone with a newborn.

Personally, I'd go for a natural one and just do more research into and raise any concerns with your midwife.

If you have no medical/health reason, why are you even considering major surgery? It is far from the easy option

Hi there
2 natural birth, both painful but I was very happy that after the baby is out I could walk and use the toilet in less than a hour. Next day I wad like new!
No 3 fingers crossed it will be natural too.
Have a good day and hopefully a short labour 👏🎊👶

A csection always sounds calmer and easier simply because it’s a controlled event. In reality it’s not always any better. I’ve met more women with bleeding issues, infections etc with c sections than vaginal births.. maybe that’s just who I know.

My own aunt serves as the biggest warning from a c section to me. Her wound wouldn’t close or heal, love nor money could fix it and she was left for the best part of a year with an open wound. Couldn’t work, couldn’t look after her child and could barely move while constantly worrying if it’d ever end. I know that’s an unlikely situation but it happened and seeing how unprepared, basically shrugging their shoulders, both private and nhs docs were was frankly worrying.

Ds was a natural birth with help, he wasn’t turned all the way round so I needed forceps, had stitches and quite a few of them at that. I was up n walking around shops the next day. Off of pain killers by week 2 and at that only took something stronger than paracetamol n ibuprofen for a few days. I’m still intact too they won’t leave you with a flap stuck to your leg.

I had a traumatic first birth and opted for an elective section with the second baby. However, I went into labour a week early at night time and the only surgical team was already doing an emergency when I arrived. I ended up with a vaginal delivery because I progressed so fast. This was a major hospital serving a large area. Both my babies have come fairly quickly. So you could opt for a planned section but be aware you may not ultimately get it.

Why do you think there is 'no pain' with a cesarean? Its major surgery! It will still be painful!

I have had both: a caesarean is not free from pain.

How old are OP? This paper is interesting - it looks at low risk women over 35 and concludes that while women are slightly more likely to haemorrhage after a planned c section, babies are at slightly higher risk of having to go to NICU or getting an infection with a planned vaginal birth.

bmcpregnancychildbirth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12884-016-1028-3

I have always been terrified of childbirth and never thought I would have a baby because of how scared I was.

But now that I'm pregnant and done a lot of research, I am praying for a natural birth and hope to avoid a C-section at all cost.

I can highly recommend this book if you would like to do some more research into your options (it discusses both natural births and caesarians and how to turn them into positive experiences):

The Positive Birth Book: A New Approach to Pregnancy, Birth and the Early Weeks www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1780664303/ref=cm_sw_r_em_apa_i_1DVqEb290EA5W?tag=mumsnetforu03-21

Something to bear in mind - people always seem very happy to discuss the horror stories and tell all about the pain of labour and things that go wrong. The rest of us don't really mention our natural, straightforward births - after a while they just don't seem worth concentrating on. So I don't think you're necessarily getting balanced feedback.

Good luck with whatever you choose

Natural delivery here with a tiny bit of gas and air (I didn't like it and my labour was too fast to have anything else). He was 9lb 2oz and twisted in my pelvis so he was facing my hip - I had to push for over an hour but had no intervention. Second degree tear stitched by the midwives afterwards. I was up and walking around as soon as we'd done skin to skin/he had fed. No catheter, blood clot injections or major surgery. Even with his size and presentation I would still choose a natural delivery 100x over

I am probably in the minority but I hate the phrase "natural birth". It's a vaginal birth. Perhaps people are squeamish about the word vagina?!

I had a vaginal birth and it didn't feel particularly natural, I was in a hospital, forced to lie on my back on a bed (which I didn't want), with a monitor attached to me, I had gas and air and an episiotomy, afterwards they stitched me up and put a catheter in. Not exactly an all-natural experience.

It's very rare that we give birth with no medical intervention whatsoever.

I just hope that no one thinks a c-section is a less valid choice because it's not as "natural" as a vaginal birth - of course it's a major operation but both options usually involve some kind of intervention.

(Sorry, I'll get off my soap box now!)

Thank you all so much ! After reading all of your inputs I am actually considering to be open to natural birth. However I am so weak for pain, it would make me less scared to have painkillers injection. But even injection cause spinal complications...

I am 32, healthy active lady and I can imagine it would be very difficult not to be fully mobile and look after the baby post operation if I choose C section. Many thanks for the links to the books!! 🙏🏼

Maine if you are very right by saying that horror stories are the ones that usually spoken about the loudest. I am sure that many many women out there deliver without major complications naturally.

Me too, @NameChange30. Even the Royal College of Midwives now uses ‘physiological birth’ for preference.

Currently I am leaning towards cesarian... No pain, no stress to baby and me it my partner, healing may take longer, but I would still be "in tact" down below....

A Caesarian is most definitely not pain free. The spinal alone was horrendous (7 attempts to site it plus multiple local injections) and its major abdominal surgery - they cut through many layers, it hurts! Different experience than a traumatic vaginal delivery but do not think it’s a pain free easy option.

I am terrified of labour so wanted a c section. Ended up needing an emergency. There are pros and cons to both obviously but neither is easy.

It depends if it's your first baby or not.

First baby, unless there's medical reasons not to, in my opinion you should always try for a vaginal birth. It leaves you with your options open for subsequent births. Your recovery tends to be much easier.

If you had an emergency c section for your first birth or a planned c section due to medical reasons, then I think it's entirely down to you whether you have a VBAC or elective section. You need to look at all the available materials and make an informed decision taking into account the risks, your mental health and what you feel more comfortable with.

I've had an emergency c section and I'm planning to have an elective section in a few months time. From that, you might assume that having a c section is a walk in the park, but it isn't and your assumption of what a c section entails is juvenile.

For me, it was agony for days after the procedure. It took me over 20 minutes to sit myself up and get out of bed without help. I couldn't hold my baby without someone reaching her to me. I couldn't walk to the toilet without being bent in two because it hurt so much. I had to inject myself in the stomach for over a week which as someone who is a bit iffy with needles, wasn't fun. I had a longer hospital stay (4 days, albeit for other reasons as well as the c section recovery) which meant 4 nights on the ward watching every other mum except me go home with their babies and I got no sleep each night. My scar healed 'fine' but as I'm pregnant again, it gets sore every other day as my tummy stretches and baby grows.

Why am I having another one if that one was so bad? The risk of scar rupture is higher because I didn't wait the reccomended amount of time before falling pregnant again (a few months short) and the experiences that led up to the EMCS were difficult for me. It's mostly to do with my mental health and hopefully avoiding PND this time round.

At the end of the day, a c section is a serious surgery, with risks, and recovery for most people is tough. It is not easy. It isn't pain free. You will be reliant on your partner much moreso than if you had a vaginal birth. You cannot drive for 6 weeks. You can't lift anything heavy while your scar heals. You'll struggle with getting about for a while. It is not the easier option.

I am absolutely terrified of giving birth, everything to do with it makes me panic. I am only 10 weeks so not even close to discussing this with my midwife yet but reading this thread has been informative.

I sometimes think there must be something wrong with me as anybody I know who has had a baby or is pregnant isn't even bothered about child birth!! For such a natural thing it seems so unnatural to me

I chose natural for both of mine, I had gas and air for both and everything was absolutely fine. My first labour was amazing ! Two family members have both had to have c sections around the same time I had both of my babies and they had horrific experiences.

I had an elective Csection for DD. I was adamant about it and very grateful that my doctor agreed no questions asked (this wasn’t in the UK).

I thought I’d never regret it, but actually I do and will probably try for a vbac with this one. I feel disappointed in myself that I wasn’t braver because now I’m not going to be able to opt for a home birth- the risk of uterine rupture is just too high.

I wanted to avoid pain and also thought it would leave me “in tact” and free from incontience. However, major abdominal surgery is really painful once the epidural wears off. It really hurts to move about and even twist normally in bed which makes breastfeeding uncomfortable (I still managed though and breastfed DD from minutes after she was born until 3 years). You still have to experience the afterpains when your uterus contracts back to its normal size. Also having the urinary catheter inserted and removed meant that it really hurt to pee for a while. I really think the doctor messed up my stomach when he sowed it back together- it’s lopsided somehow. I felt my bladder was slightly weaker after DD regardless of the Csection- probably just caused by the pregnancy.

So it’s really not an “easy” option. Recovering from a surgery like that would probably be okay if you could rest after but you’re going to have a newborn and so will be prevented from sleeping properly for months!

I had a planned section. Bloody brilliant!!

I sometimes think there must be something wrong with me as anybody I know who has had a baby or is pregnant isn't even bothered about child birth!! For such a natural thing it seems so unnatural to me

I feel the same, exacerbated by past abuse and some traumatic gynae procedures. I could not have coped with a vaginal delivery - I knew I was scared of it but when I got pregnant and found out it was twins my anxiety went through the roof. Tell your midwife so they can support you, mine were fantastic.

It's not as bad as what people make out
. Plus I enjoyed getting driven about for 6 weeks :) my twins were born at 10am on the Tues. By the Friday morning I could kneel down on the floor. Fri afternoon I was carrying their car seat about and was out visiting people. I didn't need help off the toilet at all.