I'm considering having an elective c/s for my third child, as I've had complicating factors with the last two. The one thing that is making me reconsider is the downtime after the birth - I have to weigh up whether I'll be incapacitated longer with a c/s or with a v/b.

I've had friends who had c/s, and all of them said they hadn't quite realised how hard the recovery time would be. To me, that makes it a bit of a gamble - it IS major surgery, no matter how you look at it, so I'm balancing it against what happened last time... when I had a spinal injury caused during labor and it took me six months to be able to walk properly again.

I honestly don't know which is going to be worse to recover from. The idea of being cut open isn't exactly thrilling, at least with a v/b most of the pain is gone within a few days of the birth.

I guess when it all comes down to it, it IS a personal choice, based on where your faith lies.

Oh - and having had two v/b's, I would NEVER be so insensitive as to claim someone hadn't 'given birth' because they had a c/s! What does nine months pregnancy count as? Like it makes you less of a mother... *grumble*. The hard part comes AFTER the baby is born! (mind you, that's the best part too)

Kerrie