Should elective C sections for no reason be allowed?

[Dori92]

Just curious on people’s opinions on this.

Would like to point out I’m not opting for an elective section.

Thanks 💞

Oh absolutely agree 💯 hence why I said I wasn't aware if there truly was a cost difference.

There is already a prioritisation. I wouldn’t have thought any change was needed there.

On the NHS, no.

I absolutely hate the idea of women putting themselves through unnecessary surgery and putting their babies through the associated risks. Yes, I know there are also different risks from a vaginal birth.

however, I don’t want a blanket policy that says a woman can’t make a choice. Ultimately, if she can convince a doctor to do the surgery, that should be her prerogative.

I would rather live in a society where women have options than one where they do not.

Not sure the question is clear - are you actually asking whether they should be allowed, or whether they should be paid for under the NHS? Is it a moral question about doing it at all, or an economic one about whether society should pay?

If the first, I can't for the life of me see why they wouldn't be allowed.

You didn't bother to state your opinion. It looks like a post to wind people up tbf.

You keep saying no reason but there is always a reason... maternal choice is a reason. Nobody goes into a major abdominal surgery for the fun of it.

Maternal choice is a valid reason, even the NICE guidelines support it.

Priority on the day will be given to the highest medical need. Which may be a footling breech, a shoulder dystopia or something else. Once the emergencies are done then the non-emergency electives happen. Irrespective of why the woman has made that choice.

Do you want to expand on a non-emergency elective being given priority in theatre over a footling breech? Or is the breech not actually an emergency because the woman isn’t in labour?

Virginal births tend to work out free as the hospital gets to make money on all the publicity 😊

The NHS is in a poor state but I find it really very hard to believe that a planned, elective section whilst the mother is not in labour would be put before an emergency section for footling breech of a labouring mother.

You need to fully explain your question and the scenario you mentioned.

What are your medical / healthcare credentials then? NICE guidelines deem maternal choice a reason. Plus the prioritization will have been done on clinical need and judgement.

But there always is a reason. And yes it’s major surgery but a vaginal birth is no walk in the park either and has just as many risks if not more.

This would very much depend if the woman with the breech presentation is in active labour.
Obviously the medics decide on clinical priority.
Your original post did not contain this situation though.

Arsey thread of the week award goes to!

I think they should be privately paid for if elective

I disagree, I think mothers should be offered an experienced, competent and kind midwife in a maternity unit that isn't understaffed. Every. Single. Time.

If a midwife isn't experienced, then an experienced modwife must be available to step in.

Until the above is guaranteed, I don't want my dd or dil to have to take their chances.

Of course!

It doesn't matter if the NHS is on it's knees, women entitled to healthcare on the NHS should be able to have the birth they want including an elective section. There are lots of things that you could penalise patients for by charging them for treatment. Why does it have to be women?

And OP, your thread is goady. Get off your phone and go to bed.

And I think you should pay out of your own pocket too for physio after a botched emergency C-section, after all it's your choice to improve your pelvic floor 👌

Accommodation for all the shepherd's takes up so much of the profit, they bearly break even. Plus those wise men are surprisingly poor tippers

what's your interest in this OP? there's a few reasons why an maternal request elective section might go ahead of an elective section for a footling on an elective list. If the footling is an emergency (labouring/SROM'd) then there aren't many things that'd trump that as a cat 1/2 section in whichever obstetric theatre is free. Unless you're the consultant doing the decision making re. list ordering you've probably not quite got all the right info.

I wouldn’t get an ECV if my life depended on it.

I am allowed choose to have a c section if I want to, and rightly so.

What anyone else does is none of my business and none of your business either.

The impact of perinatal hypoxia is only just starting to be understood

I would pick a c section to avoid this and I think everyone should be entitled to make the same choice

I chose to have a C-section. I have OCD and simply couldn't cope with the unknowns of vaginal birth. I spent my entire pregnancy quite mentally unwell and crippled with anxiety about still birth, shoulder dystocia, birth injuries, oxygen deprivation for my baby, etc.

Knowing I had the option for a C-section, despite there being no physical medical reason to need one, helped me cope. Forcing me to go through a birth I would have been petrified of would have been traumatic. I needed the known and controlled environment that comes with a section.

Women should absolutely be allowed to choose an elective section. It would be a slippery slope imo to start opposing women's birth choices, or making some people pay privately. Most midwives and consultants will encourage a vaginal birth in the absence of medical reasons. They encouraged me, but I made a fully informed choice and do not regret it one bit. Most women want a vaginal birth anyway. The amount of women choose a section for 'no reason' will be very few.

Also, the risks of sections are spoken about frequency. Most women are aware of them. The riska of vaginal birth imo are not spoken about. It's not often you'd hear professionals talking about the risk of things like cord compression, permanent incontinence, severe tears, the risk of forceps, etc. All information should be available on both options, and women should be able to pick.

There is always a reason- including women who choose to have a c section, that one comes under ‘maternal request’ and is ‘allowed’