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

Definitely related to epidurals @Inastatus. I had an epidural after my first baby was born (third degree tear repair in theatre) and I had the shakes then too. I figured people are either prone to it or they’re not.

Thanks @Jellycats4life - 18 years later and you’ve just enlightened me! I just thought I was in shock or something, no one told me it was due to the epidural.

Mine was emergency, but it was honestly fine. You aren't sick during it. Just over halfway through, I suddenly felt super sick, but that's what you have the cannula for... They have me something as soon as I said, which I assume was an anti sickness, and I felt fine almost instantly! It was amazing 😂

Recovery afterwards was a lot better than expected. Wasn't in any pain at all for a couple of days, then it did set in but it was nothing unmanageable or anything.

I had a CS for my 2nd DC after a horrible first birth. It was fine. As the anaesthetist said, it is a very ‘civilised’ way to give birth.

I recovered more quickly than the forceps delivery I had with my first which left me doubly incontinent for a few weeks.

No sickness at all. There is some pain for a few days but moving around normally after that.

They give you Zantac the day before to avoid sickness and I think they administer an anti emetic during the op.

I had an emergency section with my first and had an elective for my second because I couldn’t go through that trauma and chaos again. Elective was amazing, so calm, just wonderful. Recovery was no worse than friends who had vaginal births. I’m too old to have any more but I’d encourage anyone have an elective every time.