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C-sections
Does anyone else simply WANT a c-section?
in C-sections
It's so common to hear people talk about wanting a vaginal delivery, but is anyone on the other end where they didn't want a vaginal birth?
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Re: Does anyone else simply WANT a c-section?
I don't think I ever wanted a c/s over a vaginal delivery. However, once I was told I had to have one, I was pretty happy about knowing when my LO would be born and not having to go through labor (or so I thought - I went into labor before my scheduled c/s!). I definitely tried to focus on the positive aspects of having a planned c/s and I do see some benefits to it.
I supposed there are a few people out there that would...but most of us it was not by choice.
My doctor will not do VBAC's (small town and only OB) so my subsequent pregnancies I really didn't have a choice in the matter. I could of chosen to travel to another doctor to do a VBAC but I love my doctor and didn't want to change...so I guess you could technically say with my second child, I chose a c-section over a vaginal birth. My doctor even told me I was a good candidate for a VBAC because of the impending circumstances with my first birth. I just didn't want to chance traveling over an hour to a hospital that would.
As a kid I said oh a c-section is nice. Let the doc do all the work etc. But it didn't matter to me how my children were born as long as we had a healthy baby and mom.
I had a c-section do to medical reasons (got sick at 18 and the doc said I couldn't put my body through all that stress)
Its a way I can have a baby and we are both safe, I am all for it.
No, not me.
Remember, the c-section comes with some downsides aside from just the discomfort and pain of recovery - LO is more likely to end up in NICU with fluid in his/her lungs (as was the case with mine), and also more likely to have difficulty establishing breastfeeding (also the case with me), among other issues. A c-section is a great choice when there is a medical need, and the benefits outweigh the downsides/risks. But in a normal situation, vaginal birth is better.
I've thought a few times in retrospect about how the surgery was not as bad as I expected, and how I am happy to have my stitches in my belly instead of in my vagina, but I would not want a c-section if that hadn't been the necessary medical decision.
I have similar feelings about my experience. DH said at one point that he sort of saw the c/s coming, and I guess in a way I did too. I wasn't surprised when it happened, anyway. I was induced with DD (not fun) because she was postdates, which bothers me more than the resulting c/s. My labor was awful but my c/s recovery was fine and I had no problem BFing or bonding with DD. This time I have the choice between a VBAC and an RCS, and after giving both options a lot of consideration, what it came down to was that I really just didn't want a VBAC. I don't think I would ever have chosen an elective primary c/s, but vaginal birth has never been something I strongly felt I needed to do, or feel now that I'm missing out on.
If you are considering having an elective c-section when you haven't had to have one before, don't do it.
I was so drugged up for my c-section that I couldn't even hold or nurse my LO when she was born (I threw up as soon as I got to the recovery room, so the doctors gave me an anti-nausea medicine that completely knocked me out for the rest of the night). And the risk for complications are not worth it. LO was perfectly healthy, but my incision kept re-opening for weeks after the surgery. Let me tell you - having your c-section incision packed with gauze every day for almost two weeks just so it won't get infected is not a pleasant experience (it finally sealed for good after that).
While I try to look on the bright side of having a c-section, such as not having to go through labor when I have my next LO (no VBAC for me!), I wish that I would have been able to deliver vaginally the first time around. Sure, labor and delivery are no fun (I labored for 23 hours before having my c-section, so I understand how painful contractions can be), but the shorter recovery time for vaginal delivery is definitely worth it.
Exactly this. I had a planned c-sect due to high BP and it was fabulous! I can understand how emergency c-sects can be scary and hard to recover from, especially if you labored for like 24hrs beforehand but my planned c-sect was awesome and so smooth and I was up and walking within 24hrs and just fine. I was nursing DS within an hour and we had no problems at all. I plan on doing a repeat for #2.
That's kind of rude. The poster before you said her vaginal birth was worse than her c-section so why wouldn't she prefer a c-section? There are traumatic vaginal births and there are traumatic c-section births, that doesn't mean someone is an idiot for preferring one way or another. Would I choose and elective c-section for my first delivery? No. But preferring one because you had a bad vaginal birth experience or would choose a RCS over a VBAC in no way makes someone stupid.
Posting from an Android sorry for any errors
This, exactly. Also I have no interest in a VBAC and will gladly schedule any future c-sections.
I lurk on this board from time to time, a bit more recently. I had a vaginal birth with my DD, and recovery was awful. I went back to my OB at 3, 6, and 8 weeks PP because my stitches weren't healing. After the 3rd appointment, she finally acknowledged that something was wrong, and recommended surgery to fix the issue. Long story short, over a dozen dr appointments, surgery, perineal steroid shots, specialists, and 2 years later, I'm about 75% recovered. The doctors aren't sure I'll ever fully recover. Wearing the wrong jeans can cause pain for a week. I have to be careful to sit down the "right" way. Intercourse has just recently become mostly pain free.
My new OB thinks that I'm at a very high risk for even more damage if I try another vaginal birth. More surgery, more scarring, more pain. I know a c-s is no picnic, but I really can't bring myself to go through that pain again. If we get PG again, I'll follow my doctor's advice and get a c-s.
I had this exact experience. Vaginal birth, 4th degree tear, 4 hours of pushing, I blacked out, had to have several post surgeries, excruciating pain for months, couldn't breastfeed as a result, had to see a psych because of the emotional trauma of not feeling like a woman anymore, sex and all of my parts are still extremely painful 2 years later, I went through pain med withdrawal, couldn't lift baby for 6 months, it was a nightmare, and I'll never feel normal. C-section sounds like a picnic in the park.
Exactly this!
This is how I feel as well. DD1 was an unplanned c/s after a long and difficult labor. I had no interest in having a VBAC with DD2 and was actually comforted by the RCS since I went into PTL and she was born at 33 wks. I had no idea what to expect for her, but knew what to expect with the c/s, so I focused on what I knew. I'm having twins this time around, so I could have ended up in a c/s anyways.
Both of my recoveries were quick and easy, I am incredibly close with both my girls, and BF'ed both of them over 18 months (and DD2 spent 23 days in the NICU). I am hoping to have the same experience this time around, as this will be my last delivery.
Sooo apparently I'm an idiot. FUN!
I guess I'm an oddball here. I wouldn't have necessarily asked for an elective C-section, but I definitely wasn't disappointed to find out I had to have one either. To be 100% honest, although I was excited and happy about becoming a mother, I wasn't looking forward to the birth- no matter how it happened. I am a baby when it comes to pain and I just cannot even begin to imagine the pain that comes with contractions and labor. I had a planned C-section with DD because she was breech and I had no complications whatsoever. I went into the operating room around 7:15, my Dr. made the cut at 7:30, DD was born at 7:33 and by 8:00, I was in the recovery room nursing my child. By 9, we were in the room with family and friends visiting. I had it done on a Thursday and we went to church Sunday morning. I wouldn't have traded my experience for anything! That being said, a VBAC is not even something I would consider. I will be planning a RCS with this one and hoping that I have just as easy an experience this time as I did last time.
Oh FFS-please.
Yes, I did want a section and yes, I had two of them. They may not be right for some but, for many they are exactly what they invision their birth experience to be.
If I were brave enough to have another child (which I'm not) I would opt for another section.
I've been adamant the entire pregnancy that I absolutely didn't want a c-section. My body and DS have decided otherwise. I have very recently been diagnosed with GD, and have polyhydramnios. DS has macrosomia and an "unstable lie".
Well, here I am...with a c-section scheduled on December 9. It took me several days of mulling it over and processing to come to terms with it. I like knowing when DS will be born, and knowing (pretty much) what to expect. I'm thankful that I won't have to go through an extended labor and then have an emergency c-section.
However, if I had a choice, I would still choose a vaginal birth. Maybe a VBAC will be an option for me next time.
I wanted mine and was thrilled when given the option (even though my doctor was disappointed I opted for it).
Surgery and recovery was a breeze. I have no desire to ever experience birth, so I'll VBAC with my future children as well.
I feel very similar. I ended up with a cs with DD and now that we're trying for #2, I have zero interest in having a VBAC. I had a wonderful experience with my first section. It always shocks me to read the bitter replies and reactions to sections here because mine was so not that way.
If it was acceptable and had been offered to me, I may have opted for a Section with my first baby from the start. I wasn't really excited about having giving birth vaginally. My mom had a horrific vaginal birth with my brother. She didn't breastfeed because she was in so much pain. Had the worst hemmeroids that my aunt who is a 40 year L+D nurse had ever seen. My brother had an Apgar score of 2 and had to go to the NICU. So anyway, I was more fearful of that scenario.
At 42 weeks and a failed induction I had to have section. I had a great recovery and opted to have another for baby no. 2. I had another great recovery and don't regret it or feel like I missed out one bit. So I guess you can add me to the idiots who would have preferred a section to start with.
I think as women we should support each other as to what we each decide is right for our bodies. I personally have chosen a c section for the Borg of my future children for reasons that I truly believe are the best for my babies. One could argue that the risk of shoulder dystocia, broken clavicle for the baby with possible nerve damage so that a woman can have the "ultimate" birth experience f delivering vaginally. Let's not forget 3rd-4th degree tears to the perineum for the mother, sexual dysfunction and possible incontinence... But I will continue to support thE mothers who want to deliver vaginally and can hope someday we can all support each other for the decisions we and our doctors have made.
Thank you for being honest and sharing positive feedback. I am scheduled for a c-section because of placenta previa, but had wanted an elective one from the beginning.
There are many reasons why a woman would want to decide her own birth plan and I applaud MOST of the ladies in this forum for respecting that. Only IDIOTS judge others without knowing their reasons.
I don't understand why you would. I find anyone who has never had a c-section prior yet wants to schedule one anyway without having medical complications is clearly not thinking about what is best for the unborn baby.
I've had 2 c-sections. First was an emergency and I was devastated. Baby had many complications, but quite a few of them were related to prematurity. I had a semi planned/necessary c-section for the second due to the fact that I had gestational diabetes and could not be induced for a vaginal and it was time to indeed induce. Had I gone in labor before the magic date, I would have attempted a vaginal.
My OB had offered a VBAC for the second one until all those complications came about. I was so indecisive and on the fence that I think he just wanted me to decide lol. Ends up I didn't have a choice so I'm glad I was not set on a vaginal.
Again, unless there are medical reasons or you've had a c-section before, I just don't understand why you would just WANT a c-section.