Would you choose a c-section over a natural birth?

miss_feminem

If this is more suited elsewhere, then please move

I was speaking to my friend about pregnancy (she knows a girl that is due soon) and she mentioned that her mother had a planned c-section and that if she ever got pregnant that she would also have a planned c-section because of the "not so nice" things that can happen during natural birth.

I was just wondering how many women would choose (or have chosen) to have a c-section and how many would (or have chosen) choose the natural birth? And why?

shellyboo

I think I'd want a natural birth... it's something I kind of want to experience for myself! "Natural" as in, giving birth myself, not "natural" as in no drugs. I'll be wanting the drugs.

miss_feminem

Well yes, I'd probably want the drugs myself and I agree with wanting to experience it for myself. I also hear it takes a while to recover from the section (since it's essentially an operation).

shellyboo

It's not essentially an operation, it IS an operation :P I'm not sure about this elective c-section business, to be honest.

metaoblivia

I would probably go with the planned c section as I have a genetic disorder that can make giving birth in the natural way quite dangerous.

miss_feminem

metaoblivia wrote: »

I would probably go with the planned c section as I have a genetic disorder that can make giving birth in the natural way quite dangerous.

Ok, well that's different. I mean women choosing the section just for the reason that they don't want the "gross effects" of natural birth.

shellyboo

miss_feminem wrote: »

Ok, well that's different. I mean women choosing the section just for the reason that they don't want the "gross effects" of natural birth.

+1. I meant the so-called "too posh to push" brigade. If there are medical reasons, obviously you go for the safer option.

metaoblivia

Oh sorry! I didn't know my genetic disorder excluded me from a conversation about having a planned c section as opposed to a natural birth.

miss_feminem

metaoblivia wrote: »

Oh sorry! I didn't know my genetic disorder excluded me from a conversation about having a planned c section as opposed to a natural birth.

How have we excluded you?

shellyboo

That wasn't the intention at all meta, I was obviously just clarifying that I wasn't criticising anyone who has to have a c-section for medical reasons... for your benefit, I might add. But thanks for jumping down my throat anyway.

Das Kitty

If I had been asked this 5 years ago I probably would have said I'd opt for an elective section.

I'm 6 months pregnant now and really really don't want a section. I'm at the point that I'm bouncing on my birthing ball and doing all sorts of exercises to try to make sure baby stays upside down! What has changed is that I have friends now who've done each and I've read a lot. My reasons for wanting a vaginal birth are really down to recovery time. My friend who had the section couldn't even pick up her baby herself to begin with. A C-section is classed as major invasive surgery (as with anything cutting into the abdomen) your uterus and vagina are designed to deliver a baby so you can be pretty much recovered in a few minutes.

I'm also swaying away from an epidural at the moment, don't particularly want to give birth on my back or not be able to walk around (I get claustrophobia and have been known to panic). I want to prevent tearing so I would like to be sure to be able to feel when my body wants me to push, not just go when I'm told. I also plan on breastfeeding and baby can be very groggy from an epi and can have sucking problems for days. Obviously on the day I may be drugged up to the eyeballs as they cut the baby out, but hopefully not.

metaoblivia

shellyboo wrote: »

That wasn't the intention at all meta, I was obviously just clarifying that I wasn't criticising anyone who has to have a c-section for medical reasons... for your benefit, I might add. But thanks for jumping down my throat anyway.

I'm just saying that the agenda here is obvious - and has been done before. You want to slag off on women who choose to have a c section for a reason you don't deem appropriate. I mean, I think you'll find that most people on this board will agree with you. So why did I bother replying? Because it's actually a decision I'll have to make, and one I'll have to think very hard about. Seeing it reduced to drivel like this time and again is tiresome.

miss_feminem

metaoblivia wrote: »

I'm just saying that the agenda here is obvious - and has been done before. You want to slag off on women who choose to have a c section for a reason you don't deem appropriate. I mean, I think you'll find that most people on this board will agree with you. So why did I bother replying? Because it's actually a decision I'll have to make, and one I'll have to think very hard about. Seeing it reduced to drivel like this time and again is tiresome.

I'm not slagging off on anyone who chooses to get a c-section. If they want to do that, that's fine. My reason for the post is "why" do they want to do this? Since its an operation, why would you choose to when you didn't have to?

Novella

metaoblivia wrote: »

I'm just saying that the agenda here is obvious - and has been done before. You want to slag off on women who choose to have a c section for a reason you don't deem appropriate. I mean, I think you'll find that most people on this board will agree with you. So why did I bother replying? Because it's actually a decision I'll have to make, and one I'll have to think very hard about. Seeing it reduced to drivel like this time and again is tiresome.

For god's sake, you're making the decision based on the fact that giving birth could be dangerous for you. Some women are making it 'cause giving birth is "icky". At the end of the day, it doesn't even matter. C-section, natural birth, what difference does it make as long as mother and baby are happy and healthy?

metaoblivia

Novella wrote: »

For god's sake, you're making the decision based on the fact that giving birth could be dangerous for you. Some women are making it 'cause giving birth is "icky". At the end of the day, it doesn't even matter. C-section, natural birth, what difference does it make as long as mother and baby are happy and healthy?

Exactly. What does it matter what decision a mother makes as long as she and her baby turn out healthy?

Das Kitty

Too posh to push is a total media-created lie anyway. It's far easier to get your body back to normal after a vaginal birth. Anyone who actually chooses to have a c-section is doing it for a valid reason. No one picks it as an easy option, because in the vast majority of cases it isn't.

miss_feminem

Das Kitty wrote: »

Too posh to push is a total media-created lie anyway. It's far easier to get your body back to normal after a vaginal birth. Anyone who actually chooses to have a c-section is doing it for a valid reason. No one picks it as an easy option, because in the vast majority of cases it isn't.

Exactly, my mother had four kids and the my brother (the last child) was coming out backwards and she had to have a section. It took her ages to recover from that.

I only asked because my friend (who is only young and wont be having kids for a while anyways) was 100% sure that she would choose a section. Now, obv that may change if/when she does get pregnant. I was just wondering how many people would choose a section for no medical reason, etc.

I meant no offence to anyone and aplogies if I insulted anyone.

Khannie

Can you just choose to have a section anyway? I thought that whole "too posh to push" thing was all rubbish. I thought you needed a medical reason to have a section.

Malari

Khannie wrote: »

Can you just choose to have a section anyway? I thought that whole "too posh to push" thing was all rubbish. I thought you needed a medical reason to have a section.

I was just going to say this!

Do the doctors just let you choose?

miss_feminem

Malari wrote: »

I was just going to say this!

Do the doctors just let you choose?

I have no idea actually. My friend said her mum chose, but can't be sure of the truth of that really.

Gyalist

Khannie wrote: »

Can you just choose to have a section anyway? I thought that whole "too posh to push" thing was all rubbish. I thought you needed a medical reason to have a section.

It is not common in the UK & Ireland but in the US elective Caesareans are common.

Novella

I'm not offended anyway, I think it's a good topic! I'm probably coming across as a complete b!tch in TLL today actually, I'm sorry (to you and everyone!), just having a bad day (not that that makes it excusable).

Anyway, I wouldn't chose a c-section over a natural birth unless the baby was in distress during the labour and a c-section was a more viable option for medical reasons. I'd actually be pretty gutted if I didn't get to experience giving birth naturally.

However, if other women prefer to have an elective section, I think that's up to them and fair enough!

Nevyn

There has to be a medical reason but if you are going private and a reason can be found you can be scheduled for one.

The c section is very invasive surgry and you are stapled back to gether after it, there are higher chances of complication and infection as well and a lot longer recovery rates.

The storys of having a loose for ever after having a vaginal birth are wrong,
like the rest of your body it will go back into shape after wards if you do the exerises needed, really ladies daily pelvic floor excerises are good for many many reasons.

As for stories of tearing or having to be cut and needed sitches, that happens but again doing excerises before hand reduces that happening and any scaring caused by that is a lot less visible and a lot smaller then a c section scar.

If a c section is needed for actual medical reasons, phyical or mental fair enough but a lot of women who have not informed them selves properly about c sections seem to think it is the easy option and it's not.

Das Kitty

Khannie wrote: »

Can you just choose to have a section anyway? I thought that whole "too posh to push" thing was all rubbish. I thought you needed a medical reason to have a section.

Depends totally on the consultant but you can have an elective.

I know someone who after 2 natural births that were very difficult won't have another (although she wants one) unless the consultant can guarantee a c-section. She's so petrified of the complications and the babies had. She just had the misfortune of being very unlucky twice.

the_syco

miss_feminem wrote: »

My reason for the post is "why" do they want to do this? Since its an operation, why would you choose to when you didn't have to?

Maybe they don't have a choice, or have a family history of sh|t going wrong at child birth that has been shown can be avoided by a c-section.

From Wikipedia:

Complications of labor and factors impeding vaginal delivery such as

• prolonged labor or a failure to progress (dystocia)
• fetal distress
• cord prolapse
• uterine rupture
• placental problems (placenta praevia, placental abruption or placenta accreta)
• abnormal presentation (breech or transverse positions)
• failed induction of labour
• failed instrumental delivery (by forceps or ventouse. Sometimes a 'trial of forceps/ventouse' is tried out - This means a forceps/ventouse delivery is attempted, and if the forceps/ventouse delivery is unsuccessful, it will be switched to a caesarean section.
• overly large baby (macrosomia)
• umbilical cord abnormalities (vasa previa, multi-lobate including bi-lobate and succenturiate-lobed placentas, velamentous insertion)
• contracted pelvis

Other complications of pregnancy, preexisting conditions and concomitant disease such as

• pre-eclampsia
• hypertension[13]
• multiple births
• precious (High Risk) Fetus
• HIV infection of the mother
• Sexually transmitted infections such as genital herpes (which can be passed on to the baby if the baby is born vaginally, but can usually be treated in with medication and do not require a Caesarean section)
• previous Caesarean section (though this is controversial – see discussion below)
• prior problems with the healing of the perineum (from previous childbirth or Crohn's Disease)

miss_feminem

the_syco wrote: »

Maybe they don't have a choice, or have a family history of sh|t going wrong at child birth that has been shown can be avoided by a c-section.

Well I was more curious why someone would choose it with no mecidal reasons. And again, I've no problem with it, just curious.

Lollipops23

I think I'd want to at least try a vaginal birth, but don't think I'd have a problem having a c-section if I got into trouble. My cousin's missus had to have an emergency section because she was simply too small..."there". :eek:

My step mam also said to avoid epidurals if at all possible, she found the not-being-able-to-walk part hard to deal with!!

SeekUp

Das Kitty wrote: »

Anyone who actually chooses to have a c-section is doing it for a valid reason. No one picks it as an easy option, because in the vast majority of cases it isn't.

I don't think this is the case at all. I agree to a point with metaoblivia about agendas; I find that what sometimes happens in here is that we like to rally around the anti-popular choice and scorn those who don't. (Spray tan? Fad diet? Fake orgasms? Why on earth would I ever do anything like that?! We're so much better than that!!)

Disclaimer -- I agree that we are better than that, and I'm sometimes guilty of doing that as well . . . perhaps it's like attracting like.

This situation, however, strikes me as a bit different. In much of the Western world, childbirth is just as much a medical process as a natural one, and the decision regarding cesarean births isn't just a medical decision anymore. The length and effort behind vaginal births are seen by some as being "unnecessary" when you can just pencil in the procedure and pull out the baby. Furthermore, there's a growing interest in vaginoplasties and vaginal rejuvenation, not necessarily to reshape the vagina but to "restore" it to a pre-childbirth state. I think rather than just saying that women who make these choices are delusional, we need to look at why these choices are being made, and why they're being presented.

I'm all for choice, especially when it comes to reproductive issues. We can choose how not to become pregnant, we can choose whether or not to stay pregnant, and we should be able to choose our method of childbirth. But it just doesn't sit right with me when we begin to opt for riskier elective surgical procedures when it's done simply to shy away from a potentially scary process. Vaginal childbirth can go horribly awry, as can a cesarean birth . . . and both can go smoothly. It depends on about a jillion factors.

I guess my point is that whatever decision a woman makes, it should be an honest one, where she's aware of the risks in her particular situation, what she can realistically expect both during and after childbirth, and taking into account the opinions of her doctor (or even her midwife or her doula). Imo.

Ginny

I would never choose a c section, Its a serious operation with numerous internal and external stitches, I remember seeing a documentary on c sections years ago and the surgeon place the womens womb on her stomach to stitch it. After seeing that I don't understand why anyone would choose that, coupled with the fact you can't drive or sometimes even lift your baby for a few weeks, it' just not something I'd voluntarily choose.

AFAIK if you go private there are a few consultants who would facilitate a c section.

joeduggan

im glad i stumbled across this threa. all the BITCHING in the early parts are great. we had our first baby 11 months ago and my girlfriend had a section. but they onlty gave her the section because the baby got distressed. she didnt demand one.

Nevyn

Lollipops23 wrote: »

My step mam also said to avoid epidurals if at all possible, she found the not-being-able-to-walk part hard to deal with!!

Epidural have come along way over the last 20/30 years, my own Mam didn't want me having one due to her experience and experiences of other women form when she was having kids her self but that was a long time ago.