C-Section by choice?

allgood921

Anybody here have a C-Section by choice?  I understand a lot of ladies have C-Sections not by choice, but has anyone actually chosen a C-Section over vaginal birth?  If so, why did you make that decision and did you feel that it had any benefit or down sides?

I'm within my first trimester of my first pregnancy and am just curious as to what options/possibilities are out there.  Thanks in advance for all thoughts/opinions!

DreamDisney

You can't just ask for a c section...

zbeesma86

depends on the doctor/hospital/insurance

kneenah1231

I asked for a c/s because my baby was measuring big and I was scared to push a big baby out. My dr ok'ed it :-)

I really took that surg for granted. Recovery is harder then what I though..

holly321

I would not recommend it. I have given birth both ways. And the vaginal recovery was 100x easier. Also, csections put added risks to future pregnancies. It is higher risk for the mother. It costs more.

Lharryman86

My first pregnancy was a csection due to my son being frank breech. When we started trying for this baby, my husband and I discussed if we would do another csection or ask about a vbac. Our decision was to opt for another csection because we knew what to expect. We still discussed our options with the doctor and it turned out her practice doesn't offer vbacs, so it's another csection for us! Our daughter will be here in 9 weeks unless she decides to come earlier!

mominwaiting29

Never been on this board but just popped in becUse I'm up feeding LO who was just 8 was old. I was c section by choice and I was able to ask. Initially I didn't want pit. I went into L&D with leakage and they kept me. I opted for pit after 8 hours and waited and waited. 4 more hours, no progression I said I was done to take him before I get an infection. Dr said ok. Then my water broke and a hell broke loose for a few hours. By midnight I had a fever of 99 and then again said no more, call the doc and tKe this baby. And he did.

You have to advocate for yourself and LO and your doc would normally oblige.

slwprincess

My first was experiencing reduced fetal movement/heartrate so I was given a choice between induction or c/s. After asking the dr if she thought I would end up with a c/s and hearing my odds- DH and I opted for the c/s to get him out fast. No regrets as he had ingested meconium and collapsed a lung after birth. Induction would have been disastrous. But just choosing a c/s for no medical reason ahead of time? Bad idea. I would certainly question any dr that ok'd that.

slwprincess

mominwaiting29 said:

Never been on this board but just popped in becUse I'm up feeding LO who was just 8 was old. I was c section by choice and I was able to ask. Initially I didn't want pit. I went into L&D with leakage and they kept me. I opted for pit after 8 hours and waited and waited. 4 more hours, no progression I said I was done to take him before I get an infection. Dr said ok. Then my water broke and a hell broke loose for a few hours. By midnight I had a fever of 99 and then again said no more, call the doc and tKe this baby. And he did.

You have to advocate for yourself and LO and your doc would normally oblige.

Oh and I would not consider this scenario an elective c/s. I typically consider elective c/s to be a decision made prior to labor or water breaking with NO significant medical reason.

allgood921

Granted this is ultimately a question for my doctor, I am a carrier of an infectious disease that can be passed from mother to baby during vaginal birth, the chances are minute but still possible. so yes, if I chose to have a c/s it would have a medical reason.  I apologize if my original wording was misleading.  But I am thankful for the helpful comments that gave me more insight as to what I could be facing in the coming months.  

nosoup4u

What disease, if you don't mind sharing.

Your original post was quite a bit different than the one you just posted. I would never choose a cs over a vaginal birth, like Holly I've experienced both, and the recoveries are quite a bit different. Not to mention risks involved w multiple repeat cs, etc.

DreamDisney

mominwaiting29 said:

Never been on this board but just popped in becUse I'm up feeding LO who was just 8 was old. I was c section by choice and I was able to ask. Initially I didn't want pit. I went into L&D with leakage and they kept me. I opted for pit after 8 hours and waited and waited. 4 more hours, no progression I said I was done to take him before I get an infection. Dr said ok. Then my water broke and a hell broke loose for a few hours. By midnight I had a fever of 99 and then again said no more, call the doc and tKe this baby. And he did.

You have to advocate for yourself and LO and your doc would normally oblige.

Yeah this is not an elective c section. I had stalled labor and had to have a c section. Not by choice.

allgood921

I have inactive Hep C, diagnosed at 17, contracted it from my mother at birth, or at least that was the best 'guess' the doctor could provide since you really can't trace where it came from (I didn't do drugs or have any blood transfusions, just my mother was positive for Hep C)

I've done research and nothing proves that C/S is a better route to prevent transmission, but it is something I will be asking my doctor about.  I'm just so scared.  I knew the day would come and I told myself time and time again I won't let this stop me from having a family.  But now that it's happened I just can't shake the feeling, pregnancy hormones maybe?

I'm young, I'm healthy, I don't have any liver damage, I take care of myself.  But motherly instincts have kicked in already and all i want to do is everything in my power to prevent anything from happening to my baby.  

Ugh I know this isn't the board for this so I am sorry for babbling, I'm just crossing my fingers that my blood work comes back OK and risk for transmission is on the low end rather than the high end.

spinsoffresonance

allgood921 said:

I have inactive Hep C, diagnosed at 17, contracted it from my mother at birth, or at least that was the best 'guess' the doctor could provide since you really can't trace where it came from (I didn't do drugs or have any blood transfusions, just my mother was positive for Hep C)

I've done research and nothing proves that C/S is a better route to prevent transmission, but it is something I will be asking my doctor about.  I'm just so scared.  I knew the day would come and I told myself time and time again I won't let this stop me from having a family.  But now that it's happened I just can't shake the feeling, pregnancy hormones maybe?

I'm young, I'm healthy, I don't have any liver damage, I take care of myself.  But motherly instincts have kicked in already and all i want to do is everything in my power to prevent anything from happening to my baby.  

Ugh I know this isn't the board for this so I am sorry for babbling, I'm just crossing my fingers that my blood work comes back OK and risk for transmission is on the low end rather than the high end.

Sounds like this is something you need to discuss with your OB to figure out what is best for you and the baby. I would definitely go for the csection IF the risk of passing on Hep C was significantly reduced.
A friend of mine chose a csection with LO2. She had a third degree tear when she delivered LO1. The OB let her choose vaginal or csection with LO2, knowing that another bad tear could mean she would have to wear diapers for the rest of her life, she chose c-section.

exhibitv

slwprincess said:

My first was experiencing reduced fetal movement/heartrate so I was given a choice between induction or c/s. After asking the dr if she thought I would end up with a c/s and hearing my odds- DH and I opted for the c/s to get him out fast. No regrets as he had ingested meconium and collapsed a lung after birth. Induction would have been disastrous. But just choosing a c/s for no medical reason ahead of time? Bad idea. I would certainly question any dr that ok'd that.

My story is similar to @slwprincess - I was diagnosed with mild pre-eclampsia at 38 weeks. I was given a choice between induction (I was not showing any signs of labor) or c-section. I was also REALLY sick (I thought it was a cold, but it may have been symptoms of the pre-eclampsia) and I decided my chances of ending up with a c-section were high so I just skipped it and went to the surgery.  I am glad I made the choice because my DD had some signs of distress and had ingested some meconium as well, and odds were that the induced labor would have exacerbated that.   

Mama-Bear

In your situation I'd probably opt for a c/s (depending on the risks for vaginal vs. c/s delivery).  I would never opt for a c/s "just because". 

michellersayer

I had an emergency c section with my first and only bc I've had one before I was given the choice of a csection with my second baby

danigirl7181

My secind was a 

michellersayer said:

I had an emergency c section with my first and only bc I've had one before I was given the choice of a csection with my second baby

This exactly, I chose a RCS.

Fitnessteach2010

I had no intention of having a c-section. The baby was head up(anterior) and the labor was horrific. I was in labor for over 24 hrs and they kept increasing pitocin. I was 9 cm but they couldn't turn her and baby was starting to show signs of distress. I had to have the c-section. You need to discuss all options with your dr. 

CMK13

I am contemplating a c/s. I have a bleed on my cervix and worried about having a vaginal birth. I plan on talking about it with my dr