Emergency c section?

ASmallWonder

I know that however every baby gets into the world is perfect as long as they're healthy.  But some girl on 3rd tri posted her birth story and said she had an emergency c section and I don't agree.  She was in labor for 30 hours and the baby just wouldn't budge but the heart rate was strong and regular.  The doctor told her that it was really time to consider the section.  

So, in your opinion, was that an emergency?  I would definitely call it unexpected but to me, an emergency is "We have to get this baby out NOW."  With Aiden his heart rate wasn't getting picked up by the monitor for minutes at a time but then it would come back.  They had time to up my epi and not put me out entirely so to me, like I said, mine was urgent but still not an emergency.  I think murph had to be put out completely and I wouldn't compare her situation to mine and certainly not to the girl on third tri.

Melly Mel

It could be considered an emergency if her water broke at the beginning of those 30 hours.

Princessn678

It may still be considered an emergency if her water was broken more then 24 hours. Thats why I had to have pitocen because my water had broken but I was not having strong enough contractions to dilate.

grapeape73

I understand your problem with it.  You think and emergency is when either the baby or mother is in eminent jeopardy.  I think she might be using the term "emergency" to mean it wasn't scheduled or planned for.  

I never really thought about it before.  With my 3rd I had a c-section.  I never called it an "emergency" because we tried a version and it didn't work.  It wasn't really planned, but never were either of our lives at risk. It was just a c-section.

Danikat15

There could have been other issues other than heart rate that could have made it an emergency.  I'm not trying to be snarky here, but who really cares?  

IrishBrideND

our horpsital would not consider that an emergency. For an emergency, H would not be allowed in the room. I almost had to have a csection because my water broke over 24 hours before I gave birth. It would not have been considered an emergency and H would have been allowed in the room.

ASmallWonder

Danikat15:

There could have been other issues other than heart rate that could have made it an emergency.  I'm not trying to be snarky here, but who really cares?  

Most of the crap we talk about on here we shouldn't care about haha  I'm not picking on the girl or anything.  I'm just curious if people think an emergency means "in imminent danger" or "vaginal isn't working so let's go for a section soon." 

murfygirl

I don't even know if mine was considered an emergency until we were in the OR. DH was suited up ready to go in and I was OK and for a while so was Silas but then he just disappeared off the heart monitor and they couldn't find him so they didn't waste time giving me an epi they just put me under.

But leading up to prepping me to move to the OR they took their dear sweet time. They decided at 9pm that he wasn't budging it was time to consider a c-section, and Silas wasn't born till 10:50pm. 

blissfully_caffeinated

I see both sides.

If her doctor nonchalantly mentioned that she should probably start considering a c-section I wouldn't consider that an emergency. If she had been in labor for 30 hours and the doctor said ok it's time to get this baby out. We need to do a c-section then yeah, that's an emergency c-section imo.  An emergency is something urgent that requires immediate action. There is no requirement for mom or baby to have their life on the line before it is considered an emergency.

BellaAmor215

Princessn678:

It may still be considered an emergency if her water was broken more then 24 hours. Thats why I had to have pitocen because my water had broken but I was not having strong enough contractions to dilate.

This is exactly what I was about to write.

bakerlm

Mine was labeled an emergency.  I'm not sure I called it that.  My DH was not allowed in the room and I was gassed because of my platelette count being so low they didn't think I would clot.  Kind of emergency for me but my DS was perfectly fine.  I guess I would count "emergency" as both being in trouble.  Who cares as long as everyone is healthy.

lindsayll

This smells a little bit like "my birth was better than your birth"....or more natural...or more extreme...or more emergent...or whatever flavor your digging.

I'm one of those med free birth people, and fairly passionate about it, but I've learned to tread carefully to avoid the "my birth was better than yours" trap.

I mean, I could follow your lead and be an assshole and point out that both of you probably could have avoided your c-sections by laboring at home as long as possible and not getting an epi.  But that would be overly simplifying the situation and unfairly denigrating your birth experience.

danto

symantics.

It's not like she posted "OMG just had Emergency C" and left it at that.  It was a birth story.

If it was a facebook status - she probably wouldn't have used "emergency"

loregopar

lindsayll:

This smells a little bit like "my birth was better than your birth"....or more natural...or more extreme...or more emergent...or whatever flavor your digging.

I'm one of those med free birth people, and fairly passionate about it, but I've learned to tread carefully to avoid the "my birth was better than yours" trap.

I mean, I could follow your lead and be an assshole and point out that both of you probably could have avoided your c-sections by laboring at home as long as possible and not getting an epi.  But that would be overly simplifying the situation and unfairly denigrating your birth experience.

I think you just did...

I would ask for more details before judging this one. If it' was just the way you say it, I wouldn't consider that an emergency c-section.

lindsayll

to make a point about the OP's comment (see the "but" part you also bolded?)

sleepingbeauty825

I think the term "emergency" in reference to a c-section really is more like "unplanned." Of course there are true emergency c-sections, but many unplanned c's get called emergency.

loregopar

lindsayll:

to make a point about the OP's comment (see the "but" part you also bolded?)

You are right, you did add a "but" there, which effectively means you didn't invalidate their experience. I apologize for suggesting you had, but I wonder if that whole part was really necessary at all.

ASmallWonder

I can see what some of you are saying about how if it was kind of a rushed decision, some might feel that was an emergency.  I was honestly just wondering if I was the only person not seeing it that way.  But I'm also someone who thinks emergency rooms are overused for non emergencies so maybe my idea of "emergency" is skewed....  I absolutely don't play the "whose birth was better/harder/scarier" game because no situation is like any other and I don't pretend that mine was any more or less eventful than anyone else's.

Oh and for the poster who said I could have avoided it (and I know you weren't being a PITA) I was almost 42 weeks and had to be induced so there was no laboring at home at all for me, try as I might :-p 

sleepingbeauty825

elmoali:

Oh and for the poster who said I could have avoided it (and I know you weren't being a PITA) I was almost 42 weeks and had to be induced so there was no laboring at home at all for me, try as I might :-p 

LOL!

ASmallWonder

sleepingbeauty825:

elmoali:

Oh and for the poster who said I could have avoided it (and I know you weren't being a PITA) I was almost 42 weeks and had to be induced so there was no laboring at home at all for me, try as I might :-p 

LOL!

Haha I begged for sex (only to be denied) bounced like a crazy ass on my exercise ball for days, waddled around my block endless times as the neighborhood children rolled their eyes at me and took primrose oil.  I refused to go the castor oil route because I can't imagine anything worse than crapping yourself nearly to death while trying to push out a human :-p 

lindsayll

elmoali, I'm glad you took that in the spirit it was intended.  Sorry you couldn't get labor kick started, I think generally babies come when they are ready and all the stuff we try is kind of a moot point.  Some people just have really comfy utes and/or stubborn babies

Hip2Bsquare

Honestly we don't know enough to call it an emergency c (i.e. water breaking etc). IMO from what we do know it wouldn't be an emergency.

ANJ410

If the baby didn't budge it could be because it was a big baby and I know from a friend of mine who needed an emergency c-section for this reason that it is extremely risky to deliver a really big baby vaginally because sometimes the head can clear the canal but the shoulders can get stuck and nerve damage can occur to the baby.

My 1st c-section was a this-baby-must-come-out-now senerio because his heartrate was dropping very low and he was going into distress, but I've heard of lots of other situations that lead to emergency c-sections.

FemmeNat01

That's more along the lines of unplanned c-section unless her water broke at the beginning or something.

I had an emergency c-section. My BP was 200/115 and I had a 4+ on my protein test. They needed to get the babies out stat.

Starfish113

lindsayll:

elmoali, I'm glad you took that in the spirit it was intended.  Sorry you couldn't get labor kick started, I think generally babies come when they are ready and all the stuff we try is kind of a moot point.  Some people just have really comfy utes and/or stubborn babies

LOL at "really comfy utes"

lite-bright

grapeape73:

 I think she might be using the term "emergency" to mean it wasn't scheduled or planned for.  

Ditto.

I had a c/s with DD2 b/c she was breech. We had a version planned for two days later, with a c/s scheduled to follow if it didn't work.

Instead, my water broke in the middle of the night and we had to head straight to the hospital for a c/s that was not planned to happen that way at all. Neither of our lives were in immediate danger, but neither I nor my OB were willing to risk a breech birth.

I consider mine an "urgent" c/s b/c I was in labor with a breech baby and contrax were coming 3-7 minutes apart almost immediately; it wasn't a situation where we could just wait around indefinitely. But it still took several hours before they got me into the OR and she was born, so it never really felt like an "emergency."

sdtchica13

I agree with many of the PP's that this would fall under the heading of "unplanned" rather than "emergency" based on what we know about her birth, but my answer could be subject to change if I had more details.

However, as for the PP who said that if we all tried to labor at home we could have avoided a c-section, I am aware that you were half kidding, but I am still a teeny bit offended. My c-section was absolutely an "emergency"; I started hemorrhaging at 30 weeks, started having contractions, and my water broke, leaving my LO with no fluid. Had I been "laboring at home" or indeed, even in the hospital (where I was on bedrest) for much longer, I would have either lost my uterus or hemorrhaged to death.

I know you mean that comment in lighthearted jest, but it still rubbed me the wrong way...just saying.

bump54321

Hmmmm.......  well, I had DS at 33 weeks via c-section because my pre-e had become severe.  His heartbeat was ok, and even though I was really really sick, I wasn't in a life and death situation at the time, if you kwim.  DH was in the OR with me and I was awake, although I started to freak out that I couldn't feel my feet so I was heavily sedated by the end.  We had a NICU doctor in the room with us because DS was 7 weeks early and they had to move fast to get him on oxygen and make sure he was ok.  Because I was so sick and DS was in NICU, I couldn't see him for about 24 hours after he was born.  I think my c/s was considered an emergency c/s since it was really early, I was really sick, DS had to come out for my safety, etc.  But, it wasn't what my hospital considered a "stat" c/s...meaning that I didn't have to be put under and no one's life was at risk.

 

We don't really know all the details of the girl's story, so I don't know.  But, I guess she just meant it was unplanned and perhaps there could have been issues if they hadn't done the c/s.