C-sections - Tell me the truth!

[hipporina]

My entire birth plan focused on completely natural childbirth and avoiding a c-section. My baby boy has different plans and refuses to turn out of the breech position, so I am now scheduled for a c-section in just under 2 weeks. While I can't wait to meet my little guy, I am really freaked out about the c-section and could use some reassurance. It seems like most people who have had one found it to be a pretty good experience, but everything I read sounds so much worse.

For those of you that have been there, how was your experience? These are the things that I really worry about:

1. I'm worried about being groggy and fuzzy headed. I want to be completely in the moment to enjoy the birth and first hours and day with my son. How clear did you feel? How is your memory from that day?

2. Does the pain and recovery distract too much from the time with your child? I want to remember him, not the surgery.

3. Does the recovery really take as long as they say? I hate the idea of not feeling normal for another 4-6 weeks. Many things make the recovery sound more difficult than the end of pregnancy. Did it take you that long? Was it worse to be 38-39 weeks pregnant or 1-2 weeks post c-section?

I'm really looking for brutal honesty here. I know I don't really have a choice in my situation, but I want to be prepared!

 

[twinboysmom]

I had an emergency c section for my twins and was 38 weeks pregnant. My experience would be a little different from a scheduled section in that I had just eaten a full meal and my blood pressure was extremely high so a bad combination. I was awake during theprocedure and afterwards as well. I remember it all.

As far as the recovery, not a big deal. I had my section at 4:40 and wasn't allowed to get up until 7 am which was a bit of a pain but I was still able to nurse my babies and hold them through the night. At 7 am I got up, took a shower and went about my business of taking care of two babies. We were home 3 days later.

I am not a candidate for a vbac and I would gladly have another c section again over a traditional birth. I took a few pain pills after but not any more and perhaps less than my friends with traditional births. Good luck and it will be great!!!

 

[mrsv98]

My entire birth plan focused on completely natural childbirth and avoiding a c-section. My baby boy has different plans and refuses to turn out of the breech position, so I am now scheduled for a c-section in just under 2 weeks. While I can't wait to meet my little guy, I am really freaked out about the c-section and could use some reassurance. It seems like most people who have had one found it to be a pretty good experience, but everything I read sounds so much worse.

For those of you that have been there, how was your experience? These are the things that I really worry about:

1. I'm worried about being groggy and fuzzy headed. I want to be completely in the moment to enjoy the birth and first hours and day with my son. How clear did you feel? How is your memory from that day?

2. Does the pain and recovery distract too much from the time with your child? I want to remember him, not the surgery.

3. Does the recovery really take as long as they say? I hate the idea of not feeling normal for another 4-6 weeks. Many things make the recovery sound more difficult than the end of pregnancy. Did it take you that long? Was it worse to be 38-39 weeks pregnant or 1-2 weeks post c-section?

I'm really looking for brutal honesty here. I know I don't really have a choice in my situation, but I want to be prepared!

DD was about as wrong way around as a baby can be so she was a scheduled c-section. Really, it was not a huge deal. I have total recollection of her birth, not fuzzy at all. I had a spinal block and the biggest annoyance was having to stay in recovery until I could move my legs.

DH went with DD to the nursery while the docs finished me. She was born on Monday and we stayed until Friday. By the time I went home I didn't even take strong painkillers, just ibuprofen.

Yes, the recovery was more difficult. We lived on the 2nd floor of a condo building so I would have to wait until DH came home to take the baby for a walk and I HATED not driving. However, overall I would say it was a perfectly fine way to give birth especially once I realized I didn't have to push out DD's giant melon head!

 

[ColoradoDisneyFreaks]

My son was a scheduled c and it was pretty easy. I was awake and alert the whole time, the only bad part was my usual one instance of getting sick, then I'm fine. I had to wait a bit to hold him, just because they were getting me all put back together, but I felt just fine once the epidural wore off all of the way. I'd take the c-section over 39 weeks pregnant any day!!!!!

 

[LuLuO]

The same thing happened with my little boy.

Make sure you tell your doctor that you want them to do an ultrasound the morning of your c-section to see if he turned. They can turn pretty late. If my boy had turned, the c-section would have been canceled.

With an epidural, you'll be clear. You may be shakey. You will remember everything. Be sure to keep tell the anesthesiologist about any discomfort you are having, no matter how minor. I was very shakey and didn't feel comfortable holding DS for a little while, but within the hour I was nursing him.

As for recovery, the pain and the recovery time, is more than with a v-birth, but it in no way takes away from your bonding with the child. For me recovery took 6 weeks but honestly, I still feel numbness and slight pain at the incision site. My son is 3 now. I've spoken to women who have children much older and they say the same thing. A C-section is major surgery so follow the doctor's instructions. But, even though it is a longer recovery, you'll be so focused on your beautiful boy that it won't matter.

Congratulations!

 

[TheSchragFamily]

My entire birth plan focused on completely natural childbirth and avoiding a c-section. My baby boy has different plans and refuses to turn out of the breech position, so I am now scheduled for a c-section in just under 2 weeks. While I can't wait to meet my little guy, I am really freaked out about the c-section and could use some reassurance. It seems like most people who have had one found it to be a pretty good experience, but everything I read sounds so much worse.

For those of you that have been there, how was your experience? These are the things that I really worry about:

1. I'm worried about being groggy and fuzzy headed. I want to be completely in the moment to enjoy the birth and first hours and day with my son. How clear did you feel? How is your memory from that day?

2. Does the pain and recovery distract too much from the time with your child? I want to remember him, not the surgery.

3. Does the recovery really take as long as they say? I hate the idea of not feeling normal for another 4-6 weeks. Many things make the recovery sound more difficult than the end of pregnancy. Did it take you that long? Was it worse to be 38-39 weeks pregnant or 1-2 weeks post c-section?

I'm really looking for brutal honesty here. I know I don't really have a choice in my situation, but I want to be prepared!

I only had one, but here is my take:
I was a bit groggy, but only because my son was born in the middle of the night. The memories I have are very clear, I was just tired, so I think if you are better rested than I was, you'll be fine. (The reason I was not rested is I had been in labor for a LONG time, so in this case having a planned c-section is better because you can make sure to get a good night's sleep beforehand.) It did not take me 6 weeks to recover at all...I think that is just an outside estimate... For the first couple of days it was not so great but after that it was just a bit of soreness/stiffness, like with any surgery. Now I would say being pregnant was MUCH more pleasant for me, even at the very end, than recovering from the c-section, but the physical discomfort was not THAT terrible. The things I remember that I did not like: sneezing or coughing, trying to stand up the first few times to go to the bathroom (you can't really do it since the muscles have all been moved out of the way, etc.), and having my staples removed by a nurse who wasn't terribly gentle...ouch! But had I known, I would have asked for some pain relief ahead of time (you aren't on morphine anymore at that point). The worst part was just feeling like I wanted to go home and be alone with husband and baby and it felt like I was in the hospital for YEARS. But maybe that's just because I tend to go stir-crazy. Good luck and don't worry...I'm sure you will be just fine. Enjoy your precious baby!

 

[emma'smom]

I've had two c-sections, both scheduled and they were both fine. I was awake and alert during both of them...my dh standing next to my head giving me a watered-down play-by-play (I wasn't interested in knowing the moment they made the incision, etc).....

They brought the baby to me immediately each time to show her to me and then did apgar and initial wipe-down...then back to me to "hold" them. Note- because I was lying on my back, I wasn't actually able to really get a good grip on her. We took pictures....etc. All of this occured while the surgeons closed (so I really wasn't even focused on that and you can't feel a thing...).

Then DH went with the baby on up to the nursery...so I knew each time, the baby had a parent with her. For my first dd, I ended up in recovery for a few hours....which was insanely frustrating because they wouldn't take me back to my room until the anestesia started to wear off. For the 2nd dd, (different hospital), they took me back to my room for recovery and brought dd into me as soon as I was settled.

As for recovery, on the first day...take the painkillers as scheduled--don't be a hero! You'll be more comfortable moving around and then will be willing to get up and move earlier....

Does it hurt, initially....like knives ripping your uterus apart...but grin though it and you'll be fine once you start moving! For my 2nd dd, my OB ordered what I can only describe as a body-size ace bandage to be worn immediately post-surgery. It was odd, but ended up being so comfortable to keep the incision from getting jostled....I wished I had it with the first dd.

Here's a hint....buy some spanx...even if you are a skinny girl. Wear these the first few days home...they will keep the incisions from getting bumped and you will be more comfortable and supported---and thus can move around more easily at home.

It took a few days at home before I was comfortably up and about to cook dinner and things like that, but that's what take-out and those friends who drop off meals are for. Mostly you'll be tired like every new parent is, but your body will have also gone through a lot of stress...so it will hit you in odd ways. Don't over do it even if you feel great! 5 days post partum I felt great and wanted to finish painting a bookshelf for the nursery. I remember a few neighbors commenting that I was crazy, but I pressed on. I regretted it a few days later.....so take it easy those first few weeks.

 

[hereyago]

I had a very unplanned C section. I had the spinal no time for epidural. So that was odd not being able to feel from a certain point down.

I was very awake. I don't know if this is regular protocol but they strapped my arms down on the table-I begged them not to-I was like I promise if I start feeling something, I won't get up.lol. did I mention that I am a terrible patient?

But everyone was nice, but it was the anestiaologist, that really helped me through, he was even better then my then DH at calming me down,lol. He told me what to expect or tell him if i started feeling certain ways. He even took the picture of my dh holding our DD next to me right after she was born.

I remember everything about having surgery, no pain thankfully, but not fuzzy. Fuzzy for me was in recovery-plus once again I am a bad patient-i was taking off my oxygen tubes until a nurse said"if you don't stop you'll be here longer. ok I stopped ha ha. I recall first getting back into my room and my friend was there and DD came in and that is when I first held her.

My memory is fuzzy after I came out of recovery-seriously I could have met Daffy Duck and not remember it. I recall bits and pieces for a couple days. I had her on a Tuesday morning and left Thursday night. I'm not sure if it was morphine but my skin inside itched.

I recall the last day pretty well, ivs were out because they said if I got up and walked around-holy crap that hurt-they would take it out, so I did and I made sure they told the doctor. I still had pill pain killers.

I got home and it was hard for me, we had a water bed,etc. so getting in and out was hard so i slept on the couch at first. I ended up with an infection at the incision, so that sucked eggs as well.


Brutal honesty, it really didn't HIT me that I was a mom until a few days later, I'm serious I was on some good pain killers, yes she breast fed, but it wasn't until the day we left. A nurse brought her in and said she was fussy and I needed to feed her and the nursery was busy,blah blah . i was like I just fed her not even an hour ago and she had milk. So nurse left and it was surreal: my DD looked up at me as if to say "you're my mommy" holy crap I'm tearing up just writing it-then it hit me like a ton of bricks.

Good luck, you'll do fine. Those dang breech babies, lol, DD was booty first

 

[JohnsonsLoveDisney]

My entire birth plan focused on completely natural childbirth and avoiding a c-section. My baby boy has different plans and refuses to turn out of the breech position, so I am now scheduled for a c-section in just under 2 weeks. While I can't wait to meet my little guy, I am really freaked out about the c-section and could use some reassurance. It seems like most people who have had one found it to be a pretty good experience, but everything I read sounds so much worse.

For those of you that have been there, how was your experience? These are the things that I really worry about:

1. I'm worried about being groggy and fuzzy headed. I want to be completely in the moment to enjoy the birth and first hours and day with my son. How clear did you feel? How is your memory from that day?

Had both an emergency- had general dont remember a thing. And with my last a scheduled. I was tired!! We chose the 7am surgery so we had to check in at 530am because you cant eat. was up part of the night just being excited and then had to be up and on the way to the hospital at 5. I remember everything. My favorite part was getting the spinal and not feeling anything from the chest down. That was the most relaxed I'd been im 37 weeks

2. Does the pain and recovery distract too much from the time with your child? I want to remember him, not the surgery.

There wasnt much pain and was way more comfortable after the c-sections that the naturals. they give you plenty of pain meds my girls came and had lunch with us. my nurses made me rest longer than I really wanted too, but the also met the rest of my family

3. Does the recovery really take as long as they say? I hate the idea of not feeling normal for another 4-6 weeks. Many things make the recovery sound more difficult than the end of pregnancy. Did it take you that long? Was it worse to be 38-39 weeks pregnant or 1-2 weeks post c-section?

nope its actually faster I think. By the 2 week mark your ready to go for pretty much everything. We have stairs so that was a hard one to deal with, and not being able to carry more than the baby around, I had to have help getting laundry up and down, but no biggie. The not driving thing is hard, but it was nice to have the help and company. I seriously could have gone to back to work at the 2 week mark if I wasn't enjoying my time off so much. I will say though that you may still have to sleep on your back and sitting up/standing and rolling over are hard to do since your stomach hurts but I dont think really any more than a natural, just pain in different places. And if you bind yourself, either get one of those girdle type deals they sell now or just a large ace bandage around to help hold things in it makes the world of difference.

I'm really looking for brutal honesty here. I know I don't really have a choice in my situation, but I want to be prepared!

These are just my experiences everything will go well and you wont even remember the surgery later, just the great new baby.

 

[brookmey]

I had a scheduled C-section with DS, my 2nd baby, because in my 40 week ultrasound he measured at over 10 lbs and there was absolutely no sign that he would be coming into the world soon.

I was fully alert during the surgery and aware of everything. I did have some trouble getting used to not feeling my legs and kind of panicked the first few minutes. The nurse told me that was very common. But, I found a screw in one of the ceiling tiles and focused on that so I wouldn't think about not feeling my legs and I was fine after that. I would strongly recommend that, along with deep breathing exercises. Both of those combined kept me calm during the surgery.

Your arms will be flat out beside you, in a cross position. There was also a curtain in front of me so I couldn't see anything but the tops of the doctor's head. I had a few seconds of panic again when I heard the dr. say he was cutting, but, again, I focused on the screw in the ceiling and tuned out the voices. I even had to tell DH, who was sitting right above my head, to shut up because he was breaking my concentration!

The part that really threw me was the way they just reamed on my stomach. One of the nurses was practically straddling me, pushing on me with all her might. I didn't feel any of it, so there was no pain, but I did kind of feel like I was being jerked around.

The whole thing was done and over in under an hour. They were pretty efficient. The hardest part, and I'd say the worst part, was not being able to hold DS after he was born. My arms had to stay in the cross position while they were sewing me up and all I could do was touch his face.

When they wheeled me into the recovery area, they put a warm blanket on me because I had the shakes. I can't remember why it happens, but it's very common after giving birth. By then, I was so relaxed and mellow. I did get to hold DS then.

I had a severe case of post-partum pre-ecclampsia with my first baby, so after DS was born, they put me on a 24 hour magnesium drip. After DS was born my blood pressure kept rising, so because of my history, they administered the drip right away. So, I was in bed a full 24 hours after giving birth before they would allow me to get up and move around. I think that made my first time getting out of bed even worse.

The first time I got up, the pain was excruciating. You never realize how much you use your abdominal muscles! They had me walk from the bed to the bathroom and I thought I was going to die. But I made it and from then on I would get up every hour to make the short walk to and from the bathroom. They did give me pain meds, which helped, but not completely. I hated the nurse who made me cough, because that was soooo painful!

After you give birth, your stomach is all stretched out and saggy, kind of like bread dough. When you have a C-section, the stretched out part just kind of hangs down when you're on your side, so I would strongly recommend you ask for a brace or something to hold your saggy skin up. It helps with the pain and with moving around in the bed.

The more you move around, the better it gets. I remember how much it hurt to take a shower, but also how good it felt.

You do have to take it easy when you get home, but you'll still be able to enjoy your baby. You're not supposed to lift anything over 10 pounds, but since my baby was 11 pounds, I couldn't quite follow that order! Avoid going up and down the stairs as much as possible and do follow their instructions for when you can drive. I started driving earlier than what the dr. said and it was not a good idea.

I was still moving slowly at 2 weeks, but at my 6 week check-up, everything was fine and I could resume normal activity. I did have more help at home with DS, partly because of the C-section and partly because I also had a 2 year old to take care of. I really couldn't stay in bed and recover like my dr. recommended because I had another child, so overall, I think my recovery was quicker than it was with DD.

My scar is pretty small, I still can't believe that my 11 pound, 23" baby came out of that! And, by the way, my stomach muscles were very sore for 3-4 weeks from they way that they pushed and pulled on me.

I've had both types of births, a normal one with DD and the section with DS. Neither one was particularly pleasant, but not traumatic either. The C-section is really not as scary as it may seem.

Good luck and enjoy your new little baby!

 

[rentayenta]

C-sections are natural.

I've had three. My first was emergency. Second because she was breech. Third, because I'd already had two.

I don't have a "natural" birth to compare it to but the recovery was no where near 4-6 weeks for me. I did spend the allowed time in the hospital at the urging of DH and my OBG and I'm glad I did.

Funny thing is that to this day the scar still feels funny and numb sometimes, over 10 years from my last c-section.

You'll be so amazed and in love with your baby, the pain is very secondary.

 

[christineann]

I had an emergency C-section because the cord was wrapped 6 (really, 6!) times around my son's neck. and his heart rate plummeted. I was put under general anesthesia. I was so overjoyed that he was okay that the whole birth experience was not that important. A C-section is just another way to have a baby and to accomplish the goal - healthy baby and healthy mom. The recovery just takes a little longer, but they get you up and moving quickly. I had my tonsils out at age 23, which I thought was worse!

Good luck, and keep us posted on your big day!

 

[mom2rb]

I had a c-section with my twins. I had a spinal block. I remember bits and pieces. I didn't hold one son for three days and the other for five. I am bonded with my boys. I wouldn't worry about the first few hours, you will have the rest of your life.

It wasn't the c-section that made me wait to hold my kids. It was the week they spent in neo-natal.

 

[Coconut36]

1. I'm worried about being groggy and fuzzy headed. I want to be completely in the moment to enjoy the birth and first hours and day with my son. How clear did you feel? How is your memory from that day? Totally fine and clear for both births. First was over 30 hours of labor with little to no progress and then a c section. With that one I had an epidural (and was horrifically sleep deprived) and I still remember it all. Second child was a planned c section (initially because of the previous c but then he was breech so it had to be one). Totally clear memory of that too. At the most I drifted in and out a bit after the birth while they were finishing everything up and baby was being cleaned/weighed/measured but youngest I was nursing in the recovery room (oldest I didn't get to because he was gigantic and they wanted to test his blood sugar (totally fine..he was just big).

2. Does the pain and recovery distract too much from the time with your child? I want to remember him, not the surgery.
I didn't find it distracted from the time with my baby in any way..not for either one
3. Does the recovery really take as long as they say? I hate the idea of not feeling normal for another 4-6 weeks. Many things make the recovery sound more difficult than the end of pregnancy. Did it take you that long? Was it worse to be 38-39 weeks pregnant or 1-2 weeks post c-section?
I don't think the two are comparable personally. I would say I was feeling more "normal" by 2 week but the reality is that it IS surgery and yes you do need time to recover. It is really best for you and baby to take it easy and recover. With a newborn are you really going to be doing much more intense activities than feeding and cuddling baby anyway? My strongest advice to you would be not to push yourself or feel like you "have" to be doing everything post birth. Rest up and let your body heal. Honestly though I never needed anything more intense than Rx strength Motrin and only took that for a couple weeks so it is not that it is painful or anything like that..more birth in general than it being a c section. Your body goes through a lot post birth regardless of how baby exits and it deserves time to rest/heal.

 

[luvmy2sams]

I've had two C-sections. The first was unplanned and happened after I pushed for 3.5 hours with no drugs. I was more sore from the pushing than I was from the C-section incision. That was lovely! The roughest part of recovery was getting up and down out of the hospital bed. Once I figured that out, it wasn't bad at all.

My second C-section was planned and was wonderful. Once the nursing student finally got my IV in, that is. It took her 2 collapsed veins and I almost passed out because I HATE needles. That was the worst of it, though.

I was fully alert during both births. With my son I was much more present because I wasn't in such shock from the extended labor and all the junk the nurses attempted before DH insisted the doctor check me out.

Take a small pillow to hold over your incision when you need to change positions. The added pressure tricked my mind, I guess, and it wasn't as painful. With both births I was moving around within a few hours and didn't need any of the pain meds I was offered. You'll be slower at first, but recovery isn't that big of a deal.

The absolute worst part of the entire process for me was when the doctor removed the staples from my incisions during my follow up. Holy cow that hurt!

 

[mom2maggie]

My first c-section was a result of a failed induction at 41 weeks. I believe my doctor broke my water too early. My daughters head was tilted, and i didnt progress. My recovery from my first was pretty awful. It was fine the first 10 days, until my incision unexpectedly ruptured (while I sat down on a toilet at a store on our first outing with the baby!) and I had a bunch of built up infected fluid come out. I ended up having them cut my incision open and they had to leave it open to heal from the inside out. I had home health care nurses 2x a day for 6 weeks packing my wound, which was 14cm by 7cm deep. Eventually around 6 weeks I had to consult a plastic surgeon because the edges weren't lined up so it wasn't healing properly, and was finally referred to a wound care clinic. I was terrified to have a repeat c-section, and tried for VBAC but my 2nd daughter was breech. The 2nd recovery went much smoother, but was more painful initially because there has been so much scar tissue from the first recovery.

Sorry! You asked for brutal honesty!

 

[jujube]

1st c-section was an emergency after 26 hours of labor. I was exhausted and put under general anesthesia. Once I came out of recovery, I was fine and lucid.

2nd was planned and a breeze. My friends who delivered ******lly took longer than I did to feel better.

You can't ride a bicycle for a while and no heavy lifting but other than that, no big deal and I'm a huge sissy.

 

[bumbershoot]

The truth?


OK first...I had all of the women on mothering.com forums TRY to scream at me that I was heading down a bad road. They tried and tried, and when I went back and read everything I wanted to die because they had done everything they could and I ignored them.

So when someone asks, I try to tell them. I know you're very pregnant and probably sensitive and you're scared...but I don't know how much you will hear, and so I'm just laying it on the line. My problems weren't for breech, but a totally undetected malpositioning is what caused everything, along with attendants who REFUSED to believe me that EVERYONE in my family was late late late, and my husband (contributed lots of genetics to DS!) was born at 44 weeks and was under 9 pounds and perfectly awesomely fine. Everyone could see what was happening except for me, because I was pregnant and WANTED to trust people and I was crying all the time and sensitive and was watching things spiral out of control and I didn't know that "NO" is a complete sentence.


You are having MAJOR abdominal surgery on the very day you meet your new baby. You will likely be taking some pretty heavy drugs for the days and even weeks (2 weeks for me and I was still in utter agony for a LONG time) while your baby is new, and you MIGHT not remember much.

You have a greater chance of dying. That's super-fun.


Breech. Find a provider who is better. Of course, no one in the States IS better, because their insurance companies fear for themselves, so finding someone who will sit in the back of the room and knit while YOU do the work, and no one pulls on the baby's body to cause problems, is nearly impossible. Augh I hate the breech fear. (I would love to see the statistics between a properly attended (attendant sitting in a chair knitting while you work it out) breech birth vs surgery mortality, seriously)

Get into an acupuncturist's office and have moxibustion done. Find a GOOD chiropractor who welcomes families and does the Webster technique and get that baby moved. Even if you have no Webster technique people, get to a chiropractor. Often, just having the pelvis out of place slightly can keep the baby from moving.


OH and scheduling THAT far out for breech? I cannot despise your providers more. The chances of that baby moving are HUGE. But they are scheduling you. So you can't just say "give me another day". No, they've scheduled you.

Honestly, I'd unschedule that ASAP. If you start labor and baby is still breech and YOU want the risks of surgery vs the risks of unskilled attendants at a breech birth, you can still make that choice, I PROMISE you. Just unschedule it. There is NO reason for that to be happening.



During my labor (half of which was "prodromal" but no one said that word because that would mean they would be in trouble with their invisible overseers (turns out the midwives I chose were having troubles with the medical community, as the perinatal physician who was one of their life partners had just had her license yanked for cooperating with midwives)), I kept having the biggest urge to pull out the ironing board, lie down on it, and have hubby lift the end where my feet were. Sort of "re-set" things.

If I'd managed to vocalize that and have it done....I truly believe things would have changed. No one knew it at the time (2 midwives then an OB and several nurses) never even checked, but not only was DS posterior (the hips are going to explode give me heroin now pain didn't clue them in?) but he had AT LEAST one hand up at his face, and probably both. (little superman dude) And I know a woman who had a baby in just that position, so it can be done.

and so can breech. But it might be too late to find someone who can attended it appropriately.... So just get yourself moving to the things that CAN be done, and unschedule the surgery. Even if you want major abdominal surgery on the day you meet your baby, you can still let the BABY decide when he wants to be born.

 

[bumbershoot]

some people do just fine.

others don't.


You don't know which one you'll be until it's too late.



One of my friends had a surgical birth with her second baby because baby was breech.

As they cut my friend's SKIN, the baby flopped and moved to proper position.

They didn't stop.

So much for them doing it for the baby's sake. They could have stopped, but they ahd started, and they continued with the skin incisions and went further on.

Lovely.



OH and extra fun for me...no one had a CLUE that DS was so far down (and, again, posterior). The supposed doctor CUT my son's nose. And never told me.

It was after I was booted (illegally) from the hospital 42 hours post-op (while I was crying and freaking out because I lived in a 3rd floor walkup apartment building and they said "it's just Group Health regulations", then said nothing as I said "again, I have Great West, NOT Group Health, and it's a LAW!"), when I realized that the thing on his nose wasn't just a blob that we had missed when we washed him (after the nurses kept referring to him as a "biohazard"), but a cut that was bleeding and scabbing.

It's still a scar. A little blip of a scar, like a pockmark, that I can't focus on too much because I'll cry, even now.

I was so demoralized, and would get such huge anxiety and panic attacks, about it all, that I still have never written to them. Even now I feel powerless about it all.


I don't want you to feel powerless. Take back your power. "No" is a complete sentence. Get on the phone. Are you near Tennessee? Can you contact Ina May Gaskin's "farm" and see if they'd take you? (that's midwives, out of hospital, FYI)

 

[becpee]

I had an emergency c-section after a 28 hour labour and a broken water 5 days earlier (hey, thats a whole other story).
I would take a c-section over labour any day and twice on Sundays

I was fully awake and had an epidural (except for the tiredness of being awake for so long) and was still awake for a few hours after even though my DS was born around 2am.
I had very little discomfort during and after, like another lady here said the worse thing was when they put the drip in my hand.
I was up and walking around at around 8am with paracetamol just because the nurses told me I should take it just in case.

I showered around 10am and was happy to feel clean again.

Yes, it's major surgery, but the rewards are amazing!

And you also get to take it easier after the birth for longer, just because it's major surgery LOL WIN/WIN!

Good luck!