Any advise would be greatly appreciated

[TheThreeMiracles]

Baby number 3 due in June so I have plenty of time to decide but....
I've had 2 emergency c sections due to baby's heart rate dipping during contractions I only got to 5cm with both babies, both pregnancy's I had too much fluid and with my last during a scan at 39 weeks pregnant he went from head down to transverse whilst she was scanning me, I was then told I had to have waters broken and deliver the next day due to risk of cord prolapse again got to 5 cm before going for emergency c section, am I safer and baby safer this time if I go for an elective section ( I've never gone into labour naturally either ) or is trying for a vbac the better option?

Also if you had a c section and didn't find out the sex how did you find out when baby is born ? Did they say you've got a girl/ boy or how did you get to find out? I'm not finding out the sex this time but keep wondering how I'll find out whether they tell me or I look or partner tells me etc xx

Hopeful bump xx

Hey @TheThreeMiracles congratulations on your pregnancy!

I had an emergency c-section with my DD and have decided next time (if there is one) to go elective. 40 hours and pain relief not working was enough for me. My sister had an emergency c-section with her first too but delivered her second and third safely vaginally (even if one did need turning around first!). My limited knowledge would say you can pick what suits you.

I didn’t find out the gender of DD. When I went in for the c-section I just stated that I wanted my husband to be the one to tell me. When the time came he was given the baby first so he could tell me. Was such a beautiful moment and I was so glad we had that surprise! For my sister they held the baby up and for one of my friends they told her. So just ask for what suits you best.

Hi OP, congratulations on your baby first of all! I suppose it's a bit of a tricky one and I do think will come down to personal preference, and balance of risks. My understanding is that after 2 c sections they won't be able to offer any method of induction. So, if you needed induction for any reason again then they could not proceed. Then c section would be the only option. If all is well I reckon it would be reasonable to await spontaneous onset of labour. If this doesn't happen, then have a date for an elective c section to fall back on. Good idea to discuss all of this with your care team. Decide between you and your care team a safe date for planning elective, the more time they can give you for spontaneous labour to happen the better. So maybe you'll decide together say 41 weeks could be your cut off for example. That's assuming all is going well and they don't see a reason to meet baby sooner. If you're not having any induction, hopefully your chance of needing emergency section is reduced. Emergency c sections tends to be less likely when labour is spontaneous compared to induced.

In terms of revealing the sex of the baby, you can ask for it to be revealed in whatever way you'd like. I always wanted DH and I to reveal the sex ourselves, so when baby emerged no one would say it but let us see for ourselves when baby was held up. I don't know why this felt so important to me, but it was what I envisioned and I really wanted it to happen. Ended up going for an emergency c section and I asked if I could still have this and they were more than happy to oblige. The doctor excitedly said 'OK are you ready to see what you got?' and held DS up over the drapes to show us. I was really glad I got that moment I had pictured😊