Elective c-section?

[JMmumtobe]

I am 32 when I am due to give birth in mid-October. I was wondering what people's experiences are with an elective c-section? To me, I cannot understand why everyone doesn't get an elective c-section? This will be my first child and I do hope to have three in total (if possible) so I was wondering if any one had all their children via elective c-section or if any one had any views? Noting also that I am low risk, healthy, fit etc.

You mean, why people choose a vaginal delivery over a section?

For me I didn't want to be cut open.

Although open to any measures in an emergency, I wanted to try the less invasive way (natural birth if you want to call it that)

I've had 3 sections. 1st was an emergency after a traumatic labour, then next 2 were elective. Elective sections were wonderful. Healing on the 3rd took a long time though. I have had friends who were told after 2nd sections not to have more children. It really depends how you heal as to how many sections you can have.

I had an elective section as i am a naturally anxious and a bit ocd. For me, having so many unknowns was stressful and impacting my mental health. I also had a lot of friends who were going for a natural birth and ending up with a complicated emergency section that had left them pretty battered and bruised with ongoing bladder issues etc so that probably swayed my decision.

Do what you feel is right. There is no right or wrong and each person has their own ideal birth plan.

I would say to be aware of the recover after a section though - do you have a good support network? You will need more help the first couple of weeks as you recover - it is a MAJOR surgery! You also won't be able to drive for up to 5 weeks.

One bit of info in hindsight about having a planned section - i took a while to get my head around what had just happened after having my son..... it was so casual/ routine - a bit like going to the dentist. In a way I think you miss out on the psychological prep labour brings...like you know you're having a baby when your in labour but the section feels almost casual if that makes sense.

Why would you want to be recovering from major abdominal surgery while trying to look after a baby if you don’t need to? Yes, it hurts during contractions in natural childbirth, but many women are up and about very soon after. I was out driving to the supermarket on day 2 (to get some “me’ time!) and socialising on day 4. You wouldn’t be able to do that.

I've had two c sections. The first emergency, the second elective. The elective was incredible - calm, quick and the recovery was a breeze. Cannot recommend them highly enough from that angle. BUT no matter how much weight I lose, I'll always have a little pouch over my scar which I'm very self conscious about. Knowing what I know now, given my time again, if it was between (non-emergency) c-sections and vaginal, I'd go vaginal. If I had to have an emergency C-section again, though, I then wouldn't go for a VBAC, if that's makes sense?

Why would you want to be recovering from major abdominal surgery while trying to look after a baby if you don’t need to?

Becuase it’s a hell of a lot easier than recovering from a 3C tear. (I didnt recover, full stop).

OP I had 2 ELCS following aforementioned 3C tear. The first section involved a blood transfusion which I’m 90% sure is the reason for my autoimmune disease that followed. So no, it’s not a walk in the park. Still would take a c section over a tear, and I did. Second section, third baby, was straightforward and calm and joyous.

I’ve had two although both for medical reasons rather than choice.

the actual sections were fine until the first lot of pain killers wore off

The recoveries from both were absolutely hell. Prolonged and wet painful.

Whilst some people are fine with a few paracetamol and are back doing yoga a week later others take longer to recover from what is major abdominal surgery.

with my first I was in hospital for 5 days. In significant pain for several weeks and it took about 3 months to feel recovered.

my second I ended up in hospital for 11 days with post op complications and on the high dependency ward for 5 days in a morphine drip

I was in significant pain for about 12 weeks including wound infections which had to be dressed daily by the district nurse. I wasn’t fully recovered until about 5 months.

I would have liked a 3rd child but I simply couldn’t go through that again

it’s not an easy option and it sounds like you need to do a lot more research if you can’t understand why not everyone wants major surgery instead of a vaginal birth.

i feel triggered even writing this.

I think many reasons such as baby gains good gut bacteria in the birthing canal thus improving its immunity. Better breastfeeding success rates. Better chances of maintaining blood sugars and temperature post birth. I am however a realist and don’t think a baby should be born vaginally at all costs to the mother.

I had 2 electives and don’t think would have any more but would be no problem if I do. Loved both sections, calm and peaceful. Slightly “clinical” feel I suppose. Recovery was ok for me but nothing to compare it to!

I don’t have any pouch at all (completely flat) and breastfed both kids who have no allergies. Also don’t have any issues at all with pelvic floor/weeing etc

I had an emergency for the first (was waiting to be induced at 35 weeks when it switched). Then elective for the second (I’m now 2.5 weeks post partum).

I have found recovering easier from the elective, partly because I didn’t lose as much blood this time and partly because I didn’t have preeclampsia this time. All that said at 1 week postpartum I felt fairly well in myself and accidentally pushed myself too much (I tried to reach something behind the sofa with my foot and stretched it). That caused quite a bit of pain and dizziness. I feel well again now but essentially don’t underestimate the surgery and healing even if you feel fine.

I didn’t really have a choice with the emergency, it was best for the baby. I have no regrets for the elective.

The surgeon told me that if I have a second csection then any future babies they would recommend a csection again. I was fine with this because we are stopping at two so I knew it was my last anyway. Also during the second csection they said it could take longer because they are handling scar tissue from the first.

You can already see from this thread there are always going to be those for and against either mode of birth. I always say try not to get caught up in the personal anecdotes because the births that don't go well are the ones we tend to speak about most. We don't really shout about the wonderful ones.

As a midwife I always encourage women to read the statistics, look at RCOG/NICE guidelines, look at the evidence and let that guide you. There are many, many reasons to not have an elective so that's why not everyone chooses one, especially if you want a few children and have repeated sections. There are equally many, many reasons why not everyone chooses a vaginal birth. Once you're well informed re risks and benefits of both that's the main thing.

I had an emergency c section with my first birth and the actual c section was a bit scary but fine. I had some residual trauma after the birth due to long failed induction and DS being distressed and then in special care. So I choose an elective the second time as I didn't want the same thing to happen again.

It was fine. I found it calm but quite clinical and not magical (apart from the moment she came out). It's still quite a big operation and you don't feel pain but you feel a lot of tugging etc and the spinal wasn't that pleasant. The recovery this time really shocked me with how much pain and how immobile I was but after 2 weeks I was 80% fine. Breastfeeding absolutely fine both times, milk came in on day 3. Not being able to drive is a big pain. They also kept asking if I wanted another child as they aren't wild about doing more than 2, although they didn't say I couldn't just that it would get complicated.

So c sections were fine and on balance I'm glad I choose an elective second time around. However if I'd have had a choice I'd have gone for 2 uncomplicated vaginal births. You just don't know what you will get. I wouldn't choose one if you want 3 kids or without attempting a vaginal birth first.

The recovery is very hard! I ended up having an emergency c section and it took around 8 weeks to feel normal again. That being said I would go straight to a c section next time, but I know no different

I’ve had two planned sections - the first for medical reasons, the second chosen because the first one was so great.

People will have different experiences but both times mine was super calm, and totally relaxed. The spinal anaesthetic is uncomfortable and unnerving, but once that was done it there was no more pain, and 10 mins later I was BFing a baby while they stitched me up.

People seem to hate me saying it was a walk in the park and of course some people have complications…. But yeah, walk in the park.

And two super well bonded kids who BFed for over a year each.

I just had my first baby a month ago. I went into spontaneous labour at 39 weeks and gave birth unmedicated (that was NOT part of my plan… I wanted all the drugs lol but baby had different ideas). I was actually terrified of getting a c section and that was one of my fears. The thought of being awake for major surgery terrified me as did the long recovery process. I’ve also heard horror stories about the epidural/spinal not working and women feeling everything and that’s like my biggest fear.

My labour was super long (2.5 days) but most of that was early labour with irregular contractions. Actually my contractions were irregular and far apart the entire time which was odd so I barely made it to the hospital in time. Baby was literally born in the hallway while I was in a wheelchair haha. Labour hurt, but it wasn’t as bad as I thought? Except for right before my body started pushing. I kinda wanted to die during that part. And I have a low pain tolerance. Having an extremely supportive and knowledgeable husband helped a ton. He was AMAZING. Even though labour was weird and didn’t follow the normal “rules” with contractions, the birth was very uncomplicated and “easy” (relatively speaking lol). Baby just slid out quickly.

I did get a second degree tear. Not sure how many stitches but the midwife spent about 15 minutes stitching me up. However, recovery was super easy. Right after the baby was out, all pain went away (except for mild discomfort down below). It stung when I peed for a couple of weeks, but using a perri bottle with warm water solved that. And it did hurt down below if I spent too long sitting one day or moving around, but that went away completely after 3 weeks. And Advil and Tylenol made it go away. And the pain was mild. After about 3 days, I felt 90% like my pre-pregnancy self. It stung quite a bit when I peed, but any other discomfort I experienced was extremely mild. And I had no issues walking around. It was just soooo easy to recover from (personally). I think recovering from a c section would be much worse and take so much longer.

Also, and I don’t know why, but the idea of having stitches scares me lol. I’m freaked out that I have stitches in my vagina (or wherever they are), but I can avoid looking at it and there aren’t many. But having a lot of stitches or staples across my abdomen would just freak me out.

I had an ELCS because statistically, it is safer for the baby than a vaginal birth.

Also, approx 1/3 of all vaginal births end up with an emergency section, and about 10% of vaginal births end up using forceps or ventouse. No, thank you!

It was a fantastic experience and I would happily have one again.

edit to add - maybe I was lucky but I was waiting for the spinal to hurt, and it never did! In fact, the local anaesthetic before the spinal was the uncomfortable one!

My planned sections really were a walk in the park. It was the only way I would consider giving birth . Vaginal birth terrified me.

No painful contractions for hours or days before for me. I was in the cinema and out for a curry the night before mine.

The actual sections were pain free with only tiny blood loss (about half of what you'd expect for a uncomplicated vaginal birth). I felt fine during them and was able to hold baby immediately.

Recovery was much easier than expected. By day 3 I was pain free getting about, going out to the shops etc. I didn't have any pain in my incision, the only discomfort was afterpains (which you get however you give birth) and trapped gas). By 2 weeks I only experienced a slight ache if I did star jumps or poked myself in the stomach - yes I tested this because I couldn't believe how fine it was.

When I meet up with the NCT group, we had three full spectrum of births. Placed section, emergency section, ventose, forceps, induction, straightforward. Pretty much one of every type of birth. Everyone was a bit traumatised by birth and most were still in pain. Except me.

There's a spectrum of recovery though, and I know not everyone is as lucky.

The awesome thing about a section is that it's easier to talk about your injury and people are helpful. I have no doubt a dead friend is mine who had to have her clitoris surgically repaired, or another with a 4th degree tear, were in more pain than me, but it's harder to explain to your FIL why you can't get up and make them a cup of tea...

Because as vain as it sounds, some people don’t fancy having scar across their abdomen.

You have to do what feels right for you. There’s no right or wrong I suppose.

I think skewed stats about births resulting in c sections need to be broken down further. I think it’s more fair to say once you receive one form of medical intervention, the likelihood of needing another greatly increases which more often than not, results in emergency c sections. (Sweeps/inductions/epidurals/piotocon)

Just do your research and decide what’s best for you

Thank you all. This is incredibly insightful!

Just coming back on you about the scar - they are really low. Your have to see me naked before you'd see my scar as it's literally on my public hair line.

It's also a lot less visible than stretch marks, which many of us are blessed with in pregnancy.

There are many reasons I wouldn't feel comfortable wearing a skimpy bikini on the beach, some of which are consequences of pregnancy. My almost invisible scar that's covered by my hypothetical skimpy pants isn't one of them.

I had 2 x elcs and i'm very happy with my choices.
Birth experience was calm and nice both times and physically I recovered well from both.

Please do make sure you:
do a PP check / "mummy mot" 🤨
Massage the scar
Use silicone strips

I credit this with having zero adhesions and a problem free 2nd elcs 18m ish after the first

My planned C section was absolute bliss.

My 1st was an emergency section. The pain of attempting to give birth prior to this was indescribable. Absolutely horrendous. I remember thinking I would let them chop my legs off to store the pain. How anyone actually manages to give birth naturally is amazing. I’m so in awe of any woman who manages it.

I developed epilepsy in my second pregnancy so they suggested an elective section. I was going to have one anyway. I was so traumatised trying to give birth the first time round.

The elective was total bliss. It was such calm experience. Personally, I would recommend.

I healed VERY quickly with my first section. I was walking the prom 4 days later. Second c section took a lot longer to heal and was quite painful for a couple of weeks. I’m due my third C section in December, but I imagine that’s going to be pretty hard to recover from.

I chose to try for a vaginal birth because I just couldn't bear the thought of having a C-section...I'm terrible with medical procedures so the idea of having a spinal/epidural and being cut open genuinely makes me feel ill and anxious. Luckily I've had two pretty quick and straightforward vaginal births. My SIL recently had an elective C section which all went really well for her. Everyone is different and has their own birth preferences. I would try to be as informed as possible about the different options and then you can work out what is best for you.

You could have ended up having a spinal for a VB though so when push comes to shove, you would have done it. I had to have a spinal after my 100% unmedicated forceps delivery, for the hour and a half of stitches needed. Forceps in the first place were not in my birth plan (I specifically said give me a c section rather than forceps, but it was a 40 minute labour so no time) but you do what you must.