C section IVF

[Reddy01]

I am just wondering how many IVF couples ended up being told or recommended to have a C section? I only know a few natural conceptions that have had natural births but IVF seems to always be a planned C section. Does anyone have any experience of this? Anyone told to have and they refused and all went to plan?

We are IVF and I am just trying to plan ahead. This pregnancy has gone really well with little to no symptoms nor complications so far but I feel it is a bit presumptuous to have to have a C section just because of the IVF stats that we might not fit into?

Any advice etc welcome!

I had a C section but hadn't planned to and at no point was I told that I should have one due to IVF- never heard of that before.

There's no recommendation for CS after IVF in our area

I was told IVF in of itself was no reason to go C section and they medically didn't have a need to do a C section but were pushing for an induction because they didn't want my pregnancy to go on for too long.

I preferred to go the C section route as I didn't want to piss around getting induced and then have to end up getting a C section anyway. Plus I'd had a load of surgeries as a result of my infertility so didn't want them to have any delay getting through all that lot to get to the baby if they were in any distress.

Baby decided to come the day before my booked section and they were tried to push natural delivery but stuck to my guns and had a section, she was 9lbs 5oz so glad I did!!

I had a natural birth following IVF, there wasn't any discussion about a C section being recommended or being more likely because we had IVF. I haven't heard that from others in my area either.
Is the recommendation specific to IVF or do you have any other risk factors?

IVF is a risk factor on its own, so if people have other risk factors along side, it seems more likely they may decide to have / be advised to have a c section.

Can I ask, how is ivf a risk factor? Genuinely interested, not being narky!

I had ivf and planned c-section. I had other health concerns but got the impression that the ivf bit also contributed to the agreement for c-section.

I was also curious (older mother, IVF, big baby but no CS) - apparently there are risks - prematurity, gestational diabetes, hypertension. See for example:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10165528/#:~:text=IVF%20is%20associated%20with%20an,2%2D3%25%20of%20pregnancies.

I kept being told this and asked about it. Got some vague explanations about factors often coinciding with infertility/IVF also being risk factors themselves (age, etc). Will read above paper.

I'd never heard of any link between IVF and CS throughout my pregnancy. For me it was due to previous birth.

Not sure if this is about a risk factor or just ensuring you get your take home baby ...
So I had years of infertility, not ivf was basically impossible low ovarian reserve, a few miscarriages...then got pregnant naturally after many years.

One dr checking me fairly late on basically said we won't risk anything with this baby , no going over and basically implied c-section as more control and less risk if this was my once in a lifetime chance miracle baby.
Ds was breech so had a C-section anyway 😊

I had an emergency C section after a failed induction, but that was nothing to do with it being an IVF pregnancy.

My son was conceived after 6 cycles of IVF! He was born at 37 weeks after induction and weighed 10lb 3oz. I had every ailment going including GD and a CS was never recommended! The only thing recommended quite strongly was epidural!

I had 2 IVF pregnancies and neither time was a c section recommended - vaginal births with both of them.

I think it's just because C sections are safer for babies, even though they're not for mothers. Also because IVF babies are often twins.

A section was never advised with my IVF baby (until, that is, she got stuck with her butt in my cervix and her head snug under my ribs).
In fact, they were keen to try and move her in order to go forward for a vaginal delivery.

She, however, wasn't so keen and stuck with her choices.

However in my fairly large group of IVF mums delivering between August and November, only two of us had sections, one being an emergency due to failure to progress.

I had a planned section due to DD unstable lie. The fact that she was IVF was never mentioned when we discussed birth plans.

Given that one in three vaginal births ends in an emergency CS at my local hospital, I was told the reason they suggest CS for IVF is partially due to a higher incidence of inherent risk factors, but also because ultimately, on a population level, a CS is the safest mode of delivery for both mother and child.

Thank you everyone. I am quite surprised. It was the ivf clinic that was telling me that the majority here go section. I have heard they don't let you go past the date but also ivf has a greater chance of stillborn and placenta issues. Like I said, I have had no issues and it was unexplained infertility too so it is not as if I have any factors that would worry them so I didn't quite understand it myself.

Did you all get extra growth scans too? I am wondering if the extra scans maybe made them more worried due to predicted small or something? I have no idea but interesting to read all of what you have to say.

I had scans every two weeks, I had every ailment going and baby was measuring big. My pregnancy was classed as 'high risk' and was seen way more than what I would have been had it not been!

I had massively elevated NK Cells, Factor V Leiden and MTHFR. The umbilical cord only had 1 artery and 1 vein instead of 2 arteries and 1 vein alongside the GD! I was taking Clexane injections, steroids and high dose Folic. I still wasn't offered a CS!

What would you feel more comfortable with?

Yes I had an extra growth scan.

It was male factor for us.

I wasn’t recommended a c section for my IVF baby. My clinic told me they would insist on an induction and that I would not be allowed to go overdue at all, and I had to agree to that to go ahead with the IVF. Then, when I was pregnant, my midwife told me that this was because the reasons for having IVF are often linked to factors that increase risk for overdue babies. My IVF was so we could have PGD to avoid my baby inheriting my genetic neurological condition, rather than for infertility. She said I didn’t have to stick to the agreement to induce as my pregnancy was going well. Her exact words were “what are they going to do? Take the baby back?”
In the end I went into labour two days before my due date, but ended up with an induction anyway as labour stalled. I was then sent for a c section as baby was back to back and got stuck, but she moved down on the trolley on the way to theatre and I ended up pushing her out with the help of forceps on the operating table while half prepped for a section that never happened! Baby was finally born the day after my due date.

ivf has a greater chance of stillborn and placenta issues.

For women who have already had a CS, there is a small increased risk of future stillbirth.

People who've had multiple C-sections have a higher risk of developing placenta accreta - the IVF population would be less likely to go into this category.

I think many places give you a c section once you hit 40 weeks and this can be pinpointed exactly date wise in IVF. I asked the obstetrician about it and the placenta starts to break down from 40 weeks so there is a very slight increase in the risk of still birth (from 1% to 2%). I said if I went over 40 weeks could I just be induced or allowed to carry on and wait and see and they said yes - so it’s not totally cut and dry. You still have some say over it though I imagine some women just agree to it for the sake of reducing risk,
no matter how small that risk is.

I had two sections and I conceived naturally, as did my cousin who had three. My friend who had ivf delivered vaginally.
Maybe it is statistically more likely to have sections if older and more likely to have had IVF if older? Correlation is not causation sort of thing?

With my IVF they were keen on the baby not going overdue, but the conversations were about induction, not CS. They spoke about higher risk of the placenta starting to fail if I went over.

I was induced.