Anyone have en elective c-section?

[hovegator]

i am pregnant with my first baby, due in July. I am considering an elective C/S for various reasons and my OB is supportive. I'm looking for advice/stories from others who have made the same choice or from those who have had both vaginal deliveries and c-sections. Would you make the same choice again, and which type of delivery did you prefer? If you are one of the unfortunate women to have had a C/S after an unsuccessful and exhausting trial of labor or if you resented being forced to have a C/S, i don't think your advice will be helpful- no offense! I am NICU & Labor and Delivery registered nurse and have attended hundreds of deliveries of all types so i am not looking for education on risk factors or statistics. If you have never had a C/S please keep your opinions to yourselves unless you are planning to have an elective C/S next time around :)

[Marisa6826]

I had an elective c/s at 38w2d to deliver Sophie. I have a significant tachycardia condition so my cardiologist wanted to keep my pain level in check to prevent an arrythmia from happening.

I personally LIKE the fact that I never went into labour. I had no desire to get stuck in the Lincoln Tunnel en route to NYC to deliver Sophie while trying to "breathe".

I checked in the night before and stayed five days after delivery. The recovery was rougher than I thought it would be. It took a good three weeks before I could comfortably walk around without thinking about what I'd have to do to get from one room to another. It's rough getting up, getting in and out of bed, you can't carry anything heavier than the baby, you can't drive for two weeks and you can't really climb stairs. Then there's that pesky foley cath and the courtesy shave :P. I was pretty jealous of those vaginal birth moms easily walking the halls with their new babes. I couldn't even get to the bathroom without psyching myself up.

My advice is take the pain meds they give you and let the nurses help you out as much as possible. No need to be a hero because you're certainly not going to be one once you get home! ;)

I will most likely have another c/s the next time around for the same reasons. No desire to have a VBAC (not that my cardiologist would allow it).

Good luck

-m

[phirey]

I had an elective C-section at 38 and 6 because I had a ureteral reimplant at age 14 due to vesicoureteral reflux. I've had multiple bladder issues since age 2, including a kind of iffy diagnosis of interstitial cystitis. Regardless of what's really wrong with my bladder, I had suffered years of significant bladder pain but was relatively symptom-free at the time I got pregnant. The last thing I wanted was to have *anything* disrupt my finally painless bladder! My OB was totally on board. He's performed elective C-sections on women with Crohn's disease for the same reason.

I loved having an elective section! I just waltzed into the hospital (Northside Hospital, Atlanta) on the appointed day, got my spinal, and had a beautiful daughter a few minutes later. I did "get what I deserved," though, as she was admitted for three days to the NICU for TTN -- I'm sure you know C/S babies are higher risk. Obviously, you wonderful NICU nuses did a great job with her and she's fine now.

I am also in OB/GYN (as a PA) so I too have seen many deliveries of both kinds. I first assist C-sections almost daily, so I came in with very little fear. The recovery was easy for me -- I never even filled my Percocet Rx, just managed the pain with 800 Motrin. I'll be having another elective C/S (hopefully next spring!) For a short time I considered a VBAC next time for only the silliest of reasons: I never experienced labor and have a very hard time discussing it with my patients. But you know, so do male OBs! FWIW, I've forgotten the exact stats, but a significant number of female OBs have elective C/Ss without a medical reason...

HTH and feel free to PM me if you have any other questions.

[MommytoDylan]

I am grateful for the emergency c-section I had as it saved my baby's life! He was born, put on a ventilator, and sent by ambulance to a children's hospital. All that to say, I really recovered quickly and without much discomfort but I think that was due to worrying about my baby and not thinking about my recovery at all. The only thing I remember was it hurt to laugh or cough and I couldn't walk up and down the stairs quickly.

I will have a c-section next time as the OB says I'm too tiny to deliver a baby over 6 lbs. I'm fine with this as my body bounced back quickly, my scar is barely noticable, and the result is a sweet baby--so worth it!

[kristine_elen]

We decided on an elective c/s a few days before Jack's due date b/c he was so huge and they said he wasn't really fat, but structurally large (ie: big shoulders). The ultrasound tech said if I ever wanted to walk or have sex again I should have a c/s. (He ended up being 9 lb. 15 oz. at birth.) I'd also had a very vivid dream that the birth didn't go well and that I grabbed my crotch before Jack was to come out and yelled: "You must give me a c-section!"
I'm so glad I did have a c/s because Jack was positioned such that he would not have come out the natural way and I'd have gone through hell just to have a scary emerg. c/s in the end. I know it's totally un-PC, but if I get pregnant again, I might just plan on a C/S; I think I've been scared off from the natural way.

[kristine_elen]

We decided on an elective c/s a few days before Jack's due date b/c he was so huge and they said he wasn't really fat, but structurally large (ie: big shoulders). The ultrasound tech said if I ever wanted to walk or have sex again I should have a c/s. (He ended up being 9 lb. 15 oz. at birth.) I'd also had a very vivid dream that the birth didn't go well and that I grabbed my crotch before Jack was to come out and yelled: "You must give me a c-section!"
I'm so glad I did have a c/s because Jack was positioned such that he would not have come out the natural way and I'd have gone through hell just to have a scary emerg. c/s in the end. I know it's totally un-PC, but if I get pregnant again, I might just plan on a C/S; I think I've been scared off from the natural way.

[josephmama]

My son was breech and they thought he was huge so I had a c/s. My OB actually gave me no choice so I guess you wouldn't call it elective. Turns out he wasn't huge (well his head was) but I was soooo happy with my c/s. I am definitely going that way next time. the spinal block was wonderful and I didn't have that much pain afterward and I was out driving a car by 2 weeks. I had a great c/s experience and I really don't feel that I missed out on anything- the end result was worth it for me!

[josephmama]

My son was breech and they thought he was huge so I had a c/s. My OB actually gave me no choice so I guess you wouldn't call it elective. Turns out he wasn't huge (well his head was) but I was soooo happy with my c/s. I am definitely going that way next time. the spinal block was wonderful and I didn't have that much pain afterward and I was out driving a car by 2 weeks. I had a great c/s experience and I really don't feel that I missed out on anything- the end result was worth it for me!

[mamicka]

I had a C/S after 33 hours of unsuccessful labor & I know you said my advice wouldn't be helpful but I just wanted to say that I don't feel badly at all about the C/S although it was my greatest fear aside from not having a healthy baby. It was really quick & relatively painless. I didn't need any pain meds at all to recover & the scar is minimal, only DH will ever see it. My only complaint about pain was (maybe TMI :)) gas. I would like to have a VBAC the next time around but if it doesn't work out, that will be fine, too.

[mamicka]

I had a C/S after 33 hours of unsuccessful labor & I know you said my advice wouldn't be helpful but I just wanted to say that I don't feel badly at all about the C/S although it was my greatest fear aside from not having a healthy baby. It was really quick & relatively painless. I didn't need any pain meds at all to recover & the scar is minimal, only DH will ever see it. My only complaint about pain was (maybe TMI :)) gas. I would like to have a VBAC the next time around but if it doesn't work out, that will be fine, too.