c section acceptance

Hi all,
Bit of a weird one here, hope it make sense!

The thought of a csection scares the absolute pants off me,like really really scares me! i'd much rather a 50 hour labour than have one.
But fact is im 99% sure i'll be induced with this baby because of my diabetes, and well we know what can happen there. obviously keeping everything crossed that some sort of miracle happens and i go on my own, but most likely not.
So how do u become accepting of a csection? theres so many books and thing about fearless natural birth and natural birth skills to have u prepared but not much on csections.
Were u petrified of a csection and then had one and it wasnt as bad as u thought?? i can even begin to imagine what it will be like coming home to an 18 month old and a 4 yr old with a newborn.
i know induction doesnt alwayds mean csection but i need to be prepared because theres a real chance it might happen
hmmm seems a bit mish mashed, hope u all get me!!

Totally understand hun. :hug: For me I was absolutely devastated that I didn't VBAC, I was terrified of surgery and still feel a bit ill thinking about it all, however in the whole scheme of things, it wasn't too bad. I had no complications from the surgery, caring for my then 17mth old was actually fine (although I had DH home for 7 weeks) I was able to hold J in recovery and fed him well back in our room. I kept up pain meds so that I could be on my feet faster and really it wasn't that bad overall. My existing issues are with a failed vbac not so much the cs itself.

I have to fly - DH needs the lappy but wanted to pop in and give you a :hug: and reassure you that it can be ok if it comes to that. Back later to talk induction with you! :)

Great thread. To be honest, I was okay with it at first because I just focused on meeting my baby. It was after she was born that I struggled with what had happened. I was very disappointed that I was 'foggy' for the first day of her life and that I could hardly get out of bed. I felt like I was a fly on a wall watching all of our visitors come in and see our gorgeous little girl. That said, other than the emotions of the whole experience which could just be due to the hormones - it was really not that bad. I had no idea what to expect and the pain was tolerable. I was most scared of the cathedar (Sp?) and that was fine too. Second thing on my fear list was the spinal block and that was also fine, in fact I hardly felt it and was surprised at how awesome it worked!

Ok back quickly! If you do need to be induced there are a few things you can do to try and help you go into labour by yourself with assistance. If they are inserting gel try and get a bit of time to see if you will go into labour spontaneously with it - so a reapplication after initial application if it hasn't worked. If they break your waters, again ask for some time to stir things up, I had mine broken at midday and went walking around the hospital to try and bring bub on. If they put you on the drip - get them to start on absolutely the lowest dosage possible and to increase things slowly as possible as well. I think having a few births behind you will be in your favour too as your body has been there, your cervix has a "memory" so hopefully your induction won't lead to a c/s. I know there are lots of ladies who have had very successful inductions on here too hun.

Thanks girls, glad to hear it wasnt as bad u thought.
Tan im holding onto hope that my body remembers what to do because its done it before.
My labour stalled with DD2 and i was put onto the drip and went from 3cms to pushing in an hour and a half, so i think thats a good sign that we'll be ok.
Garrrgghh if only there was another way to get them out!!

That sounds promising hun! The other thing you could do once you know when they want to induce is to have some acupuncture done to assist in inducing. With acupuncture, Chinese herbs and my yoga class I had 3 weeks of Pre labour and dilated to 3 cms. xox

:hug:

For me I was accepting of having the c-section...we had mutually decided on an elective c-section a few weeks before the birth due a combination of the diabetes and bubs large size. That said i was petrified of the mechanics of the c-section, the thought of a spinal and being cut open etc etc. In hindsight it was for nothing...it was honestly the most beautiful experience in the end, even though it ended up being a sort of emergency caeser a bit earlier than our planned elective for various reasons. Now if we are lucky enough to have number two I would actually choose an elective c-section over an induction.....it was easy, empowering and just as beautiful for me as a natural birth would have been. Maybe I have low expectations I am not sure but all I was really focussed on was having a healthy live baby at the end of it after so many losses and i was not so hung up on the process as I could have been. You probably been told this but the statistics for a type 1 diabetic are roughly 50/50 so there is a good chance you may end up with a c section but it does not have to be a bad experience...mine wasn't...just keep focussing on that beautiful baby boy that your are finally going to get to meet at the end of it and try not to get too fixated on the how...one thing i have learnt after 31 years as a type 1 is to be flexible...it's hard to do in practise and very frustrating but if you can try and be as flexible in you rmind as possible it will hold you in good stead.
Oh and the recovery will not necessarily be bad...i was up nd about within a few hours and visiting Connor in SCN and off all but panadol by the itme we came home....yes it is probably a bit harder bending etc but honestly by week 3 I was back to all normal activities except heavy lifting...if your hubby has leave make him do all the heavy stuff and kid wrangling...you just focus on the new bubba. It may not come tp that however...you may go early completely naturally and have a wonderful vaginal birth and this will all become a moot point. I hope that it is the case for you!

I had an emerg C sect after being induced. I was so scared as I was wheeled away but the whole thing was great! The staff were lovely and I got to hold Bella straight away and even while they stitched me up. I had Bella in with me the whole time in recovery, she never left my side the whole time in the hossy!

I was a bit sore the following day but I was never out of it and I was up and about the next day showering and walking slowly - by 2 days latter I was fully mobile and I was back to driving after 2 weeks. I was really pleasently supprised how well the whole thing went! I was well and not in pain at all after 5 days. I would recomend taking the pain meds when at the hossy but when I got home I was not taking anything exept panadol.

As much as I want a VBAC I know that if I have to have a Csect then Im ok with that to and im not scared about it anymore.

HTH
Kate

:hug: I know how you feel. I was terrified of having a csection, absolutely petrified. We had done calm birth classes and were all ready for a natural birth but it was not meant to be for us. I had an amazing OB who was well aware of my fears and did a fabulous job of putting my mind at ease and helping me to understand that this is what we needed to do for a healthy bub.
The csection was nowhere near as bad as I expected it to be, I used the breathing and visualisation techniques that we learnt at the calm birth classes to help me through the prep before surgery and it didn't take long before DS was born and then I was too caught up in him to even think about what was going on.
My recovery could have been better but I believe that had a lot to do with the hospital that I was at, they were very anti pain medication and I was not strong and assertive enough to stand up for myself. I think if I had kept up my meds like Tanstar I would have had a much more positive experience.
I didn't have other kids to look after and would have probably been ok to be home by myself with DS from the 3rd week after surgery but with this pg I will be asking DH to take 6 or 7 weeks off as I think it will be more challenging with an active toddler to look after as well.
:crossfingers: for a lovely natural birth but if it's not meant to be then try not to be too scared of the csection, it really was nowhere near as bad as I thought it would be. GL

Thanks Mel, obviously if it comes to it i'll do it, in the big scheme of things me having a section is 100 times less scary than what he's going to have to go through when he has his heart surgery.
i think the being reliant on someone during recovery is another issue i have, ive always been so indipendant and DF wont be able to take time off, if he doesnt work he doesnt get paid and we dont eat! lol so ill have mum here to help and thats an issue i have.

Mel- off note here but was C always measuring ahead at scans and things or was his growth something that happened in the last tri? i thought bub would be measuring atleast a little bigger but he's not

Connor was always bigger from about the20 week scan onwards...went from the 80th to the 97th at the 32 weeks growth scan which is when we decided on a scheduled c -section...as it was he was 4.4kgs (9lb 11ozs) when born at 36 + 6 weeks so he was gonna about 11-12 lbs full term...no way was I going to push that out!

Not all D babies grow big some are perfectly average an some have the opposite problem of IUGR (growth restriction due to the diabetes impeding circulation in the placenta - this is more of an issue with longstanding type 1s who have vascular issues already).

We were actually told at the start to be prepared for IUGR cos I have had D so long but I guess we blew that theory outta the water!
Also hubby was 10lb 6ozs born so genetics played a part in Connor's size as well but he definitely had D markers if you look at Connor's newborn photos on facebook those enormous cheeks are diabetic fat layers...it can also happen on the abdomen..he had a normal belly just looked like he was storing nuts for the winter! Also hey are at greater risk fo jaundice because they build a bigger blood supply than normal bubbas due to the extra insulin and glucose and after birth those blood vessels need to break down and be reabsorbed..again we didnt have this problem but it can be quite a shock to see some D babies as after they start breathing and pink up they can actually look bright red due to all the extra blood vessels....i don't know how much info the medicos have given you so tell me to shut up if you've already heard it...but best to prepared for it so it's not such a shock....

they havent really told me anything, they just read my book, say im doing good, see u in 4 weeks, and the OB's just check my fundal hieght and BP.
the only thing i've gotten is that he might be born blue because of his heart, that was from the pead surgeon and i was in too much shock at the time to ask him to explain further, but i have a loong list to ask next app

that sucks that they are not more informative hun....makes me glad we were able to go private at least I had the same OB each time and stuff....Do you have a private D specialist looking after you or is that through the clinic as well.....

I will just tell you my story rather then trying to offer advice if thats ok :)

I had a text book labour with my first son so just assumed that is how I would do it 2nd time round. i was scared of labour cus lets face it it hurts :lol: When i was pg with my 2nd son i had GD and was told he was on the larger side. At an US at 36 weeks he was off the scales.. From around 32 weeks on I was constantly being told I would have to have a c/s. I was fighting it the whole time as I really really didn't want one. I was terrified of it..

at my 37 week check up (well a couple hours before) my waters broke. My app that day was to discuss how I was to deliver. I was all ready to fight for a natural delivery.. Anyways.. While waiting for the Ob I had a few contractions and as we had been told due to his large size he might get stuck well I got scared and opted for the c/s. It really was not as bad as I thought. Sure the next day was pretty painful but if I knew then what I know now it would have been a hell of a lot easier.

I was terrified on the table, i was so scared something would go wrong with me. but if you go in prepared ie knowing what to expect and how to deal with the pain ect.. for example. When standing for the first time breath deeply and evenly and stand straight and keep repeating to yourself this is as bad as it gets and that is true cus the next time you stand it isn't as bad..

The way i explain it to people is that with a natural delivery you are in pain for how ever many hours then you get the baby. with a c/s you get the baby then you have some pain. it is all about how you manage it..

I hope I made sense.. If you want anymore advice or whatever just ask me here or pm me. I have had 3 c/s and one natural

I'm really scared of a c-section... I'm also scared of most emergency care I would recieve after a car accident if I think about those too. I figure if things are that dire then it wont be fun but I'll get through it, you know?

I'd be very concerned about the need for a c-section being caused by interventions though... I don't see how diabetes spells an induction for you when it sounds like you weren't induced with your other children? Do you have diabetes or gestational diabetes? There is no reason you can't go post dates with GD.

meow, i developed type 1 diabetes at the start of the year, i know i can go over 38 weeks if u choose to go into the hosp every second day and have montioring to see if my placenta is holding up, but the fact is the hospital is an hour away not in peak hour traffic and i have 2 little girls in tow, even my normal appointments are very stressful for me and very boring for them, do really not doable unfortunately.
Diabetes does mean an ealier delivery because the use of insulin causes the placenta to have a shorter lifecycle than normal.

Ausgirl, thanks for ur story and your tips hun, i really appreciate it.

Mel no private D doc, just whoevers on at the clinic

I was terrified of a c/s, really really didn't want one! But when it came to the crunch I knew it was the only way to make sure both my baby and I didn't die (I had severe PE). I did get induced with an unfavourable cervix, and the induction itself was going fine. Unfortunately my blood pressure just wouldn't stay down at a safe level and it was decided that it was time to get bub out. It was scary, but I knew I had done everything I could, and that it was for the best.
The c/s was fine. The staff were great, and my recovery was fast (even with all the extra PE drugs being pumped into me). I was still able to BF and bond with my baby.

I have had a VBAC now, and even though I know that I prefered the VB for the elation and even easier recovery that it involved, and will be gaing for VBAC2 this time, it isn't something that I think about regularly. I don't compare my children by the way the entered the world. It doesn't make me love one more than the other. For me it was a way of getting my baby out, and in the grand scheme of things, it doesn't really matter how they came out.