May need to have an elective c section- quite scared, any positive stories to calm my nerves ?

[Charlothevet88]

Hi all!

I'm due my second baby in March (currently living in Derbyshire so my local hospital would be Royal Derby) and although it's had been rough with seemingly never ending morningnsickness for 23 weeks, I had been getting along OK.
However, over the last 2 weeks I've had a horrendous chest infection which has left me coughing so violently I broke ribs on my left rib cage and have a raging case of chostrochondritis on both sides ( extremely painful to move, cough, sneeze breathe at times too...). With this in mind I'm in talks with my Dr about whether it would be safer to go for an elective section over natural birth to prevent my breaking my ribs all over again in the process of giving birth and being in absolute agony, unable to use my top half at all again - I'm 2 weeks into recovery from this infection and still can't sleep lying down- I have to sit in a chair propped up.

So I guess my questions are -
How did you find your elective section? Was it as daunting as you'd imagine?
Has anyone been in a similar situation and managed a vaginal birth ok?

Also- randomly- I'm quite emetaphobic ... were many of you sick during your section? xx

Mine were absolutely glorious. I had skin to skin, a playlist (my littlest was born to the sounds of Africa by Toto 😂) and it was just a lovely, lovely calm experience.
I was sick afterwards because I don’t react to morphine very well but that isn’t everyone experience.
the recovery is hard but not horrendous - barring any issues obviously - I would say get up as straight as you can as quickly as you can. It hurts but will help. I was feeling fine within a few days just paracetamol to keep any soreness at bay.

Mine was amazing, and I’m having another in May.

So much more predictable than a vaginal birth, so less scary. Amazing care, compared to a VB when you’re often left alone.

Among the mums I know, a c-section is a longer recovery than a ‘perfect’ VB, but easier than one with any kind of complication (ie tearing) which is most of them.

100% recommend.

Haven't had a baby yet (starting fertility treatment) but am an anaesthetist, so have been involved in too many c-sections to count.

Benefits: control. You know when and where it'll happen.
No labour pains.
Planned, so calm environment (vs emergency).

Downside: longer recovery than uncomplicated vaginal delivery (but no way to guarantee that any vaginal delivery will be uncomplicated!)

Vomiting: fairly common (10% ish) to feel sick- this is because the spinal anaesthetic can drop your blood pressure. We give fluids and medication to bring your blood pressure back up, as well as anti sickness medications. Fairly rare (in my experience, less than 5%) to actually be sick.

If I was in your position I'd probably choose a c section.

I've had 2 elcs and a vaginal birth. I would choose a c section any day of the week!! They were lovely. My second in particular was wonderful - I was a lot calmer as I'd had one before and just relaxed into the process. For me, my c sections were easier to recover from than the vb and extremely positive experiences, whereas my vb was painful, scary and had long lasting complications. Most important advice: stay on top of pain meds afterwards (keep a log on your phone) and if they don't offer anything stronger than paracetamol and ibuprofen, ask! Good luck with it, I have lovely memories of mine.

A planned c-section was great for me. Yes the recovery time is longer than a vaginal birth but doesn’t necessarily mean you are laid up in bed recovering for 6 weeks. When I had DD, the nurses got me out of bed on the night of her birth to feed and change her - which I could do. One friend was driving again after only 4 weeks, she went to her GP had her check and was passed fit to drive.

Planned C-sections are better than emergency ones so if there’s any chance you are going to need one at some point, I’d always go for a planned one.

Good morning, C88. I'm so sorry you are having such a rough time.
Here's my story, in brief if it's any help. I was well into my 40s when I gave birth, and was closely monitored during the pregnancy. I was sick daily (at least) for the third trimester.
My BP started rising, as expected, near delivery date, so I was booked for an induction slightly early. However, I didn't respond to the drugs and had an "emergency" C-section. It felt more like an elective one as I wasn't in labour, not in any distress, it was a few hours later and I walked into theatre.
I had the spinal injection so was conscious but still don't react well to anaesthetic, and predictably started throwing up. I had my head turned to the side with poor husband holding bowl and stroking my hair. Though undignified, it didn't get in the way of the operation.
I kept being sick intermittently for few hours, which I spent in a recovery room rather than the ward. I was overly anxious about juggling nursing and feeding my baby, and to be honest it was certainly uncomfortable retching with new stitches, but not super-painful. The stitches are pretty firm, and unlikely to be going anywhere.
The next morning the sickness was gone, I was ravenous and catching up on several months of food!
I hope you are getting lots of support after the birth, as C-section recovery of course takes longer even without all your extra challenges. But I certainly don't regret it, and am sure it was the safest way given my circumstances. Good luck and really hoping you feel better soon.

One emergency and one elective here. Elective was calm, controlled and peaceful.

Mine was emergency but it was absolutely fine. No pain, a kind team, no sickness. I was in the shower 6 hours after (admittedly weak but I was there) recovered fine, easier than my friends with vaginal births

3 absolutely amazing Csections here and due to have my 4th in July.

ive had no issue breastfeeding any of mine, recovery was fine; sore first couple of days but manageable with paracetamol and then fine after 5 days able to do most usual activities bar heavy lifting.
no complications like many friends and family have had with vaginal births and no long lasting damage either.

Very calm atmosphere in theatre, you can ask for the screen to be lowered as baby is born, the top lights dimmed so where your head is and behind you. You can also take your own playlist in if you’d like.

I’ve never considered a vaginal birth after my first amazing birth. Could never justify the risk of all the complications and the injuries I’ve seen family and friends experience.

In theatre, every eventuality is planned for with sufficient staff there to ensure they can act immediately should they need to.

Dont know about the royal derby but my SIL & friend had their babies in Calow, Chesterfield which was fantastic. Would depend which side of Derbyshire you are though. Good luck!

I had an elective, it was lovely. I did feel a bit sick and dizzy when they first gave the anaesthetic but I just said I felt sick and they gave me some meds, felt fine within minutes. The recovery was fine, first few days were sore/stiff but by day 5 I was functioning without painkillers.

I also broke 3 ribs when baby was about 10 months old. The immediate pain and lingering pain was far worse than the section!

aw thank you all so much for your wonderful replies - they really have put my mind at rest and i feel much more confident!
The silly thing is, I'm a Veterinary surgeon....and do c sections myself on animals!! But sometimes I think that having a little bit of clinical/surgical knowledge can make you even more nervy 😅

Hello,

I had an elective last year following an emergency 2 years prior.

It was an amazing experience. Logistically easier as we knew when so could make childcare arrangements.

Theatre was very calm, Dr's and anaesthetists chatting away and talking us through the process. We had music playing, it's relatively pain free other than normal injection pain from local anaesthetic before they do the spinal. I am a very sicky person and was sick during my emergency (I had pre eclampsia and blood pressure was all over the place). I told the anaesthetists this beforehand and as soon as I started to feel any nausea at all I said, and they straight away gave me I've anti sickness, it passed really really quickly.

Baby arrived, I had skin to skin then my husband fed him while I was stitched up.

Recovery I didn't find too hard. Just be sensible, when they say you need to rest and not do anything they really mean it. I found the best thing was to be up and about as soon as possible as it gets the blood flowing to help the wound heal. I was up and walling within aa few hours, very mobile by the following day. Obviously with the help of pain relief 😉

It's honestly not all that bad and for me was a really calm, positive, and exciting way to bring my baby into the world.

All the best, whatever you decide!

I was always scared silly of needing Cesarian. My first 2 babies were vaginal births and then due to a transverse lie at 40 weeks I was given the option of a Cesarian in 2 hours time from when I went in for a check up in order to avoid a potential emergency Cesarian. (Not in UK).

I went for it and it was a great decision. I had pain for a couple of weeks after but I was mostly able to manage - my daughter is now 2 months old and I feel absolutely fine. The Cesarian was calm and collected, my daughter needed a bit of help at the beginning to get the fluid out of her lungs (but I'm talking 5 minutes, at the most) and it was a great decision and I feel like if I had another child ( extremely unlikely!)I would ask for another cesarian directly.

Don't worry.

I'm not sure what mine was counted as (didn't have a date in advance, went in for a scan for a condition I have and they decided baby needed to be born within a few hours) but it was great, yes the 48 hours afterwards I had very limited movement, but by 2 weeks after everything was as normal. My SIL has just had an elective due to baby being breech and she has described it as the best thing she ever feared.

Not sick with either of mine.
Was able to make sure that dh saw the baby first and found out the sex, rather than the medical staff announcing it.
For one dc the staff tied a rope to the end of the bed which was a godsend when lifting myself up.
Take your time to recover - it’s not a race! But at the same time be mindful of advice to move around, as it really does help.

I had an ELCS and it was lovely and calm. I was irrationally really worried about feeling any pain or the anaesthetic not working but they take a cold spray and check all up your body to see if you can feel anything. There’s a bit of a weird tuggy feeling when baby comes out but that’s all.

I had an emergency section with my first and it was such a positive experience I decided to go for an elected with my second. Which was also a really positive experiences. The staff are lovely in the surgery and will be chatting to you. You don't feel a thing.

At my hospital I was sent advice saying I could eat in the recovery room. Don't. That will make you sick. If you wait for longer you will be okay.

Best of all, you start of being a mother without being tired or exhausted after giving birth.

Note of warning - the pain relief they give you for the days after the section are so good you won't feel any pain and will probably feel quite energetic. So be careful not to overdo things ( I did with my second) as you are feeling so good. Do rest for the first week or two (I found short walks fine, but I did a mega hilly walk a few days after my second - big mistake!).

Final note of caution - I only know one woman with a negative section story and that was because a tiny piece of her placenta as left in her womb which makes the body feel you are still pregnant. She was in a lot of pain (midwives dismissed this as because of the section, but this is nonsense, really the drugs do stop all the pain) and became feverish at home, and couldn't produce milk. Luckily the HV recognised what had happened and sent her back to hospital. So if you have those symptoms make sure you are seen and not dismissed.

Oh and take an eye mask and ear plugs ( I had ear protectors too) to the maternity ward as they are noisy and bright at night.

I also had my baby sleeping in my bed at the hospital beside me, as it was too difficult to reach to the cot beside the bed.

Exactly the same here. If I were you I'd jump at the chance of the elective, the risks and pain of the alternative are too great.

I’ve had an ELCS - it was fine. The worst thing was having to fast beforehand as mine was in the afternoon! I had skin to skin contact and delayed cord clamping. The procedure was so relaxed, I remember chatting to the nurses about my nail art at some point! The worst thing for me was having to stay in for 24 hours after because both me and baby were fine, though I understand why we have to. I had no trouble with my milk coming in either, I had it within 2 days. The midwives can get very busy on the postnatal ward so I would recommend bringing your own paracetamol and ibuprofen to keep on top of your doses, our hospital just asks you to tell the midwife what you have had and when, so I monitored my own medication and just asked for stronger when I needed it (only required once on the following day). I didn’t have any nausea or sickness.

something that may be worth exploring…. IIRC there are case reports of women having rib fractures as a result of fundal pressure (a quick check and I can only see reports relating to application in labour, which I don’t think is standard practice here, but fundal pressure is used routinely in c-sections and from my end of the table looks pretty brutal) - perhaps something worth asking about before committing.

as others have said, vomiting is common. It’s usually due to haemodynamic changes due to the spinal (and is therefore pretty easy to fix with vasoconstrictors), but some of the drugs used as routine for surgical reasons can make you properly nauseated too.

My elective section was absolutely amazing. I was so relaxed knowing that I wouldn’t have to experience a single contraction 😅

The recovery was easy, I was home within 24 hours (my insistence), and after a week I didn’t need any painkillers (I was only sent home with ibuprofen anyway).

I wasn’t sick during the surgery nor did I feel nauseous. I did get the shakes, but that’s quite common with epidurals IIRC and it passed.

I wasn't sick during c sections but was in labour!

I’ve had two emcs and they was both fine, wasn’t sick, if I had another baby it would be a elcs I wouldn’t try for a Vbac

I’ve had 2 and both went really well. I was terrified of giving birth naturally and after 3 days of trying to induce me with DD1, I was granted a section. DS was a planned section. I recovered quickly after both despite being 40 and 42 respectively. Up walking around the following day, just paracetamol for pain relief (after an initial dose of morphine). No sickness at all. I did get v shaky afterwards which until I read Jellycats post above I didn’t realise was a thing with c-sections - I thought it was just me!! Good luck.