Psychiatric appointment made due to request for c-sec

[Luckyme30]

I have requested a c-sec via my midwife due to mental health issues and have received a phone call to make an appointment with the consultant Psychiatrist next week.

Has anyone had to speak to a mental health professional when you’ve requested a c-sec on mental health grounds?

I’m just very anxious about it and wondering what anyone else experiences were? Ie what sort of things will be discussed, was your request successful after speaking with them? What happens next.

Any help/advice would be so appreciated :) thank you

My second elective wasn’t on mental health grounds but they still made me see one!

It was a total waste of time for me. They just asked what I’d do if I went into labour before my planned date (um, obviously I’d call and come right in like I had done when I went into labour before my first planned section), and asked if I understood what the section was for (?). She said ok then, you can have a section and wrote to the consultant who booked me in. It was so odd.

Poinltess waste of everyone’s time really but it was a hoop I had to jump through as the hospital were pushing me toward a VBAC.

@Billyjoearmstrong thank you for the info - it does seem a little bit pointless to me - for the fact that I’ve consistently asked to be seen by the perinatal Mental health and they’ve always refused to see me as I’m ‘low risk’ so it’s a bit ironic to me that he’s happy to now see me...

I guess it’s a process I need to follow so I’ll just do what I’m told :)

Why wouldn't you be expecting to talk to a MH professional when you want it on MH grounds?

LOL @BeingonFBdoesntmakeittrue I’m not sure where you read that I wasn’t ‘expecting to see a MH professional’ I simply asked what to expect! Do you have anything productive to share with me about an experience you’ve had that relates to my post or are you just picking faults?!

As stated above I have practically begged for some intervention and help from the MH professionals and been refused it all the way through my pregnancy! So much so I am seeing a private counsellor every week.

@Luckyme30

I think some hospitals are just more stringent for signing off an elective section where there is no ‘medical’ need. They just need to jump through the hoops to make sure they are covered to sign it off.

Which I’m sure they will after you see them.

Just to say good luck.

I expect they will want to see you are able to express your thinking and your MH isn't stopping you from clarity in the decision making?

You said it seemed a bit pointless hence me thinking you weren't expecting it or thought it was unecessary.

Thanks all. I will soon find out as it’s next week!

It's probably just to make sure you understand the consequences so you can't sue afterwards. In my country if someone wants her breasts removed because she has the breast cancer gene and doesn't want to wait for cancer to develop, she still needs a signed letter from the hospital psychologist. I met him once and he said that if they understood the consequences (scar, removal of breast tissue, chance of infection) he always signed it.

Do you have other risk factors which would make an elective c-section higher risk than normal? At my hospital they made everyone who had a BMI over 30 speak to a MH professional prior to agreeing a c-section if they asked for one on MH grounds. A lot of my friends just spoke to a MH MW though as we’re lucky to have one - their focus seemed to be postnatal / antenatal depression and anxiety though from what my friends said. They also wanted to ensure MH medications were topped up and follow ups arranged so don’t worry.

I had to do this to get my elective C. It made me furious. The psychiatrist was well pissed off at the waste of her time too, signed off immediately and told off the consultant midwife who referred me.