Caesarean vs vaginal birth nowadays

[Bikergran]

I just heard on the radio that this year in the UK, caesarean births have outnumbered vaginal births. Can I ask why you had a caesarean, if this was an option before labour commenced, or was it an emergency, and did you regret it? Or did you want a caesarean and were refused?

For full transparency, I am well beyond childbearing age now, had 3 children vaginally, one with forceps, another very traumatic psychologically. My DIL had an emergency caesarean after being in strong labour over 24 hours. My mother had 2 classic caesareans (where they cut you vertically from breastbone to pubis) in 1941 and 1953, the first one being performed by her family GP as the consultant couldn't get through due to wartime restrictions.

I was just surprised by the statistic, why do you think there has been such a massive rise in numbers?

I had a private section 20 years ago as I was expecting twins. The NHS wouldn't do it because they wanted me to try a vaginal birth first, hence I paid to go private. I chose a c-section first I didn't want to run the risk of one vaginal and one c section, I also wanted to be sure of no tear which may mean sex wouldn't be as great and I didn't want any incontinence problems. No regrets - expensive but I had no problems afterwards and quickly recovered.

We’re similar, out of 21 births in our family 2 have been C-sections (both planned, one for breech, one for preeclampsia).

I had an emergency c-section after being in labour for 60 hours. It was horrendous. Senior midwife shouting at the team wanting to know why on earth I’d been allowed to labour for so long with zero progress. It was all very traumatic and definitely not the birth I’d imagined. I never had another baby. Other women I’ve met who also had poor birth experiences did go ahead and have another baby but chose to go straight to c-section.

To be honest, I think the number of women choosing a c-section is driven by the poor standard of maternity care. Women want a safe delivery. So many have been let down when they’re at their most vulnerable. They don’t want a delivery that leaves them deeply traumatised and exhausted.

It made me shout out loud at the radio when the newsreader said it was due to obesity and conditions such as diabetes. What a load of bollocks. How patronising. If men had to give birth the whole maternity experience would be very different.

One emergency the rest planned c sections. Once the first one occurred I preferred to keep the damage in one area.

It's all so personal so nothing is right or wrong if it's safe. I had an induction the first time round and natural delivery the next, and both times I was grateful that I didn't have to also recover from major surgery on top of the shellshock of giving birth. I was very lucky but if a C section had been safer for us both I wouldn't have hesitated, obviously.

3 DC. DC1 was an emergency c section & DC2&3 planned sections due to maternal choice as I wasn't going through what went wrong with DC1 again.

I thoroughly recommend c sections for thise that want them - Ive told DD Id always support what she wanted but I would also choose a ELCS over a vaginal birth.

I'm pleased that it's now easier for women to choce how they want to give birth as thats how it should be.

first time was emergency c section. 17 hours of pain and it turned out she was at an awkward angle so was never going to come out. Horrific experience trying to give birth natural. I’d never felt pain like it. I knew I would then be asking for a c section if I had any more.

2nd was planned c section because I developed epilepsy and had a grand mal seizure. They did actually try and put me off having one though. I had to have an appointment with someone who was really quite blunt and didn’t want me to have one. I was worried I would have a seizure during labour.

3rd time round, I had loads of awareness seizures and was really ill throughout pregnancy. They didn’t question me this time and let me book straight in for a C section.

I’ll be honest - for me the C section was the easy way out. I couldn’t bear the thought of going through the pain of trying to give birth again. I was genuinely traumatised by it and it stopped me bonding with my first. I found that I healed very, very quickly from the C sections.

I really wanted a natural birth but unfortunately due to reduced movements (otherwise perfect pregnancy) I was induced, this failed after several days so I had to have a CS. Care after was crap and I got out of hospital ASAP.

If I was to have another I don't know what I'd do. I am a bit sad I didn't get to experience birth but the main thing is that my baby and I are safe. I worry about the increased risks with a VBAC.

I had two ELCS, no medical indications purely maternal request. I have tokophobia so the idea of a vaginal birth was very hard.

My anxiety was so bad during my second pregnancy that the consultant considered doing the section early for fear of me coming to harm if I continued to be pregnant for much longer. I managed to get to 38 weeks in the end but unsurprisingly never had a third.

The sections themselves were actually very surprisingly great experiences. Calm and relaxed in theatre and took hardly any time. We were even chatting about name options whilst the consultant was stitching up.

I should add the NHS were an absolute nightmare about all of the above, made my life hell by making me feel like a complete freak and I ended up taking out a bank loan to pay to go private!

My induction with my first turned into a very emergency c section and I was having twins for my second birth.
As they were twins they were coming early so my choices were c section or induction after my first experience of induction there was no chance I was doing that again so chose elective section.
No regrets, women should always have the choice of birth method.

Dd was born by caesarean in 2018. It was planned due to traverse breech position. I didn't want to have a ECV due to the risks. I was really upset when they recommended the c-section, as I'd wanted an all natural water birth, with relaxing music, no pain relief etc. Tbh, I'm really pleased I had a c-section. It was a great experience and I'm lucky that I had an easy recovery. If I'd have had any more children, I would've definitely opted for another caesarian.

I wanted a C-section but it was refused. I was induced without any mention of consent and was so grateful to be offered an emergency C-section 20 hours later at 2 cm dilation. I couldn’t face going through that again so only had one baby. I don’t know why C-section rates are up but if it had been an option, I would have had more children.

I had a medically necessary c-section, but I completely understand why women may choose it. No pain, no trauma, baby not at risk from negligent care, and the recovery was fine.

I think the number has risen due to too many unnecessary inductions.
I’ve had 3 sections 2 emergancies then an elective even though I wanted to attempt a vbac again I got a second opinion from another consultant but they really weren’t keen or confident to care for me in labour

Yes I regret the sections and wish I had experienced vaginal births but also very grateful for the surgeons as me and baby wouldn’t be here otherwise

I had an EMCS under GA after waters broke, labour not progressing, then induction.

Being honest with myself it was likely because at 36 I was a geriatric mother, and overweight.

I had (have) really bad incontinence issues after having my first (vaginally). I think midwives should be more open about the risks of natural births as well as the risks of c sections.

i wanted a section for my second but he came a bit too quickly.

1st baby sort of planned c section. Unwell during pregnancy and high risk and went down hill over 4 days so c section and baby out intensive care. Unwell and unstable after.

Due to baby 1. Kings monitored throughout pregnancy and baby 2 delivered early (3 weeks) by c section unwell after.
Etc

all of mine due to eclampsia which was worse with each pregnancy

I had a 5 day failed induction that ended in sepsis and being rushed to theatre. Whilst they were getting me ready, baby dropped heart rate and ended up having to be resuscitated. For second birth I had an elected c section and if I were to have another, I'd do the same again.

I read about this earlier today and about all the recommendations made for maternal care which haven't been put in to action. I think more women are opting for a c section due to hearing bad experiences from other women and the media.

I had a failed induction which led to an Emg c section so that was my first one. Second I went straight for ELCS

I had an emergency C-section and obviously I don't regret it as it saved our lives. My DDs head was lodged sideways in my pelvis. I was never going to give birth naturally yet I was forced to endure labour for 2 days as no-one realised. The delay meant things went dangerously downhill and we both almost died. So I don't think doctors rush into C-sections, in my case they didn't rush into it fast enough.

I only had one child and, whilst I wish I had a less traumatic birth experience, I honestly don't know if I feel sad that I didn't give birth vaginally. I hear a lot about tears, urinary issues, pelvic floor problems and all sorts of things from my friends who gave birth vaginally that I can't relate to.

My first was an EMCS. The induction 'failed' because it should never have been attempted (Bishop's score of 0), but I don't know that until it was too late.
Second was an ELCS because I wasn't about to take a 1:5 chance of a lifetime of faecal incontinence.

Quite honestly, I think it's a mixture of very personal decisions based on previous experiences, having a better understanding of the risks going into childbirth (it's much easier to research risks/outcomes based on your own circumstances these days) and knowing what you're prepared to accept (or not).

It's possibly also influenced by the ongoing maternity investigations which are uncovering so many issues with maternity care. This may well lead some women to the conclusion that a CS is the safest option.

Is the 1:5 chance of faecal incontinence specific to VBACs? Sorry I couldn't find anything when I googled

I personally chose not to give birth in hospital third time around (height of Covid) because I didn't feel that UK maternity care is safe, regardless of how baby is delivered. I still don't, especially when compared to other European countries.

Lots of contributing factors:

-poor standards and care in maternity services so women trying to reduce the risk of long inductions and ill thought out / dangerous integrations
-it's less common for women to be cajoled / guilted / told there's no other option than "natural" left
-NICE guidelines say it's maternal choice
-women less willing to tolerate procedures they don't want, l would have declined balloon induction for example. I also would have declined nil by mouth for days (twin pregnancy made me stupidly thirsty and hungry), l would have declined forceps etc

For me personally l didn't especially rate our local hospital (or the other ones nearby!). Plus it was twins and l was 43, l didn't want what was my probably last chance of having children being bungled by shit local hospital and chaotic maternity department. Plus they were both breech anyway and with a combined weight of 12 pounds at 37 weeks plus 2 placentas and 2 lots of fluid neither couldn't have moved into head down anyway

I also hear lots of stories of lazy and neglectful approaches to pain relief in labour -which l say as a medical professional

Plus l don't care what other people think anyway. I also have my vagina the way it's always been without tears, shit stitching etc

Last mum's night out l was on then everyone had ended up with failed inductions and emergency c sections. Consensus of opinion was they had wished they had just gone straight for the c section as they ended up there exhausted and traumatized