Depressed at having to have C section

I'm a healthy young woman, pregnant with my first child. I have had a perfect pregnancy, no problems at all. Even till now I continue to swim and keep active. I found out 2 weeks ago that baby was frank breech. So have a Caesarian scheduled for 5 March. I'm going to RPA in Sydney and there are no doctors with the skills to deliver breech babies vaginally.

I just feel really down. I have never been in hospital before let alone have surgery. I soooo wanted a natural birth and was against c sections. Sometimes I blame myself for the baby not turning, like maybe I did something wrong. Tried to turn the baby externally at the hospital unsuccessfully.

I am also starting to think there is something wrong with the baby that's why it did not turn. It may sound silly but I really wanted to experience the whole childbirth process with contractions and pain and all and was so geared up for it. Now I feel dissapointed.

Just need some support. My dh is a very positive person and I'm finding it hard to talk about these feelings to him

Sakoon

:hug: thats what BB is for....to off load on strangers is so much easier sometimes rather than those who love us......

So sorry you can not find support for the birth you want. Have you thought about changing hospitals??

I am sure that everything is ok with bubs! You are just being a normal mum thinking something is wrong. Maybe baby just wants to be a little different (might be a sign of the personality to come)....

I dont want to say that a happy health baby is all that counts...but its not....your feelings count too and we are all hear to help you in this journey

:hug:

I empathise with your feelings of disappointment. I've been there too. :comfort:

Its a shame you aren't up here - I know a great OB that does breech VB's.

Like Milly said - anyway you can ring around and quickly change hospitals for one that will give you that chance?

It appears there are some Frank Breech obs at John Hunter in Newcastle. I am not sure if this is too far for you or if they are still there. Its worth checking out.

BB Article - Breech Birth in Australia

Good Luck.

:hug: The Spinning babies website might have some tips on how to try and move a breech baby?

I can't believe that there are no obs in your area that can do breech! How can they call themselves trained at delivering babies if they can't do a breech birth! Full on, I'm disappointed for you too, definitely call around and see if you can find someone who'll let you deliver breech - I know that a first baby being breech is a huge learning curve for someone who's never given birth before, but you should at least have a choice!

Anyway, I don't think breech is an indication of something being wrong with bub - it just ended up in that position.

Sorry to hear that you're in this predicament.... all is not lost, bub might turn beforehand, so keep an open mind. I went to RPA too and I thought it was excellent. We must live reasonably near one another, if you want to meet for a coffee one day to unload send me a PM.

if you still feel like you dont want this c/s you DO NOT have to

Breech a variation of normal | Homebirth: Midwife Mutiny in South Australia

this is about a home birth breech birth! there are photos to

you do not need a doctor to deliver your baby. there are other options.
read up on breech labours and prepare your self if you wait at home long enough when in labour then rock up at the last moments they will be hands off and it will just happen like it should.

I was made aware of the obs that can deliver breech baby at John Hunter but its way too far and there are no other hospitals nearby that do it. I have been really happy with RPA.
I dont think im game to give birth at home, especially being my first.

I have seen the spinning babies website and using some techniques. Did handstands in the pool yesterday.

Basically i will have the caesarian if baby does not turn by then, just trying to get my head around it.

thanks for the offer for coffee thepixie and thanks to all of you for your reasurrance and support

It is sad all those obs are squished up in one area. I guess that just means that our brothers and sisters northwards really do do thing backwards. ;)

I can understand your reluctance. I still remember that with my first, I was terrified to go through vaginal birth - period! The thought of doing a breech is even more scary - but thats really because thats what we have been told it is.

A couple of my babies have been bum down until 38-39 weeks. I usually carry over, but they tended to do some fun acrobatics for a couple of days and next thing I knew they were head down and engaged. DH always knew when they had turned because they spent all night kicking him in the back. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you that your baby is just taking its time too. :pray:

sakoon - big hugs. I don't really have any advice but don't even think about blaming yourself. I had to have a caesar (5 week before Bubs due date) as I had been having bleeding. I spent 2 weeks sitting in a hospital bed waiting for the caesar blaming myself. Now that he is here and healthy I don't give it another thought. I can fully understand that you are disappointed but don't be too hard on yourself. Your body has spent almost 9 months caring for this baby so you have already done a wonderful job.

Hi there,

sorry to hear you're so upset about the possibility of a caesarean. Have you considered natural therapies? Acupuncture can be really helpful in turning breech babies.

Melissa.

:hug: I know you're happy with RPA but if you were to reconsider, you could find a private midwife and deliver at home, or maybe a private birth centre. Do you have private health insurance? I'm not sure to what extent private health insurance covers maternity but it might be worth a try.

I don't the suggestion was that you give birth at home unassisted, just that you stay at home until your labour is too advanced for the c-section to be performed. If you have ambulance cover (which you may be able to take out before you go into labour and use straight away but you'll need to ask a provider about that), you could call an ambulance when you're about to give birth and the paramedics will deliver the baby. This might be a good option (though I know it sounds a bit out there!) because ambulance cover is quite inexpensive.

Good luck!

I know how you are feeling, DD was born breech by emergency c section, it wasn't what I had planned at all! I was hoping to have a natural drug free birth and was in teh middle of private hypno birthing classes. The biggeest blessing for me is that it happened so fast that I didn't have time to think, DD was bum first and my waters had broken so they wanted her to arrive safely. In the end that was all that mattered and the c section wasn't as scarey as what I thought it was going to be.

This time around I am hoping for the natural drug free birth.

There are private OBs who will support a breech delivery if pushed. You just need to ask and go in informed.

I delivered my son at RPA via emergency c-section after a trial of vaginal breech. My OB was Alec Welsh who is now at the Royal Women's at Randwick. I followed him there (I am high risk for many reasons) and had a successful VBAC.

You can also go into labour before a c=section if you prefer too.

there is still time maybe bub will turn. and i really hope it all works out for you.

I also wanted to let you know that you can enjoy a C/sect. i enjoyed both mine with the second i had a sect at 7am and was walking around my room and had a shower by lunch NO BULL.
with DS1 it was an elective c sect after a long labour i was holding while being stitched upand also was playing feeding etc as soon as i was out of recovery. my DH got to hold him and even carried him to our room and be there holding and bonding with him all the time i wasn't which was only about 30-40 mins.
unfort with the twins i didn't get any contact for a day or so as they were prem, but in any case it was a good experience (just not the post birth in NICU bit)

anyway, just wanted to share this with you so you know that just because you don't push doesn't mean it still cant be a possitive experience. you will still bond and recovery "for me" was easy.

good luck and get some rest while you still can.

sakoon - I was where you are now 5 months ago. DD in breech. I tried so many things to get her to turn but she just stayed put and in the end I decided to go with the c/s. It was such a hard decision for me at the time - I really wanted to experience a natural childbirth, I felt guilty for choosing to do a c/s and I also wondered if it was my fault somehow that she didn't turn. Also after my c/s when the baby blues hit about day 3 I cried and cried about it for a couple of days!! But now DD is nearly 5 months and I haven't even thought about it at all for such a long time! Now it doesn't matter how she was born, just that she is happy and healthy. :) HTH All the best with whatever you decide.

Thanks Tanya
Having c-section on Thursday 5th March. Not long to go now. I'm bit over it now and excited to finally see bub.

Sakoon - my DS was frank breech too and after lots of reading and research, plus trying to turn him (weird experience isn't it?) I had a c-section. For me - it became a really positive experience. Although I was basically numb and couldn't feel DH even touching my feet, I felt them lift my baby from my body so I definiately had some kind of sensation. I had a fabulous midwife who talked me through what they were doing and she encouraged me to take deep breaths, like you would in labour as he was being lifted out. I think for me, this really helped me feel like I had done something. It's kind of hard to explain but I see it as "I gave birth", not "I had to have a c-section" and I only look back on it with a really positive feeling. DS was in with me in recovery, and I feed him straight away. My recovery was really good - take the pain meds even if you feel like you don't need them. I picked up some great tips on c-section and recovery from the girls on here.
I wish you all the best for your coming birth and hope meeting your little one is a wonderful experience.