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Pregnancy

Talk about every stage of pregnancy, from early symptoms to preparing for birth.

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Original poster

C Section Worry

15 replies

niamh29 · 23/08/2009 16:02

I had my 38 week scan last Thursday and was told that the baby is still breech (was at 34 week scan) and I will have to have a section. I have been booked in for my due date (3rd Sept) I asked was there any chance the baby would turn and was told no, also was told if I went into labour before my due date I would have to have an emergency section.
I was really disappointed with the news as I was hoping to have as natural a birth as possible and to be honest I never even considered the possibility of a section so it was a big shock to find out I would have to have one, also I was induced with my first and had an epidural which didn't work very well so I'm worried that it won't work for the section either.
I'm also worried about the recovery, is it as bad as I think its going to be? How am I going to feel??
Sorry, lots of questions going around in my head, I could use any advice ye have!
Thanks

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hanaflowerhatestheDM · 23/08/2009 16:08

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FabBakerGirlIsBack · 23/08/2009 16:12

Get on your hands and knees for 15 minutes four times a day. That might encourage the baby to move.

Ask about having baby turned but do it in hospital. It can make you feel unwell but it might be worth it.

Why can they not do vaginal deliveries for a breech baby?

lilysam · 23/08/2009 16:20

Same thing happened to me with my first - it was fine! I made sure i knew what it entailed so there were no surprises. I really wasn't comfortable with the idea of delivering a breech baby, having had no experience of child birth. The recovery wasn't bad at all. You just have to take it easy. I've heard just as many horror/recovery stories from a natural birth.

I went on to have another section with DS and that recovery was quicker. You just need a decent support network around you to help in the early days with lifting etc.

I also had no trouble managing to bond with my children and breastfed for 6 months - despite some of the stories about the effects of c-sections i'd read before.

Hope this is of some help
Good luck x

Original poster

niamh29 · 23/08/2009 16:22

The Doctor didn't seem to think it was an option to have a normal delivery and to be honest I think there would be more risks involved in a breech delivery than in a section. Whatever is safest for the baby I will do! I was surprised he didn't mention manual turning as I thought it would be option, am going to the doc tomorrow so will ask then!

OP posts:

Original poster

niamh29 · 23/08/2009 16:26

Thats good news about the breastfeeding, heard it was more difficult after a section and its tough enough to get that going without any extra problems!

OP posts:

lilysam · 23/08/2009 16:26

Why have you been told there's no chance baby will turn??

I was told my dd might turn even though the odds were against it (she's been there forever, big baby, first baby so muscles a bi tighter etc). Even then they never ruled out canceling a section and me going natural if she turned. The even scanned me before hand to double check before going ahead with the section.

Have you tried the all fours thing or birthing ball tricks?

Fingers crossed baby turns and you get the delivery you want x

ShowOfHands · 23/08/2009 16:32

If you have a section, you won't have an epidural I would imagine, you will have a spinal block which is a one off injection in your spine that starts to wear off before you even leave recovery. They check you're numb too! I had full sensation back by the time I reached the ward.

I have only ever had a cs, nowt to compare it to. I was discharged 12 hrs later, no painkillers and back to normal very quickly. This was an em cs too. So, you see, it can be straightforward, simple and painless, just like a vaginal birth can be difficult, painful and leave lasting damage.

I understand you didn't imagine this. I wanted a home waterbirth! However, with an el cs there are things you can do to take more control over it. Music, asking to see the baby lifted out, minimal staff and noise, skin to skin, bfing straight away.

I bfed too btw. Exclusively for 7 months and still feeding at 2.3yrs.

ReneRusso · 23/08/2009 16:55

I agree with everyone who has said the baby could still turn. Have you tried going for a swim? Apparently this may help as well as spending lots of time crawling around on the floor.

I have had a vaginal delivery and an emergency c-section and to be honest the recovery was only slightly more difficult with a c-section, and only for the first week or two. You just need to take it a bit easy and not try to do too much at first. There was no problem with breast-feeding or bonding. It would probably be worth having some help at home in the early days, eg mum or mil.

Original poster

niamh29 · 23/08/2009 17:02

Thanks, that makes me feel a lot better, i'm not very good at taking it easy and I was worried I wouldn't be able to move around for 5 or 6 weeks!

The doctor did say that if when I come in for the section the baby had turned then all well and good, he just didn't seem to think that was very likely! I actually think that would be worse, i'm trying to gear myself up for the section after months of gearing myself up for a normal birth, if I go in for the section and i'm sent home i'll probably be devastated!!! (i'm not very flexible am ???)

OP posts:

bevlin · 26/08/2009 20:35

Don't worry niamh29. I felt a bit of a cheat having a section. (Was emergency) The spinal/epidural is very very different from the one they give you during natural labour they assured me and were right. You seriously won't feel a thing from the waste down and for quite a while. It was absolutely pain free. The baby could have been brought out from a box under the bed for all I knew!! As for the recovery, it's brilliant. You will be given enough painkillers to numb a horse for your stay in hosp and they will make you grin alot ! It also gave me time to bond with my DS all to myself with help at hand with the breastfeeding, albeit minimal help! As soon as I got home I was out walking with my pram for miles. Im PG with No.2 (21 weeks) and still have no idea what the pain of childbirth is like, I feel like a first timer too, bricking it!

bevlin · 26/08/2009 20:36

oops! Waist not waste - that's what's happened to my brain cells!

mcflumpy · 31/08/2009 08:52

I had a planned cs at 37 weeks for same reasons as you, also my fluids were low so there was very little chance of baby turning. I was dreading it as it wasn't something I had considered during my pregnancy (had the whole mother earth scenario in my head). For us, it turned out to be a really positive experience, theatre staff were great, really relaxed us both, baby was delivered very quickly and although she was small, she was OK and we had skin to skin within a few minutes and she latched on straight away. My milk took about a week to come in so she lost a bit of weight and we stayed in an extra couple of days but that allowed me to establish bf with midwife assistance, not sure if that was related to CS or whether my milk just takes that amount of time to come in, DD is 12 weeks old and i'm still bf. Recovery was OK, not being able to drive was biggest restriction but check with your insurance company as some (not mine!) will let you drive earlier if GP says its OK.
Nothing will prepare you for the sensation of the actual operation, it is the weirdest thing I have ever experienced, not unpleasant, just odd. I was really itchy all over afterwards which was side effect of spinal block but that disappeared within a day. I felt I had fully recovered by th 6 week mark.
Best of luck, hope it goes well, it will be worth it.

lazylion · 31/08/2009 10:05

I'm having a section the same day as you niamh, it will be my third. Elective CS is fine, almost painless and very relaxed. It does feel wierd when the surgeon is rummaging inside so it is best to be prepared for that (it made me panic first time), the only other problem I had was gas pains two days after the operation.
Otherwise I found breastfeeding easy and started in the recovery room. My recovery was great, I was taking the babies out to cafes a week later. Make sure you have plenty of help at home for a couple of weeks so you can recover properly - the women I know who had problems were the ones who didn't follow the no lifting / hoovering etc advice. And get huge cotton pants, they protect the wound and are comfortable.
With my first baby I wanted a homebirth, but ended in emergency CS, knowing what I know now I would actually opt for elective CS.
Good luck for Thursday.

Mouette · 31/08/2009 12:24

Don't worry! I had an emergency c-section for my DS last April and it was fine. The pain went away after about 3 days and they gave me loads of painkillers anyway. Just make sure you don't lift heavy things, etc for the first few weeks. Relax and think about the pluses of a planned c-section: no waiting for labour to start, no pain from contractions, knowing in advance when the birth will happen, not having to push the baby out, no episiotomy...
I wanted a normal birth too, but ended up with a c-section after a 24 hour labour and a failed forceps delivery. I would much have preferred a planned c-section!

mcflumpy · 03/09/2009 21:51

second the big pants!...

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