Planned C-Section NHS

[Somerset girl]

I’m on day 2 post elective section.
The actual c section was good - calm atmosphere, lovely staff. I felt very chilled once they got the baby out and abit sort of floaty but in a nice way.

I’m struggling a lot with pain now though and finding it harder than I thought I would trying to look after a baby on top of being in pain when I just want to rest. Hopefully that will get better soon

I did struggle with pain after my first (vaginal) birth too which involved assistance/episiotomy etc. Recovery took a long time after that birth tbf.

I don’t think I’m very good at giving birth basically

Don't beat yourself up. Both babies got here safely by the sound of it. I know you probably know this but keep on top of painkillers and don't be afraid to ask for more stronger ones if necessary. My first section was much harder to get over because I was determined to be 'strong' and didn't admit to myself how much I was struggling. Congratulations on the new baby, it's an amazing time even if you don't really appreciate it at the time

 

[Blair-Waldorf]

Hi, I don’t have a consultant appointment until early January to discuss the possibility of a section. I worry that she’ll say no if my pregnancy is going well etc. , or that my reasoning for wanting one isn’t ‘traumatic’ enough.

When is your section booked in for? X

In precisely 26 days not that I’m counting I’ll let you know how it goes!

my Baby was breech until recently and my placenta was low lying which all tilted towards a section. I also have polyhdramnios which is excess fluid, again another reason for me having an elective section x

also they can’t say no, I’m sure there is now a new law which came out last year around birth choices, every woman is entitled to an elective section regardless of reasons why - I’ve got a leaflet which I’ll dig out later and post here x

 

[maytoseptember]

I’m on day 2 post elective section.
The actual c section was good - calm atmosphere, lovely staff. I felt very chilled once they got the baby out and abit sort of floaty but in a nice way.

I’m struggling a lot with pain now though and finding it harder than I thought I would trying to look after a baby on top of being in pain when I just want to rest. Hopefully that will get better soon

I did struggle with pain after my first (vaginal) birth too which involved assistance/episiotomy etc. Recovery took a long time after that birth tbf.

I don’t think I’m very good at giving birth basically

Go easy on yourself. Day 2 is early days. I remember doing too much on day 2 and having to go to bed with the shakes. I remember getting to day 9 and wondering why I was still bothering with the painkillers, because I didn’t have any pain. Also found c section recovery MUCH easier than third degree tear recovery.

I know how it feels to look at women who breeze through childbirth and wonder how you got so unlucky! I felt the same. Hang in there and remember you do need bed rest this soon after surgery.

 

[MrsJones83]

I think this should come with a trigger warning, but not entirely sure how to do it.

My first was a traumatic labour that ended in emergency c-sec, post partum haemorrhage, blood transfusion and a 4 night stay in hospital but quite a long recovery afterwards, physically and mentally.

It was important for me to try again so my second was a VBAC attempt, but that also ended in emergency c-sec, and a 3 night stay in hospital. I had an ok recovery. The staff were keen for me to try naturally.

My 3rd was a planned caesarean, a much, much better experience. I was home in 24 hours and had a pretty good recovery. Back doing the school two weeks later. I asked for this c-sec and due to my previous two c-secs, they were very happy to go with this.

My 4th was also a planned caesarean, made a little more complicated by my previous surgeries but a very lovely experience. I didn’t have quite such an easy recovery but I was still back doing the school drop off two weeks later. We all agreed that this c-sec was the only option.

I do feel like I missed out on a very important event though, 4 kids but never “given birth”. This does upset me a lot.

I’m lucky that my recoveries have been fairly straight forward, but it still is major surgery so don’t go into it thinking it’s an easy option.

 

[Tired of this crap]

Go easy on yourself. Day 2 is early days. I remember doing too much on day 2 and having to go to bed with the shakes. I remember getting to day 9 and wondering why I was still bothering with the painkillers, because I didn’t have any pain. Also found c section recovery MUCH easier than third degree tear recovery.

I know how it feels to look at women who breeze through childbirth and wonder how you got so unlucky! I felt the same. Hang in there and remember you do need bed rest this soon after surgery.

Thank you for this!

 

[Dianne]

Thought I would update this thread as the OP.

I ended up choosing to have an elective c section if the baby wasn’t born by 1 week past her due date. This was decided at 37 weeks and prior to that it was all up in the air! I’m happy to say I never had to fight for what i wanted, my consultant actually said to me ‘you can have whatever you want’. I did have to advocate for a growth scan though which helped me decide what to do (she was quite big).

I had a traumatic birth first time round and my midwife referred me to a consultant at my booking appointment because of that. I was also under the mental health team so I had support in the early appointments with the consultants.

 

[Somerset girl]

Thought I would update this thread as the OP.

I ended up choosing to have an elective c section if the baby wasn’t born by 1 week past her due date. This was decided at 37 weeks and prior to that it was all up in the air! I’m happy to say I never had to fight for what i wanted, my consultant actually said to me ‘you can have whatever you want’. I did have to advocate for a growth scan though which helped me decide what to do (she was quite big).

I had a traumatic birth first time round and my midwife referred me to a consultant at my booking appointment because of that. I was also under the mental health team so I had support in the early appointments with the consultants.

Glad to hear you had a positive outcome. Thanks for updating.

 

[CrystalWench]

Thought I would update this thread as the OP.

I ended up choosing to have an elective c section if the baby wasn’t born by 1 week past her due date. This was decided at 37 weeks and prior to that it was all up in the air! I’m happy to say I never had to fight for what i wanted, my consultant actually said to me ‘you can have whatever you want’. I did have to advocate for a growth scan though which helped me decide what to do (she was quite big).

I had a traumatic birth first time round and my midwife referred me to a consultant at my booking appointment because of that. I was also under the mental health team so I had support in the early appointments with the consultants.

So glad you didn’t have to fight for a section. I did, despite it being both genetically and physically impossible for me to give birth naturally. My mother has an insufficient pelvis as do I but also due to my physical disability it’s strongly advised against. Yet still the consultant said “well you could give it a go”. Thankfully he wasn’t in when I went into labour early and had to have an emergency section. So I’m so glad for you that you had a decent consultant and all went well.

 

[Dianne]

So glad you didn’t have to fight for a section. I did, despite it being both genetically and physically impossible for me to give birth naturally. My mother has an insufficient pelvis as do I but also due to my physical disability it’s strongly advised against. Yet still the consultant said “well you could give it a go”. Thankfully he wasn’t in when I went into labour early and had to have an emergency section. So I’m so glad for you that you had a decent consultant and all went well.

Sorry you had that experience! I had different consultants each time. The male consultant for me was the worst. He was quite unbothered by what I was saying and I felt deflated. The three female consultants I had were nice and all said yes to an elective c section, I definitely think in my case being under the mental health team helped.

 

[lurkette]

I’ve had 3 c-sections; the first because my baby was breech, and the rest because it was recommended by the consultant.

You won’t feel any pain during the actual procedure. I once heard someone explain it as you feel almost like a washing machine being unloaded, and I think that describes it well.

My first c-section I was in quite a bit of pain for the first week or so, mostly because I was naive and didn’t expect it to be quite as rough. I think c-sections have been sold to us for years as a cop-out to child birth and ‘too posh to push’ and all. However, I literally didn’t get any time to rest as my then partner/baby daddy was a dead beat who didn’t help me with a single night feed, I’m sure it would have been smoother if I had support!

The other two times I knew what to expect and I just got on with it in mild-moderate discomfort.

I’m not sure if it’s been mentioned as I’ve only read a few replies, and by no means am I trying to put you off (I just wish someone had warned me lol) you can end up with the dreaded c-section pooch/overhang/shelf. I wish I was told about massaging the scar tissue, as it’s meant to help, but nobody told me anything!

As for recovery, I remember hoovering the house top to toe on day 3 when I get sent home from hospital after my third (probably not recommended!) and I felt a lot better by week 2, pretty much normal by 3.

Definitely invest in some granny knickers/light control pants to help raise your swollen tummy up and away from your scar post-op; honestly, they were a godsend my next 2 times around!