c section horror stories

[Beach Mama]

I am close to my due date and going for a VBAC with this pregnancy. Sure there are "horror stories" out there for everything both VBAC, first time births, caesers etc. but if you are going to make such a big decision I would base it on facts and studies rather than stories you find. There are risks with everything and birth isn't any different - you just have to weigh up the risks for yourself. Sure part of all the education you do includes birth stories and I have read many positive ones to encourage myself, but I have read books and studies from reputable sources to base my decision on. If I was you I would get my hands on Silent Knife, The Thinking Womans Guide to a Better Birth, The VBAC companion, New Active Birth and Labour of Love. They were my life lines when deciding what to do. Check out websites like ican too.
Good luck making your decision.

ETA: I had PPH too but was able to just take iron tabs... I think it was 700 mL... baby blues from being so drugged out of my mind I didn't bond immediately with my girl, and pain and numbness in my c/s site up to this day.

[Phteven]

I had my bladder nicked and walked around for 24hours (after I could get out of bed) with a bag full of bloody urine. It wasn't exactly a pretty look. Luckily for me I'm pretty resiliant and bounce back quickly because some women walk around with a catheter and bag of bloody urine for longer than I did.
I also had a pph in theatre - luckily they stopped it just before I reached the point of needing a blood transfusion. Funnily enough the normal blood loss in a c-section would be regarded as excessive if it were in a vaginal birth.
I would reccomend that you read through the birth de-briefs and c-section forums.

[~Raven~]

This is not my experience as I haven't had one but my SIL needed IV antibiotics for an infection.

[Phteven]

This is not my experience as I haven't had one but my SIL needed IV antibiotics for an infection.

OMG that reminded me of a mega-horror story - so I dug it up
https://www.bellybelly.com.au/forums...upsetting.html

[~Aveta~]

OMG that reminded me of a mega-horror story - so I dug it up
https://www.bellybelly.com.au/forums...upsetting.html

OMG that's awful!!! my BF had a similar experience after a hysterectomy, tho...i believe any surgery is darn dangerous.

i had twins in 1988 in Coffs Harbour. because i was a first birth and a public patient, no doctor really wanted to take responsibility. i got shunted here and there and eventually got a young locum who failed to pick up that i was becoming toxaemic. he booked me in for induction at 38 weeks, with my boy/girl twins being 7.5 and 6.5 pounds respectively. my boy was a transverse breech so a caesar team was on standby. after 4 hours of a very hard induced labour i gave birth vaginally to my daughter. she was perfect, good apgars, etc. the doctor gave me ten minutes, then started to try to turn my son. within half an hour of her birth i was on a trolley heading for surgery, and being abused by the midwife because i had refused an epidural - i had only a little gas at the end. i had an emergency c/s with a general anasthetic and ended up bleeding our to the point where they gave me seven units of blood and a plasma product that gave me a histamine reaction, so another tap was inserted and i was given more drugs. the surgical registrar was elbow deep in my vagina cleaning clots out of my uterus at 4am. i nearly died. in the morning i insisted the pethidine be taken away as i was afraid of it (i'd seen a friend die of morphine and heroin addiction) i didnt see my son till he was 14 hours old an didnt have any desire to hold or feed him i went thru the motions with him till i finally bonded when he was six months old. i had no trouble bonding with his twin sister, and i BF both to 21 months. . but.... 20 years later i still have adhesions, a crooked scar, an apron, and a fear of anasthetic. it took over ten years before i could stand any pressure on my scar, a fact that led to difficulties between me and my (now ex) husband.

my younger daughter was 8.5 pounds, two weeks late, and born at home with a midwife in attendance, 30k from the nearest hospital. no trouble birthing, no scar rupture, tho it was difficult to get the high-set placenta out over the fold in my uterus where the scar was.

if i manage to get that far again, i'm going for another vaginal birth - 16 years after my last. i personally found i recovered much quicker, without the nerve damage at the scar, the crook back from being shifted in the operating theatre, and i had less trouble brastfeeding without the drugs in my system.

i also suggest you do your research on the stats, and talk to midwives and homebirth attendants. the final decision is yours, and yours alone.

[christy]

My horror story is that I felt the procedure. The spinal block obviously didn't take effect enough. It was horrific & I went into shock on the table while my baby was coming out. It is all hazy what happened the first 24 hours of my daughter's life. I then reacted to the morphine...

My daughter was more affected long term than I was.

[AnyDream]

I recommend you get your hands on the excellent book about caesareans called "Delivery by Appointment". It goes through all the sorts of things that can go wrong and the type of impact it can have. The author is pro-VB but has written a very well researched and balanced book that anyone making this decision should read.

My CS experience was a very positive and empowered one however I did have problems with wound infection for a couple of months afterwards - definitely meant i was in more pain than usual and for longer than normal. However for all of that I'm still very happy with what I chose.