Hi holly My first baby joe was back to back but my midwife just said that it can make the labour more painful! that wasnt the reason that i had a c-section with him it was because after 17 hours of labour they finally realised that he was to big for me & i never fully dilated which they thought i had also he was in distress! so im not sure if it affects the birth in any other way apart from being more painful??
My daughter has just found out that she is having a little girl we were all so chuffed but it is not all good news, this is really awful i will just have to say it, the baby's intestines are floating around inside the womb so as soon as my daughter has given birth my Grandaughter will have to have an operation we are told that the operation is not 100% as no operation is, i was wondering if anyone could advise on a situation like this i have never heard of anything like this before, we are all praying that she will be ok.
Lisa, I was just reading through the forums and came across your post - sorry no one has replied to you yet, especially at this worrying time for you... I am sure you must be very concerned and worried about what will happen - I am sorry that I can not speak from experience and I haven't heard of this before but really hope everything works out okay for you all ... I am sure the doctors will do everything they can to ensure everything goes successfully. I would suggest that if you and your daughter need more info and confirmation of what the operation entails, etc, then you should ask to speak with the surgeon that will be doing the surgery to find out all you need to know... all the best!
Rachel - I believe that research shows the more sections a women has had in the past, the more likely they are to need another come the time of delivery... i.e. a women with 2 previous sections is more likely to have another, than a women with 1 previous section but it is also known that a VBAC delivery can be successfully had after 1, 2 and I have even heard of a women who delivered VBAC after 3 sections. If you would like to attempt a VBAC, unless there is a 'true medical reason' you shouldn't, then the decision is yours to make. Remember, you don't "have" to do anything - your birthing options are yours to make. If you discuss your thoughts with your MW and your consultant, you can then make an informed choice of what you want to do... you don't have to elect for a section, you can just plan what the medical profession call 'a trial of labour' - i.e. let labour start spontaneously as normal and go with the flow and if necessary a decison can be made during labour to go for section if required.
I had a section with my first baby 3 months ago and it is not an experience I would like to repeat - it was an emergency section 70 hours after my waters broke resulting in a distressed baby being taken to SCBU and I found it all very traumatic... I am planning my next baby as soon as I feel fit and I plan to think positively about achieving a natural delivery but know that if it comes to having to have an emergency section again then I will make that decison at the time and be much more prepared for what it will be like.
I have heard of this condition before ive seen a few materninty programs on tv featuring babies with this condition & they seem to operate pretty quickly after birth to put the intestines ect back inside! sometimes i think it has to put back in gradually! but im only commenting on what i saw on the program like maria said you would be much better getting as much info from the surgeon! my thoughts are with you though it must be very worring for your daughter & yourself but be assured what they can do nowadays is brilliant one of my twins was on scbu for a week & they were great! im sure everything will be fine.
i would love to know how you go about getting an elective c sectio. i have 2 children but would love a 3rd, there is just no way i could go through labour again,no way! i know that no woman has a easy time but i truly do feel traumatised after 2 horrendous births. i would be to scared to get pregnant unless i knew i woulnt have to go through that again. any advise? also once a doctor/midwife says no, is that it?great to hear from anyone who has had a c section for that reason clarexx
I had an elective C section 9 weeks ago with my little daughter Lily-May for the exact reason that you mentioned. It wasnt easy trying to persuade my consultant at first and he told me to come back to him once I got to 37 weeks which I did and he agreed at that time. There is a condition called Secondary Tokophobia which basically means that you have an intense fear of childbirth as a result of a bad vaginal birth experience which was what happened to me 14 years ago with the birth of my son. I vowed I would never have any more children but 13 years later I found myself pregnant and was horrified at the prospect of going through labour and delivery again, I fought all the way through my pregnancy for the C sec and every time I had a clinic apointment I mentioned it to the staff who took notes on how anxious I was etc, this was more to build up a case to present to the consultant when I reached 37 weeks. There was times however when I thought I was going to have to have her naturally and my nerves were shattered, lol.
One thing I will mention is that the staff will try put you off your decision, it costs 3 times as much to perform a C sec and the subsequant aftercare than it does a normal delivery and some health givers will be led by this when they make their decision. You have the right to ask for an elective C sec no matter what is said and you can go higher and higher within the NHS if you arent happy with the decision that is given. I live in Scotland so things might be different here than in England.
Midwives cannot make decisions on your chosen method of birth, it has to come from someone higher but if you can get your main midwife on your side she will do whatever she can to support you in your choice, mine was fab and nagged and nagged til someone finally listened, lol. Not everyone agrees on elective C sec and Ive had my share of bitchy comments etc but at the end of the day the people who dont agree with it arent there in that delivery room with you, ultimately it is you who has to undergo the experience so its entirely up to you how your baby comes into the world.
As for the C sec itself, anyone who thinks its an easy cop out is wrong, the op itself is ok but the recovery time is hard going and you will need a lot of support. The speed of the babys birth will take you by surprise and it just feels as if one minute you are pregnant and the next your baby is lying next to you wrapped in a blanket and bawling its head off, lol. In all honesty Ive absolutely no regrets on my decision and if I were to think of having another child it would be a C sec again.
Well I wish you all the luck with your pregnancy and birth, I really hope someone listens to you and you make the right choice for both you and your little one, xxxx
Sharon
PS If you need any more advice or just want a chat youll find me on the Homebirth thread {that was Plan B, lol } xxx
Hi Sharon, Thanks for the advise. Its great to hear from somebody who has had the same feelings. Good on you for staying firm and getting the birth you want. Congratulations on your new arrival. Hope you dont mind me asking you a few things? Firstly, did you find that you were taken seriously when you first said you couldnt go through another natural birth etc? I can imagine that they tried to trivialise your fears. I had the same midwife with both children and she wasnt up to much then, I feel sorry for you that you had to wait till 37 weeks to get a definite yes. Im sure you would have been able to relax and look forward to your baby alot more if they had agreed to it at the beginning. If you dont mind telling me, what was the drill with it? did you have to go and see a consultant many times, also any tips on what to do or say? When was the moment you felt that you might have to give birth? Sorry to ask so much but your the first person that has had one for the same reason that i would want one. It really isnt right that they can just say no and thats that. I hope it will work in my favour that i have had to nasty times and i wont have anymore after no 3. You will think im mad, but im not pregnant yet. The one thing stopping us is this black cloud, the awful nightmare of spending a whole nine months not knowing wheather you will be forced to relive the nighmares of last time. And i would not be goin over the top to say that i the thought of being told no and bein in that situation now fills me with absolute terror. Strong words I know, but when you have that fear it"s very real. Wishing you all the beast with your little one. Be great to hear from you again soon. Sorry to go on and on but from what i ahve heard you need to know a good bit about it. Sorry just one more question, honestly just one! Did they make you have some form of councilling and other talk therapy, obviously in the hope you would just forget about your past experience and give up . I had planned to hopefully go for it and get the c section, failing that i would have no other choice but to go private. Going through with the birth isnt an option, I would rather be thousands in debt. I also feel, why shouldnt i have one of my (hopefully) 3 children born in a relitively relaxed peaceful way. I also feel that its about time doctors, midwives started listening to us, and understanding that a nasty birth has a very real and damaging effect on women mently.Especially when it can sometimes be avoided.(excuse the awful spelling!) Thans so much for your help. love Clare x
I sat and wrote you out a very detailed message but Thinkbaby said it was too long and I lost it all, lol. Serves me right for gabbing too much !!! Only took me an hour to type it all out, lol.
Anyway heres the shortened version of what I wrote.
My midwife was very supportive of my wishes right from day one but the trouble was that the rotation at the doctors/clinic meant that I didnt see her often and the other midwifes werent that supportive. I had a meeting at 16 weeks with my consultant who refused me but told me to come back at 37 weeks if I still felt the same, I immediately requested a second opinion with a more senior consultant but was told that it was unlikely that she would uphold my request either. During the time that I was waiting to see her I had a scare at 20 weeks and was told by some idiotic midwfie that I would lose my baby as my waters had gone, turned out to be a yeast infection so that was the start of mishap after mishap. My pre natal care was a shambles and I was at my wits end, everythign that could go wrong was going wrong, I was terrified that I was losing my baby and the staff were unconcerned and gave me no information at all. During this time I saw my consultant regularly and we ended up on better terms. The meeting with the 2nd consultant never materialised for some reason.At 37 weeks I had a further meeting with him and this time he agreed.The date was booked in there and then for 2 and a half weeks time and I signed all the necessary forms.I also travelled up to the hospital for a meeting with the anaethitist who was a lovely woman and put any fears I had to rest. 3 days before my op I saw the midwife again who took blood samples and gave me Zantac for the morning of the op and all the documents etc. I had my elective C sec on Monday the 29th October and gave birth to my daughter who was healthy and full term.
The best advice I can give you is to arm yourself with every bit of info that you can get your hands on before you start the ball rolling. Search websites, NHS ones in particular and see what their policies are on elective C sec. Every time you get knocked back take it further and further, threaten them with the the General Medical Council if you have to. Stick to your guns throughout. Write a letter telling detailing your previous bad experiences, what went wrong, how you felt about it, subsequant trauma etc and give a copy to your consultant, just fight all the way basically. Look up anything that you can find on Secondary Tokophobia and print it off, the more official the source the better. I found lots of websites and gleaned lots of info about it, it does exist and is a realistic fear. If a person was terrified of spiders would a psychologist throw them into a room with millions of tarantulas and lock the door on them? Lol, sounds a bit extreme but a phobia is a phobia no matter what the object of fear is.
Anyway, I hope you get all the support you need, I really think you are doing the sensible thing in finding out what rights you have before you even consider conceiving a baby, that in itself should show the medical staff how affected you are in regards to your choice of birth.
Good luck with everything ahead of you, Just keep fighting for what you think is right for you and I hope it all works out ok for you. Keep in touch and let me know how you get on
Meant to say too Clare, they did offer me councilling to try and get me to change my mind on the C sec but I think thats just routine really as I never followed it up. The decision to go ahead with it never included a psychology report of any kind so I wouldnt worry about it too much, xxxxx
im 24 weeks with my second and have an app tomorrow with my doctor at the hospital as i would like my baby to be born by c section (i want to be sterilised at the same time)..
in regards to elective c sections, i really think it depends on the hospital you go to, i live on the wirral ( my nearest hospital is arrowe park) but my hospital of choice for the birth of my children is the liverpool womens.
my friends have had elective sections at the womens with no questions asked and no one trying to change their minds. fingers crossed my doctor will agree to my requst tomorrow
Hi all, l have being doing loads of reasearch into elective c sections. It is a bit scary though to realise that at the end of the day, it just depends on the consultant you get as they give the yes or no. It is worth finding out who is who by doing a bit of digging, also, from what l have read dont be fooled that because you have a consultant that is female that doesnt always give you more chance of getting a yes. I wish it wasnt so complicated, you feel you really must create a scene , good luck to anyone going for an elective, lm not even pregnant yet and l wont get pregnnt till lm really clued up on how to go about it. l l would rather die than go through another labour! and lm serious.I would be grateful for any advise on the subject .I just cant stand all the nagative attitudes of peolple, l have mentioned my hopes for a c section to a few friends and found their reactions really annoying, saying things like "it cant have been that bad" and " did you know the really high risks , blah, blah, " unless you have had a baby you havent got a clue. and anyone who has had a awful time will know what l mean when l say there is NO WAY l will go give birth "naturally" again. Im in the mood for a good moan, so feel free to join me . clare x
I'm in the same boat, not yet pregnant but getting married in June and will be ttc once we're married. Elective cc is something i have to look into. I was born with a "clicky hip" that was unfortunately never completely corrected and even now my hip dislocates for no reason. My GP has said that we will have to wait and see what happens through a pregnancy as my hips will struggle to cope as the body prepares for childbirth. I may even have to wear a brace to keep them stable through pregnancy.
I'm worried how to speak to a consultant about this and if they'll understand. The problem i deal with is suppose to be corrected at birth but never was.
I'm so scared at the thought of childbirth and if it may cause me lasting damage. Hopefully by the time i fall pregnant I will be a little more clued up about everything.
I am currently 36 weeks pregnant with my first baby. A little over a year ago I was diagnosed with Hypermobility Syndrome which basically means that my joints dislocate randomly. Because of the possibility of something happening during pregnancy my doctor had decided to do a c-section. He left it up to me but I was sure that I didn't want something happening during the labour and causing even more problems in the long run.
Hopefully you will have a doc that is open to what you have to say. W
I was diagnosed with that a year ago when i was having physio before my breast reduction! I'll make sure I remind my GP of this when i finally fall pregnant! Hopefully that wont be long for me now!
Well I am like alot of you above, I am absolutely scared to death about giving birth naturally, I have ad this fear now for years and had thought it would get better but instead it gets worse. I have just found out that I am 7 weeks pregnant and part of me is so happy but the other part is just traumatised. Since I found out 2 weeks ago I have hardly slept and can think of nothing else but the birth bit. I want to have a C Section as this I have no fear at all, but am so scared they will say no, I have looked into going Private if I have to, does anyone else feel like me and why is it so difficult for people to listen and understand your feelings. I have read loads on internet and have appointment on 3 April with Midwife but can't understand why we have to justify ourselves so much!!!!
If anyone is in a similar situation, let me know it would be great to hear from someone who is the same!!
I have had two babies by C section, I'm soooo scared of needles, blood etc etc. The staff were amazing. My little boy was a placenta abruption and little girl planned c section. I talked to staff about my concerns and they were helpful.
Take care and good luck - Its not as bad as you think
Congratulations on your pregnancy !!!! Ive already replied earlier on this thread on this issue, my heart goes out to you as I know exactly what you are going through. There is a condition called Tokophobia, its a phobia relating to childbirth. Secondary Tokophobia is when you have had a traumatic experience during a previous birth (which is what I had).
The best advice I can give you is to speak to a consultant about your fears, get as much info on tokophobia as you possibly can, speak to a councillor if possible and get your midwife on your side. Ive had 3 children, my first was when I was 20 and it was a long drawn out labour but I ended up opting for epidural which was really effective and I delivered my first son no problem at all and looking back I can honestly say it was an amazing birthing experience !!! This was 17 years ago and I still get a little "glow" when I think back on it, lol. My second was very traumatic and put me off having any more children for a long time, last year I discovered I was expecting my third baby after a 13 year gap and I was in the same position as you are now, overjoyed but terrified !!! I fought for an elective C sec and in the end I got my wishes, my daughter was born at the end of October last year and is now nearly 5 months old.
All I would say is not to close your mind on a vaginal birth, epidural is really effective , probably more so now than 17 years ago. If your adamant that a C sec is the right choice for you however, just stick to your guns and dont let anyone sidetrack you. The decision will lie in the hands of your main consultant, sometimes they will not make the end decision until the end of your pregnancy (I only found out at 37 weeks). Try not to let your fears overcome your joy at being pregnant, enjoy these next 7 months as best as you can, pregnancy is a wonderful time of a womans life and it goes by so very quickly !!!
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Take care and good luck - Its not as bad as you think 
