Elected C-section? TMI perhaps!

[EKW]

My OB told me once I could push my foot down like I was slamming on the break I could drive. With my 2nd child/1st c/s I was able to do that on day 5 post op, aka the drive home. I waited until my ds was a week old to drive with out issues.

OP, everyone recovers differently. I loved my c/s & thought I recovered the same way. I walked just as soon as I could & as much as I could with both kinds of deliveries. I had minimal pain post c/s's. Actually I wouldn't call it pain it was when I went from sitting to standing & had to stretch but once I was there I was fine.

I guess your doctor was betting on you not having an accident. The major problem with driving is that if, for any reason, you are in an accident where you are thrown against the seat belt or the steering wheel, you can bleed to death before an ambulance would get there...everything inside would tear loose.

I should add that I am a single parent who was also at the time caring for an elderly relative who was living with me due to physical handicaps. Yes, I was up and walking the next morning. Yes, I went home 2 days later and had to clean the house, going up and down stairs to do laundry, cook for the family, grocery shop, etc. My concerns about the recovery from c-sections are not due to the fact that I pulled a princess act following mine out of self-pity.

You're right...some women have wonderful c-sections. Including you, I've met two.

 

[RMulieri]

I didn’t think about a correlation between breathing problems in a baby from having a C-section. My sister had to have one and her sweet little one was in NICU for fluid in his lungs for a couple weeks. It was heart wrenching to see her go through leaving the hospital without him. In a V*****l birth the baby has the time to transition from embryonic fluid to air. Who knows if he would have still had the problem.

On another note. A couple of you have given me hope on the pooch. I could stand to lose 5 maybe 10 lbs and I carry it on my belly from that huge kiddo I had, maybe if I can get that off the pooch will go away. Are all you ladies who are “poochless” also flat bellied?

I have a 6pk and I have a small pooch..alot of it is genetics unfortunately

 

[RMulieri]

I think it is important to realize that OB's are one of the most HIGHLY sued docs as it is, so alot of them now try not to do C/s unless they HAVE to.Plus many of them are leaving the specialty ( or not going in) .There are simply too many other complications (some life threatening) assoc with C/s ,or ANY abdominal surgery that make elective c/s harder to get.

 

[Racemom17]

I understand your concern with hubby far away and two little ones at home...but my suggestion would be start talking to your doctor now about elective induction...so you can deliver ******lly but chose the day you go...of course as mentioned, you could still go early...best laid plans, and all.

 

[dismichelle]

OP how old are your kids? Mine were 7 and 9 when I went in labor with my third. I could tell the labor was going fast and we didn't have time to take them to my BIL's or for him to come to our house.

Well, we took the kids with us and they were in the waiting room. They did fine. BIL came to the hospital to get them for us.

 

[Ar1el]

OP how old are your kids? Mine were 7 and 9 when I went in labor with my third. I could tell the labor was going fast and we didn't have time to take them to my BIL's or for him to come to our house.

Well, we took the kids with us and they were in the waiting room. They did fine. BIL came to the hospital to get them for us.

My kids will be 7 and 4 when my due date rolls around. I have thought about just bringing them and having them wait. I am going to just let nature take its course. I have had 2 fairly easy pregnancies except for that horrid back labor. I recovered quick with both my children so hopefully this one will be the same.

 

[emh1129]

I've experienced both c-section and natural birth. I didn't have any major c-section complications, but natural birth was a walk in the park compared to the c-section.
Like some of the previous posters mentioned, it is major abdominal surgery. There are some serious risks involved. I think c-sections can be wonderful, when they are medically necessary. But most of the time, they're not, and the section rate is climbing to astronomical proprtions in this letigious society and OBs having to practice defensive medicine.

 

[emh1129]

I think it is important to realize that OB's are one of the most HIGHLY sued docs as it is, so alot of them now try not to do C/s unless they HAVE to.Plus many of them are leaving the specialty ( or not going in) .There are simply too many other complications (some life threatening) assoc with C/s ,or ANY abdominal surgery that make elective c/s harder to get.

Unfortunately, this is a major reason why they DO c-sections more often than they should. Many of them will say 'the only c-section you get sued for is the one you didn't do.' It looks better for them to take action and try to control the situation rather than let nature play its course and let the body act as it was intended to.

 

[dawnmommy]

I know you are scared you'll go into labor without your dh, but it is much much better to line up a friend or neighbor you can call, than c-section for that reason.

It is very hard to care for your other kids when recovering from a C-section! And unless your dh can take 6 weeks off, you'll be much better off with a v-birth

my first child was a c-section due to his medical condition (vena previa - his blood supply crossed in front of the birth canal, he had an accessory lobe on his placenta, basically 2 placentas with taggled blood supply). so we had no choice there, I'm thankful it was diagnosed in utero.

I so desperately wanted a vbac with my daughter, and changed OBs to one that supported it. Unfortunately I developed severe pre-eclampsia with some liver issues, and had an emergency C-section. It was pretty hard to take care of a newborn and a 2 year old once my dh went back to work. my 2 year old was still diapers but I couldn't lift him, not even into his carseat.

I am grateful c-sections exist, but I'd never never want an elective one.

 

[**eeyore**]

I guess your doctor was betting on you not having an accident. The major problem with driving is that if, for any reason, you are in an accident where you are thrown against the seat belt or the steering wheel, you can bleed to death before an ambulance would get there...everything inside would tear loose.

If the medical reason for not driving was in fact what you stated above (the risk of rupturing/ripping), doctors would advise to not drive OR RIDE in a car for 2 weeks after surgery. They don't. You are not to drive for the specified period of time, due to the risk of delayed reactions or inability to move quickly enough. Also, the movement of lifting your foot from the accelerator to brake uses a lot more abdominal muscle than one would expect - that can put stress on your incisions. Doctors do not prescribe riding restrictions. Although I don't think they would advise any motorcycle riding immediately following a c-section!

I'm not saying one way or the other what the OP should do, I just don't think this is the place to be making up our own rules and treating them like fact.

OP - fortunately you have lots of time to think through your situation and decide what is best for you and your family. Best of luck & congratulations on your pregnancy!

 

[RMulieri]

Unfortunately, this is a major reason why they DO c-sections more often than they should. Many of them will say 'the only c-section you get sued for is the one you didn't do.' It looks better for them to take action and try to control the situation rather than let nature play its course and let the body act as it was intended to.

Yes, if they feel it is neccessary..But not many will do them anymore becasue a woman WANTS one.

 

[pixiedustmomma]

I had to have a c-section with my daughter (first child) and I would never do it again. It was very hard to recover from and I spent more time in the hospital. I developed an infection during labor and I blame that on the pitocin. My daughter was in the NICU for about two days to make sure she didn't have the infection.

I am now 15 weeks pregnant with my second and changed doctors so I can try a VBAC. I've read so many things about why c-sections are bad and the risk involved. While there are risk with having a VBAC those risk are 1%. My doctor told me she has seen women pregnant with their first child have uterine eruption. So if everything goes smoothly and my doctor doesn't see a reason why I should have a c-section I will have a VBAC. I would not want to have to deal with the pain of healing from the c-section. I also have heard it is hard to go up and down stairs after a c-section and you can't lift anything heavier then your baby. I will also have a 3 year old on my hands and she won't let me get away with that.

There are many doctors that will just do a c-section because you want to without think about what is best for you. You are at a higher risk for infection and it takes longer to heal. Meaning longer till you can workout. I blame my pooch I have going on because of my c-section. I've been letting Jillian Michaels kick my butt too and I still have it.

I know you are worried but maybe you can have a family member come stay with you closer to your due date so someone will be there to help you out or maybe there is another friend close to you that you can call. You never know till you ask, most people are more then willing to help out when you are pregnant.

 

[LIBLULA]

I had a planned C-section with my DD10. She was measuring over 11 pounds on ultrasound. I was over 1 week late. My doctor gave me the option. She gave me the pros/cons of both. I picked the C-section. I was up walking the next am ( I had her at 7:30pm), pain was not bad--took Advil.

 

[melafive]

I just wanted to add a couple things. I did not read all seven pages of replies so this could have already been touched on. I have had three c-sections. The first after 24 hours labor the second after 14 and the third I didn't attempt the labor thing. The first c-section was traumatic. How could it not be after being awake so long with labor and my first child. I could not hold my baby right away. They put me out so I could get much needed sleep. Recovery was miserable. Plus I was very nauseated. Second child recovery was easier but still nauseated. Third child I knew the drill and I was obviously prepared for a c-section. Recovery was still hard but I knew what to expect and how to cope. If you do opt for a c-section be prepared to be nauseated right after birth. With my third I asked for anti nauseating meds in my iv during surgery. This helped but not completely. With my first two I was closed up with staples. This hurts terribly when they take them out a few days later. With #3 I opted just for stitches. Also the sooner you get up and start walking around the sooner you will feel better. Keep on top of your pain meds is another piece of advice.

I was just reading about how some women go in shaved or waxed down there. This is something that they will do in the hospital so if your not comfortable with that you may want to take care of that yourself.

I would never have choose to have a c-section by choice. But if you do decide to have one it's good to go in prepared.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

My husband works 17 hours a way and there is no way in heck that you could pay me enough to voluntarily submit myself to surgery just for convenience.

Honestly--that's what an elective induction is for if scheduling is such an issue that you have to plan in advance an actual day that you need someone to help watch your children.

I'm facing a possible breech and am even submitting to a version before tossing in the towel and going straight to a c-section. I'll even do it with a high dose pitocin induction immediately following if needed. (my doula did this with her last b/c the risks of a c-section are so much greater when it isn't done for true medical need).

Electively choosing an invasive procedure out of convenience is not the way to go IMHO--posted since you asked and I feel my situation has much more of a convenience issue than a 1 hour commute.

 

[fakereadhed]

After observing over 20 breech version attempts, I wouldn't have one myself. Looks very painful and every single one of them resulted in the baby having lowered heart tones, even though almost all of them returned to normal within 5-10 minutes. JMO.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

After observing over 20 breech version attempts, I wouldn't have one myself. Looks very painful and every single one of them resulted in the baby having lowered heart tones, even though almost all of them returned to normal within 5-10 minutes. JMO.

Valid--but they can be done and I much prefer to try than to submit to a scalpel if it isn't necessary.

Babies in ordinary labor can have low FHT as well.

Im more curious though of how many of those 20 remained head down.

 

[fakereadhed]

Valid--but they can be done and I much prefer to try than to submit to a scalpel if it isn't necessary.

Babies in ordinary labor can have low FHT as well.

Im more curious though of how many of those 20 remained head down.

True, but the version is kind of like elective low FHTs- in keeping with the topic of the thread.

I would have to say most stayed head down and got pitocin quickly afterward, but less than half were successful. Most of the successful ones were moms on their 3rd+ pregnancy, but a couple were first time moms.

Best of luck to you!!!!

 

[2forMe]

Everyone is different. My two were c-sections and I was up and about the afternoon of my morning c-section. Recovery was great for me.. I have friends who have had great and terrible ******l births as well as c-sections.

 

[DW2010]

People handle things completely differently. Their bodies take ******l births or c-sections differently, too. I know a woman that had her first ******lly, her second by c-section and her third by VBAC because she had a horrible c-section recovery. Mine wasn't bad but I would be lying if I said I didn't experience some pain which is normal after being cut open . A cousin's wife of mine just gave birth Wednesday night by c-section and because she is doing so well, they released her this afternoon! That's sooner than most ******l deliveries. You could have the best recovery or the worse. I would never elect a c-section unless I didn't have a choice. HTH.