Was Your C/S Necessary?

[danielle13]

Hello again,

I'm adding another poll to cover another issue that comes along with an Emergency C/S or "Elective" (for medical reasons etc) C/S - whether you believe it was trully necessary.

I have read of alot of women who were either convinced to have an elective due to previous birth experiences, size of baby, etc etc, who feel that the reasons were not justified by fact.
Same goes with emergency c/sections, for the reasons above, and/or who feel that they were given a time limit on their labours, for no real reason other than to "free up the room".

Please share your experience here and your thoughts on the necessity of your own c/s.

Thanks

ps... for those who haven't seen it there is another thread in this section "All Members of the "Cut Club"... " - please read and vote in the poll.

[bekkyboo]

I was led to believe it was.

But after discussions with my new heart specialist yesterday - no.

[kiah]

For me yes. I had heart probs and there was no way I or the doc was going to risk anything. I realy enjoyed my c-sections. The team was fantastic and played cool 80s music thru the op. They took same great photos too.

[danielle13]

Thanks gals.
I've posted a poll now so please vote.

Bekky - that's terrible. :thumbsdown:
Kiah - that's great. :thumbsup:

[bekkyboo]

Kiah, i had heart problems as well, this is why i was told a ceaser was best... But i have been sent to a specialist since, and he informed me everything i was told was BS...

[Mrs Potts]

Mine was necessary. I was induced but after about 10 hours of labour my contractions stopped. There was no way DS was going to come out if they didn't go and get him.

There was no way I was going to risk the same thing again with DD so opted for a planned c/s. In both cases it was a good experience and I was very happy with the outcome.

[MummyCharmzy]

1st csect was emergency but I'm not convinced it was necessary I think I could have been induced. I wasn't in the greatest shape but if they had ahve just tried you never know.

2nd csect was emergency and was necessary I had severe hypertension, was fitting, in and out of conciousness etc.. they had to get her out straight away.

3rd csect wasscheduled due to previous two csects, gestational diabetes which made them believe that I was going to have a large baby (wrong she was only 7lb 5oz) etc.... I do believe it was necessary as my uterus was so thin they said one contraction would probably have ruptured it.

[kiah]

Kiah, i had heart problems as well, this is why i was told a ceaser was best... But i have been sent to a specialist since, and he informed me everything i was told was BS...

Quite possibly true. Doctors don't know everything. My cardiologist said i would never be able to carry another bub without basically dying...ummm hello i hav another bub. He also said coz my heart ops didn't work that i would be on medication for the rest of my life....up nope, wrong again. I fixed it myself.

But honestly for me personally I felt better about having them. I was grateful that my body had allowed me to carry a bub. But anything is possible. :thumbsup:

[zenifa]

My elective c/s was necessary for medical reasons, and knowing the risks for me in having VB were too high
so I have no regrets and my experience was very +ve.

[mum2my4]

My first c-section (3rd pregnancy after two normal euccessful VB's) I had stomach pains at 28wks with mild contractions went to the hospital where they thought nothing was wrong except bub's heartrate was all over the place until it just kept dropping and not picking up at all, they did an emergency c-section and I can remember thinking is this really necessary? Well after the c/s they told me it was very necessary as I had a placental abruption (placenta comes away from uterine wall before labour and birth) with concealed (internal) bleeding which had been depriving my baby of oxygen hence his low heartrate if they had not done it there and then I would have bled to death and he would have suffocated to death due to no oxygen.:eek:

My second was because there was only a 13mth gap between c-sections and they were concerned over the integrity of my scar? Apparantly when you have a c/s quite early they cut you differently and the scar can be weaker??

Had my gap between the last two been bigger 2-3years I would have attempted a VBAC for sure.

[tootiredtosleep]

I feel my emergency caesar was necessary. My waters broke with mec (DD had done a poo, possible sign of distress)
I did not have any natural contractions. I was put on the synotocin drip and was 3cm. 9ish hours later I was still 3cm.
DD was presenting vertex, and 9 pounds.

I think it was a combination of size, presentation and time.

I personally think they should have done a caesar straight away, and my GP agreed, but it wasn't his hospital, so they made me try.

[nats]

My c/s wasn't nessesary :no:
but then neither was the epidural I asked for really :o

So I guess I can blame no one but myself.
I should have been able to push him out but his head kept getting stuck on a bit of cervical lip with every push so after 1 1/2 hours of pushing, waiting for baby to repostion (he was side on) and more fruitless pushing I went into theatre :(


I am glad though. If they couldn't help the cervical swelling then atleast they prevented a high forceps delivery. And I have a lovely little boy!

Check him out (http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o128/nats_017/Banana.jpg)

[trendy1]

Hi,

I voted mine as emergency that was necessary as I had an undiagnosed breech baby that was not positioned very well at all. I was 10cm dilated when they got me to the operating theatre but all ended up fine with the caeser.

[SassyMummy]

Mine wasn't due to size, it was do to supposed "dates." They'd gone by the dates of my last period, over the age DD was on the scan.

I KNOW, now, that I wasn't as far along as they had thought. When I first found out I was pregnant, my doctor asked me how long my cycle was. Being 18, and not really caring too much, I said, "I dunno." She just said, "Oh, 28 days will do. That's normal."

Well, turns out I'm not a 28-day type of gal... I'm a 32-day girl (only found this out recently). So my dates were wrong. I was actually not as far along as they had told me I was. They really should have gone with what the scan had said.

So, no, I don't think my c-sec was necessary... I think it was a stupid reason to have one. Looking back, me signing the papers was a STUPID decision... but when a doctor says, "Oh, if you don't have one, your baby will die," there's not much you can say (especialyl when you were like me, and hadn't done ANY research into ANYTHING...).

[mum2my4]

I was told by the NUM (Nursing Unit Manager) of the maternity ward at the local hospy that an emergency c/section only means it was performed after labour/contractions etc had started and many aren't actually true emergencies but they call them that anyway. Anyone else heard this?:confused:

I'm not discounting emergency c-sections only the fact that the term may be used to the medical professions advantage such as justifying large c-section rates because they were emergency, which really means it was so much easier for them than waiting for the mother to deliver the baby naturally clogging up the labour wards.........

[Samaras Mummy]

I had an emergency c/s and i think it was necessary becuase my daughter was in distress and i was not progressing fast enough.

[becca74]

I am fairly certain my 1st c/sec was unnecessary, as I have discussed it with the MW I had for my homebirth, and she agreed she would have done things differently and given me more time, especially since I was experiencing the 'foetal ejection reflex', could feel him coming down with each contraction, and they really had to tug him to get him out, and you could see from his cone-head that he was making his way through the birth canal already. Also, he was only 8lb 6oz, more than a pound/kg smaller than my homebirth babba was, so if you do the math, my body was capable of pushing him out of me, even though he was posterior. In hind-sight, with more info, I would have practiced OFP before and during labour to get him to turn, but as it was, my lack of education and knowledge of OFP shows that I could have avoided a c/section if I'd just done my homework before the birth.

If you click on the 2 links in my sig, you will see that I KNOW for a fact my 2nd c/sec was totally unnecessary. The 'comparisons of care' table lines up my labour notes from my 2nd c/sec and my HBA2C, and you can see that I had 2 identical labour experiences, right down to the timing, and 2 radically different outcomes due to the style of care I received.

[suemp]

yep

[tickle]

I had a caesarean with my second baby and I know it was definately necessary. I had bad placenta previa. We would have both died without it.

[danielle13]

I had an emergency c/s and i think it was necessary becuase my daughter was in distress and i was not progressing fast enough.

Not being argumentative, but this is one of the points I'll be trying to make - not progressing fast enough according to whom?

My DD was also in distress, but my deep-down belief is that her distress was only caused by the ridiculous amounts of intervention, trying to get me to a stage of labour that bubs, and my body, just weren't ready for.
I was also "not progressing fast enough", but considering I went from 1cm - 10cm dilation within 16 hours, who can say that it wasn't fast enough??

mum2my4 I feel was spot-on with this -
"(I'm not discounting emergency c-sections only the fact that) the term may be used to the medical professions advantage such as justifying large c-section rates because they were emergency, which really means it was so much easier for them than waiting for the mother to deliver the baby naturally clogging up the labour wards........."

YES, alot of c/s are true emergencies, but I think more women than we'd like to admit, get taken to theatre to free up a room.

[danielle13]

If you click on the 2 links in my sig, you will see that I KNOW for a fact my 2nd c/sec was totally unnecessary. The 'comparisons of care' table lines up my labour notes from my 2nd c/sec and my HBA2C, and you can see that I had 2 identical labour experiences, right down to the timing, and 2 radically different outcomes due to the style of care I received.

Becca, I've read your comparison table before and it, alone, convinced me that I will be opting for a VBAC if and when another bubba comes along.
And yes, research and taking the time to find a dedicated care provider/support team makes all the difference.

[mum2peanut]

Mine was necessary as DD's heartrate dropped to 80 this was after labouring, pushing, vacuum and forceps, it was necessary to get her out. In the end the umb cord was wrapped around her head and neck and there was no way she would have come out.

[Emma 80]

Well this may sound stupid but I don't know if mine was an elective or emergency. As I went to my usually Ob's appointment and my iron was low and bubs heart rate kept dropping on the CTG monitor so she admitted me and told me she wanted to do a c-section in 2 days. The reason for the 2 day wait was so I could have 2 units of blood as my iron was low and also I would be exactly 36 weeks.

So I assume it was elective :confused:

[becca74]

I personally like to redefine elective/emergency to 'planned' and 'unplanned'....as some 'electives' are planned, some 'electives' are unplanned, and pretty much all 'emergencys' are unplanned (well at least from the mothers perspective, since she chose to go into labour in the first place)....

[nats]

Looking back, me signing the papers was a STUPID decision... but when a doctor says, "Oh, if you don't have one, your baby will die," there's not much you can say (especialyl when you were like me, and hadn't done ANY research into ANYTHING...).

SassyMummy It's NOT your fault! We are supposed to be able to trust our Dr's and for the most part don;t like to argue with a "professional"
The fact you had to make a decision was stupid :yes:




I'm not discounting emergency c-sections only the fact that the term may be used to the medical professions advantage such as justifying large c-section rates because they were emergency, which really means it was so much easier for them than waiting for the mother to deliver the baby naturally clogging up the labour wards.........

I don;t regard my c/s as emergency or I would not have waited almost an hour to get to theatre :no:
Also with poor or no continuity of care the why should the labour ward midwives give a hoot because the ante-natal clinic midwives did nothing to prep you and your baby for the birth...
The midwives mentioned to me regularly that my baby was in an arkward possy, every time I had an appointment in the last few weeks. I never heard that him not being facing my back to be a problem untill it was a contributing facto in my c/s. :(

[nats]

I personally like to redefine elective/emergency to 'planned' and 'unplanned'....

Or expected and unexpected. I mean sometimes an elective c/s mum wont get to plan nothing :no:

[Niksmum26]

my c/section was due to my ds being in extended breech postion- so not only was he bum first but his legs were up where his head is. SO i was fine with having a c/section. I just said to myself- as long as he comes out fine i don't care how he gets here. So long as he is here....

[danielle13]

Thankyou so much to everyone who has contributed so far.
I'll be leaving this thread running indefinitely, but will take the poll results in a weeks' time (next Friday), to include in my submission.

Thanks.

[JATS]

Elective and given that the placenta had implanted over the cervix and labour would have killed me and bub I think it was completly necessary, no two ways about it.

I am so grateful to be around in a time where c/s is possible and IMHO very safe.:smiliedance:

I'd rather a V/B any day (although I may change my mind when I actually try one!:laughing: ) but if I had to I could go through a c/s many times over no worries.:thumbsup:

[natasha]

I vote other as i had an elective c section just because i wanted one. Necessary because I wanted it.:thumbsup:

[Uniquey]

my c/section was due to my ds being in extended breech postion- so not only was he bum first but his legs were up where his head is. SO i was fine with having a c/section. I just said to myself- as long as he comes out fine i don't care how he gets here. So long as he is here....

This is the very same reason my DD was born by C/Section. In an ideal world, I would have loved to have experienced a natural birth, but it wasn't to be.:(

[Hokey Pokey]

Yep mine was neccessary as I began to heamorage.

[Unsure]

I had an emergency c-section @ 36 weeks. Went to the dr for my usual check up and had DD 5 hours later. I had pre-eclampsia and a c-section with general anaethetic. The dr seemed to think it was necassary and when I heard them say "monitor her for convulsions" I thought it was too!!

[Nickyps]

I had an emergency c-section, which was totally necessary!
My son was born at 33 weeks, breech an in distress after a very complicated pregnancy.

[Shanaynay]

I'll never know if mine was really necessary.

For two years I thought it was.

DD was in an Occiput Posterior position, I'd dilated to 10cm, and the Obstetrician said he couldn't not deliver her vaginally.

But he didn't TRY to - many she could have come out, maybe she couldn't.... one of lifes mysteries I guess

[Bethwyn]

Mine was elective due to medical reasons and I was actually given the choice of whether I wanted a c-section or if I wanted to try a vaginal birth. I have a rare gyn condition though (like REALLY rare, 0.025% of women rare) which no one at the hospital had encounted and no one could actually tell me what the outcome of a vaginal birth would be, whether I would end up needing an emergancy c-section anyway, whether it would put DS at danger, whether it would put me at danger, etc. I researched the condition as much as possible before my EDD but because of how rare it was there was no actual information about it and giving birth, and my OB wasn't able to tell me anything either, but my high risk Dr did suggest that it would be a much better option for me. Because of that I was extremely hessitant in attempting a vaginal birth because there was just this huge unknown factor, plus the risks that could happen, so I chose to have a c-section. I just did not want to find out what could happen if I attempted a vaginal birth. Turns out that the placenta had moved down very low (surgery took two hours because of it!) and I couldn't have attempted a vaginal delievery even if I had chosen it anyway. So yes, I think it was necessary, I definatly don't regret it and I will happily take that path again when it comes to future children :)