Has anyone had an elected c section until general anaesthetic

[Annoymous3659]

I know it’s more common to have a c-section via a spinal block but I wanted to ask if there is anyone who has experienced a C-section under general anaesthetic?

How long did it take for you to wake up? Were you in loads of pain when you woke up or were you given other pain relief?

I have heard the spinal block offers better pain relief compared to GA where morphine is usually provided and can make you a bit out of it. I also understand with GA there are risks of this passing to the baby which could lead to breathing difficulties.

U haven't had a c section, but last week I was sterilised under general anaesthetic and it took me a good 24 hours to be able to stay awake for a good period of time. I couldn't have looked after my children during that 24 hour period. I'd imagine it's really tough to care for baby after a GA, unless your hospital allows dads to stay overnight (ours did not).

The main reason for doing sections under spinal is that for most women and their babies its the safer option. There are some scenarios in which that's not the case and GA is the preference (for example some neurological problems/back problems/if very complicated surgery is expected), but most often spinal is preferred. On top of that it's usually nicer to be awake and 'present' when the baby's born, being awake means a birth partner can also be present in theatre and the pain relief post op is usually better after a spinal/epidural due to the diamorphine that goes in with the local (good pain relief with fewer side effects than intravenous/oral morphine). Where a woman has to have a GA then multiple types of pain killers will be given intraoperatively so they are all starting to work at the end. Just like with any other section, the amount of post op pain is quite variable between women. There would be pain relief prescribed for everyone though. Paediatricians are also normally present to support the baby if they're a bit dopey when they come out. If there's a medical reason for doing a GA rather than a spinal, then there may be other 'tweaks' depending on what the medical problem is.

If is something your needing to think about for either medical reasons or because you think that's what you'd prefer it's definitely worth getting a referral to an obstetric anaesthetic clinic so they can go through the pros and cons of the different options well in advance. (DOI: obs anaesthetist)

I had a Caesarian under GA. It all went fine. I think I was awake and seeing the baby within about half an hour of her being born, though I can't remember timescales exactly. Your husband or partner isn't allowed to be in the operating theatre so the baby had been taken to him and when I was awake I was wheeled in to meet her. Baby was fine with breathing etc. They do everything to minimise transference of the drugs eg they catheterised me and other things while I was still awake so that the Ga was only given right before baby was about to be cut out. I had morphine on a drip and could press the button for another dose any time the pain got too much (obviously they don't let you take too much!) I was weaned off this after 24 hrs and just had codeine and paracetamol, which was sufficient.

I had a c section under general. I can’t see how you would get this agreed to for a planned section in uk, it’s usually done rarely in emergencies so hopefully you’ve already managed to speak to someone about it.
they bring you round fairly quickly- I came to as I was being pushed out of theatre and into recovery. They will gave you immediate morphine as you would otherwise be without pain relief on board (immediately after major surgery!)

however having morphine after birth also means staying in for 24 hours for observation

if you have an epidural not only will you have ongoing pain relief for hours after birth, but you can go home straight away.

the GA does get to the baby- because it’s used in emergencies where there is a threat of loss of life the baby is usually delivered so quickly there isn’t much time for the GA transfer over to baby, and it’s better to have a live baby with breathing problems than the alternative. not sure how you process this risk for a healthy baby.

That took me so long to type I’ve repeated what others said more succinctly above me 😂

I’ve had a section under epidural and a section under GA. The epidural was much much nicer. The pain relief stays with you after the op so you wake up in an okay amount of pain.
I woke up in shock, shivering, confused, disorientated after the GA. Sore throat. And my stomach really hurt.
I felt like I’d been hit by a bus for ages afterwards. Completely whacked. Medics said it’s because I’m slim/ small that it would overall have a bigger impact on my body than a huge man. I don’t know how true this is but I felt so awful waking up.

Im going to have another C this year and I would choose epidural even if it was a choice for me (I don’t think it’s a choice really I have no need for GA this time).

Absolutely not. Having a general anesthetic should never be taken lightly, there are risks involved. It should only be used in an emergency situation when speed is of the essence.

@AquaPeer It’s a standard choice for a section, it’s not something that would be unusual. You’d only need it agreed to the same degree as you would the general section.

I haven’t had a section under GA but almost did. A spinal worked for me in the end. I couldn’t have an epidural, so we hadn’t been sure if a spinal would work.

Overall, though, I’ve had a lot of GA and I wake up quickly once it’s not being administered and am walking around within a few hours, I tolerate it really well. Many people do. Others feel groggy for a long time or might not be up to walking around for a day or so.

You’ll need to stay in for 24 hours after a section regardless, and then it’ll depend if you’re urinating normally and your pain is under control.

no, that's not entirely true. There are some elective scenarios in which GA is the preferred anaesthetic (it's relatively uncommon, but it definitely does happen).

I had a section under general due a need to get baby out very fast - I was barely aware it was happening and came round feeling awful, shocked and in pain. I was out for about two hours after baby was born due to complications from the surgery and I have grieved that I was robbed of a chance to to skin to skin and latch straight away. I was on morphine for a few hours after coming round and felt too groggy to really care for my baby.

The main thing is to get clear in your mind what you are asking for, and speak with your consultant. Not the midwives.

If it helps, I had a general (huge emergency) and woke about four hours after DC was born. DH couldn't be theatre but got handed DC shortly after they were born and he held them until I woke enough to breastfeed. I've never felt I missed anything and my second child (by elective section awake) was just as traumatic in lots of ways.

I had 2 planned sections. With the first they were threatening GA because I wasn't responding to the spinal block and was up to the maximum dose. They did say if they needed to go to GA, my ex-dp couldn't stay in theatre but would need to be around as ds would be handed to him on delivery.

In the end they did it with spinal block and a lot of morphine. I was in hospital for a week after delivery.

With ds2 it was an all female theatre team. I could still move my legs with spinal block, but I couldn't feel cold so they decided to go ahead on a much lower dose. Much better recovery. No morphine only intravenous paracetamol after delivery. Home within 2 days.

@Greybeardy thanks for sharing. This pretty much sums up what I have been advised. It’s safer to op for a spinal and I would receive better pain relief whereas with GA whilst pain relief will be available it might be a bit more tough.

@teachermummyme I am glad to hear your experience was fairly positive. Did you feel the pain relief was good when coming around?

@AquaPeer tbh, whilst it’s not the preferred given some of the risks, getting GA agreed hasn’t been difficult at all. The most important thing has been understanding the risks involved. I am glad to hear it went well. How did you find the pain relief after coming around?

@Knitily I am really sorry to hear about your experience. I am guessing this happened due to the emergency situation. Were you offered pain relief afterwards considering how you were feeling.

I had one over 18yrs ago. I still, probably at least every few weeks, think about how I can never remember meeting my son. It took that long to come round, that my family had all met him. By the time I was fully awake and aware with him, my wee granny had already had a picture printed off! I don't remember meeting him at all, the 1st time I seen his face etc. He had 2 outfit changes and nappies done etc. I reallyfeel it contributed to my takinga long time to bond with him. It wasn't a feeling I was aware off before but it has followed me all these years. If doing it that way again, I would definitely insist that only my DH had the baby until I came round and I would get him to video it so I could definitely remember it.

I have had an an emergency c section under GA and a planned one with spinal block. My GA section was awful, I had a hemorage, after the babies were taken out, needed a blood transfusion, didn't meet my babies for hours because I was so poorly, ended up staying in hospital for a week because I was so unwell, babies were fine (twins). They left part of my plastenta in, which resulted in a 2nd massive bleed. Then my c section wound got infected. Basically for me anything that could have gone wrong did. My planned c section, with spinal block was amazing, so calm, a great experience and I was terrified due to my previous emergency section experience but once it got started, everyone was so nice and calmed me straight away, I was holding my baby within 10 minutes, then totally forgot what was going on, just focused on her. I didn't choose to have a GA c section, it was an emergency, was my 2nd pregnancy, 1st was a natural birth, with no complications so 2nd was planned to be the same but it didn't work out. 3rd planned section, so I have tried all ways. If I had to choose again GA section would be my last choice. This is just my personal experience, I would say to anyone do what's best for you

I had a spinal C and morphine. They gave me the morphine to take home. It’s so effective you dont need much. I was floating around a bit like wooo this is fun. But wasnt out of it and unable to function. More wow this tea feels warm and funny to drink 😂

@ImAnAutum I am sorry to hear how coming around impacted your bonding experience. This is another risk I know others have mentioned. If I go down this option I will defo make sure to ask my husband for videos/ pictures and the opportunity to meet baby first.

This. I had a c-section with spinal block and was given DD right away. It is a visceral thing, and I'm not particularly maternal, for mums. I think it probably is a visceral thing for babies too, being given to mum to hold immediately.

Photos and videos aren't that.

If I absolutely had to have a GA, fine. But if there was any choice, I'd want DC and mum together immediately.

I had a section under ga 3 years ago and will be having another this year , due to medical reasons . It actually wasn't that bad, I came round after about an hour and had a small bit of pain but with in 2/3 hours that was gone and I was able to get up to the loo etc. I then had another sleep and was grand then. Ds spent his first hour with his df

@Rainbowbub22 I am really sorry to hear about your first experience that sounds really tough. Out of interest, did they have to do another surgical procedure to remove the retained placenta?

I am glad to hear the second time round felt more calm and reassuring with the spinal. I hope all goes well with your third section

@Hoover2025 thanks for sharing your experience. I didn’t realise you can also be prescribed morphine to take home. Sounds like it was fun lol. I have only ever taken codine for tooth pain and felt high as a kite

I've had two, due to neurological issues. First not planned, second was. Honestly both were fine. I'd recommend running through everything beforehand so you know exactly what will happen and be specific on what you'd like to happen with baby. Both times they were passed to dad who waited next to me for me to wake, and I was then handed babies within the hour after I woke. Yes it was sore but morphine is very effective! Best of luck.

Iv had 4 plus 1 asleep my kids r 19 17 14 8 and 9 my dd was born 13 months 1 day from my last c section

Why are you considering a GA farther than a spinal/ epidural? Are you afraid of something? Anything MN can help you with?

Yes I did. It was sore obviously, but I really wasn't in too much pain.