C section request? Can anyone help??

[Bittersweet12]

Hi.
My first birth was very traumatic with my 1st child. I was in labour at home for days but the hospital put it down to a water infection without even seeing me to confirm this.
Days later I pushed to be seen drove myself to the hospital and it's lucky I did as I was 9cm when I got there. Following this my baby was 5 weeks early, I had to have a episiotomy, baby's heart rate was dropping they almost have to get forceps involved I was torn here there and everywhere it was just an overall awful experience to the point I even made a complaint to the hospital after due to how I was treated with the water infection situation.
I have recently found out I am pregnant again and by no means do I think a c section is an easier option, I just feel for me the pain of the recovery of a section would be better for me than to go through all that again, mentally and physically but I'm not sure how I stand on requesting one?
Does anyone know or has anyone done this?
Thanks

Just to say birth reflections mentioned above are really good. They can review your notes and talk you through what happened and to the extent they can why. They can also help you understand your options and should be able to support your request for a CS. My 3rd was elective CS. It was a breeze. Recovery was good but I did what I was told and took it very very very easy for 6 full weeks. I was bored but it made recovery after that far swifter. Good luck OP. I hope you have a good pregnancy and are granted your CS.

I also had a traumatic first birth. I couldn't talk about it with the consultant during my second pregnancy without breaking down into a sobbing mess. He said it was perfectly acceptable to have an elective for reasons of trauma.

Yes both uk - first in Surrey, second in Manchester.

I asked for a C section by maternal request and was granted it after a phone call with an obstetrician. Best decision I ever made. You are absolutely within your rights to request one if that is what you would like.

It was my first baby - I just didn't want to go through the birthing process and was anxious.

Hi - yes UK. My trust is Kings, London.

@Bittersweet12 - not as traumatic as yours tbh, I think you've got every right to want a section after that. Mine was going ok but did over 4 hours of pushing before they realised baby was in the wrong position - ended up with episiotomy and high forceps. Recovery was awful - struggled going to the toilet for about 9 months afterwards, didn't have sex for a year afterwards, I still have pain over 3 years on.

C-section was great (despite lockdown rules) and the recovery has been much much smoother. It's not easy at all, but I do feel significantly better mentally and physically than I did at this stage after my first (now 9 weeks PP).

Yes I'm UK. Oxford did the ridiculous song and dance over elective c section and got a psychiatrist involved and Milton Keynes recommended a c section and were incredible start to finish. For me, it was definitely the right choice.
As pp said, look into counseling. I received it free once I was pregnant again and it really helped.

I tried to access counseling post traumatic birth and before getting pregnant again but it was not available on nhs. Once pregnant, it was available for free.
Also, nothing wrong with psychiatric referrals but it wasn't appropriate and they were entirely missing the point and were bullying me.
It all worked out in the end and the MK team were wonderful and I'm so grateful.
Stick to your guns.

Read up on birthrights website

Arm yourself with facts and be very firm

Don't let them try talk you out of your decision

Legally they cannot refuse your request. As long as you are of sound mind (so basically in order to go against your wishes you would essentially have to be sectioned which is extremely difficult to do and still wouldn't necessarily work) they cannot say no to you. They can advise against and inform of risks etc etc but it is your legal right to give birth how you want to including elective c section. As others said availability of teams on day can mean practically it can't happen but they can't actually refuse you no matter what the reason for it. Good luck! xx

@Allicit

Legally they cannot refuse your request. As long as you are of sound mind (so basically in order to go against your wishes you would essentially have to be sectioned which is extremely difficult to do and still wouldn't necessarily work) they cannot say no to you. They can advise against and inform of risks etc etc but it is your legal right to give birth how you want to including elective c section. As others said availability of teams on day can mean practically it can't happen but they can't actually refuse you no matter what the reason for it. Good luck! xx

They can say no. They can also say yes and then if the woman goes into labour before the scheduled date say no or else have too many emergencies ahead to allow time. NICE guidelines are just that, they are guidelines that some hospitals take as rules as others as a suggestion. If they do say no, anyone is within her rights to go to another hospital or see another consultant.

Hello, I am very happy I found this topic as I was interested to see how difficult it is to request a c section. I have 2 kids, 4& almost 3 years old and we are planning for one more after my next period. My labours were horrible. First one forceps, second one kiwi and it almost ended up with c section. With the first one I was like 'OK, it can happen', but the second one was so stressful and I was scared, so many people around me, stress, rushing and I felt horrible for few months after that every time I thought about what happened☹. I don't believe that my third labour would be nice and smooth. So if the third pregnancy happens I will request a consultation and c section

I went into labour the day before my scheduled section and ended up having one on a Sunday. It was wonderful as there were no other scheduled sections that day!

First pg here and I requested an elective at my booking appt a couple of weeks ago and then again at my consultants appt last week - it’s been agreed. Just stated my reasons clearly and concisely; they spoke about the risks of the procedure which I’m informed about anyway and then said they’d support my method of delivery and wrote it in the notes too. They also said it’ll be revisited later down the line which is their policy to do so. My decision won’t be changing though and as others have said, you’re able to request and deliver in whichever way you choose. If your consultant doesn’t “agree”, you can ask to be transferred to someone who does and they have to do this too. Good luck with you request. I also felt nervous of asking too but it was better than anticipated!