Can i have elective ceasarean without private health cover?

I am absolutley terrified of having a natural birth... This is my first pregnancy, im only 10 weeks but i am deeply scared of having to push a baby out.... I know this is what women were meant to do but im so scared of the pain and afterwards! My mother told me she had severe tearing, stitches and scarring... not to mention a few other stories i have heard that have really stuck with me...:o

I was told by a friend that you cannot have elective ceasarean unless you have private health cover.? Does anyone know if this information is correct?.. Our pregnancy was unplanned so I do not have private health cover but im quite adamant that I WILL have a c-section :pray:...Even if we have to pay the public health system I dont mind!!

My first OB appointment is booked for a few weeks from now so im yet to ask him?

I can't answer your question but I just wanted to say that people are so quick to tell you the horror stories!!
Women do go on to have amazing natural births, sometimes even painless!
I recommend you read "Ina May Gaskin's Guide to Childbirth". It really helps with the fear factor.
I actually can't wait to give birth again. Sure it was painful but once the baby was out there was no more pain. All in all it was the greatest experience of my life.
Good luck xx

I agree about the horror stories hun. My advice would be to thoroughly educate yourself about the birthing process to try to overcome that fear; c-sections actually carry more risks than a natural birth, and they are certainly not pain free! First time pregnancy can be scary and overwhelming, but armed with knowledge you will find those fears will begin to fall away :hug: Ina May is a great place to start. And welcome to BB! :)

I'm terrified of natural birth too :) As it happens due to a slight case of placenta previa I may have to have a c-sect and I find that out in 2 weeks. I heard the same information as your friend told you; that you can no longer elect to have a c-sect in the public health system, they will only give you one if you need it. But for an elective pre planed one I think it can be done on the public health system but you will have to pay, not sure on the costs but I would expect it to be quite a bit, in the thousands since I think you have to pay for the drugs and drs in the room, theatre time etc. Def talk with your OB about it but like pumpkinzulu and stoked said people are quick to tell you the horrible stories but no one tells you the nice ones.

Even if I don't get a c-sect if my placenta has moved I've decided that natural birth can't be that bad, as long as they give me the epidural :) Bring up any concerns with your OB and really get into some reading, the books the others recommended and I even had what to expect when you're expecting. Explains things step by step and you do feel much better knowing exactly whats going on and how to prepare yourself so that you don't have the severe tearing etc. Just remember there are horror c-sect stories too.

Good luck! And welcome to BB!

first of all Welcome

2nd why? ive been through both....i regret the c/s so much and im glad i got to a have natural the 2nd time....

Make sure you have all you're infomation...because a c/s is truly very hard....:o)

Welcome to BB

I suggest doing some research into positive stories about natural birth. You'll find there are a lot here. There are also a lot of ways to manage the discomfort. I used Hypnobabies and a TENS machine and had a lot of encouragement (and I'm stubborn as hell).

It wasn't natural birth that scared me - it was the thought of anyone going near my spine with a needle and having to have major abdominal surgery. Unless there's a very good medical reason for it, I'd avoid it as much as possible (btw - I believe mental health issues count as a good medical reason).

Everyone is different and so are their circumstances. I hope you have a lovely pregnancy and birth.

Congratulations on your pregnancy!

Unfortunately I don't know much about health insurance or C sections. But I just wanted to tell you that I was certain delivering a baby was going to seriously harm me when I was pregnant...now I can't wait to do it again one day. I agree with Stoked - people tell you all kinds of horror stories but for many, many women it's an empowering experience.

:hug: good luck with your decision.

just wanted to say welcome to BB. I cant answer your question, but maybe it might help you too read some of the birth stories on here, and maybe read a few books/articles etc so you can weigh up the pros and cons of both natural and c/s births for you and bub. good luck.

i think too that people have given you the horror side of things in what should be the most beautiful time you can experience...
i think you should really look into it a little more due to the fact that a c-section has alot more things involved then a simply cut and bobs your uncle...
recovery time and even the fact that having an option to have a natural birth next time can be refused due to a previous c/s.

Its totally normal to be scared and very understandable to think of pushingout a tiny human through such a small tunnel but i think you need to think about what other options you may have apart from that (i.e pain realief and water birthing just to throw some out there).. what ever you choose is upto you as long as you are happy but i would choose natural over a c/s and the slow and sometimes painful recovery.
Gl with what ever you decide but also remember not all people have such horrific births..

I think you can, but you may be pushing the proverbial uphill to get it.

Like tashybabe, the thought of a needle going anywhere near my spine and major surgery is far more scary than natural birth.

I had 11 hours of induced early labour, then 7 hours of established labour, then 2 hours of pushing. So 20 hours all up, and of that, I'd say only an hour was really hard to bear. It's just one day of your life, it's a healthy pain and you forget it instantly when that baby's on your chest. I loved it and I'd do it ten times over. And 40 hours after birth, I walked home from the hospy.

I used a TENS machine and had access to warm water immersion, and had a bag full of other aids. There are heaps of options, including drugs, if you want to go there. Being informed and confident is key to defeating that pain.

Just consider it.

What a horrible decision to have to make! For as many horror stories that you hear about natural birth, there are so many more wonderful stories.

I booked in for a c/s. I was having complications and I was scared. I went into labour naturally and I am so so glad. Labour wasn't easy for me, but I was so incredibly proud of myself once I had DD. And all I had pain relief wise was pethadine, which just made me snooze in between contractions. One hour after having DD, I was up and showering, walking to the nursery and just being me. I didn't have six weeks of recovery where you need help. And next time around, I'm actually looking forward to it, because the fear I had won't be there, plus the knowledge that I delivered a 3.5kg baby! My advice to you would be to read some of the wonderful birth stories available here and really see if this is something you still don't want to do. Good luck :hug:

Hi Sav, welcome to BB.

First off I will say that I believe you CAN elect to have a c-section through the public system, although you probably have to go through some mental health testing to see if you qualify first. Most people of course go privately so they just choose to do it, without all the hassle.

You remind me very much of my own situation nearly 5 years ago. However, I joined a private health fund specifically to get private hospital cover so I could choose to have my c-section. I was terrified of the thought of a vaginal birth, it absolutely scared the bejesus outta me. My sister chose to have c-sections, so I did to, there was NOOOO way in hell I was going to squeeze something that big out of myself - it just didn't seem possible and I didn't want to attempt it in any shape or form, I was just too bloody terrified. I had heard so many horror stories (my mum nearly dying with my brother, my cousin having to have 144 stitches after her first birth etc) and yeah, there was just no way I was having a natural birth.

However had I come on BB when pregnant with my first child, I might have put it out there about my fears and realised that it was pretty normal to be scared of childbirth. I mean, after all - its a scary thing - its out of your control what might happen, the horror stories of things that can go wrong, the pain!!

So instead of saying stuff like I think you should have a vaginal birth (if you can see my signature you will see that I've had 2 sections, and 1 VB) because you are posting in the c-section SUPPORT part of the forum (which I think some people didn't notice ;)) all I am going to say is that - do some research. I wish someone had told me to do some research into c-sections vs vaginal births 5 years ago, I really do.

Some excellent references are "Childbirth without Fear" (awesome book for relieving some normal fears from your mind about childbirth - well it did for me), "Birthing from Within" and also on the other side of the coin "Delivery by Appointment" (c-section book).

I think its best if you research both sides (pros and cons) of a vaginal birth vs a c-section, mainly because I wish someone had told me that before I had to fight for a vaginal birth when I realised thats what I wanted!

Good luck :hug:

One really important thing to consider before choosing to have a CS is "How many babies do you want?". A first CS is a bit less safe than a vaginal birth; but by the time you get to the 3rd or 4th CS there are more significant risks. And looking after a toddler and a newborn whilst healing from a CS (which includes restrictions on driving and lifting toddlers for at least a month) isn't easy either.

The hospital charges if you were to pay completely for a CS yourself would be a couple of thousand dollars - and then you have anaesthetist, paediatrician, ob and assistant ob gap fees - probably another $700 or so. And the "out of pocket" ob management fee of around 2-3k. How about you call a local private hospital and ask them for a quote - that way you'll know what to expect.

Being a "private patient in a public hospital" may be a bit cheaper, but not a whole lot.

C-sections can end up with their own horror stories.

https://www.bellybelly.com.au/forums...psetting*.html

Thanks everyone for your comments.. I am still so confused about what is best for me but its early days and i will wait to hear what my Ob says...

I have researched c-sections and now im also worried about this... But i do have friends that have had them and nothing at all went wrong with mum or baby. I am going to try to stay fit and keep my weight down through out my pregnancy - if i can stay awake - yawn.... i really beleive this will make things a lot easier whether i have to push or recover from a c-section !

:hug: it can be overwhelming. FWIW, I've had 2 c-sections, one went ok I suppose but recovery was good, the other went really good but recovery was bad because I got an infection. You just never know how its going to turn out I suppose, whether you go with a vaginal birth or c-section, but we all just hope for the best.

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:hug: it can be overwhelming. You just never know how its going to turn out I suppose, whether you go with a vaginal birth or c-section, but we all just hope for the best.

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:thumbsup: couldnt of said it better

Hi and welcome

Giving birth is scary when you have people who only tell you the "horror" stories it can be very daunting as well. I think everyone likes to share the bad but never the good positive stories with you. You will get lots of support here from everyone and you may find that you change your mind about having a v/b. I can only tell you of my instances but my DD was born at a private hospital and so will the twins.

I had an elective c/s with my DD due to a medical issue and this was decided at my 10 week Ob appt, I was happy to go that way as I was concerned about the long term effects on my body if I opted for a v/b with my medical history. However my Ob still wanted me to look at the options of having a v/b with management of my condition but in the end it was discovered that my placenta had moved anyway and was placenta previa at birth so this ruled out a v/b for us.

For the twins it has already been decided that we will proceed with another elective c/s, due to the medical issue and also having had a previous c/s and as we live in a regional area my Ob doesn't want to risk my uterus rupturing with a VBAC twin birth. I was tossing up whether to go to the public or private hospital this time around (my DH works at the public hospital) but my Ob told me that he is unable to book an elective c/s date at the public hospital, you can only have an "elective" c/s there once you have gone into labour or the delivery requires an "emergency" c/s.

Please read as much information as you can on both options, I was lucky that I had no complications after my c/s but you still have pain during your recovery and everyone is different in how they will heal.

Welcome to BB :)

You sound like you are off to a great start, not only with researching your birthing options but also with keeping fit and eating well. As you say this will help your recovery regardless of the mode of birth. You are able to elect to have a CS in the public system but you would need to demonstrate a reason for this. Medical reasons are considered but so is a psychological fear of vaginal birth. This is something you need to talk through with your midwife/OB but I'm sure they will take you through all the options.

The other choice is to go private and just pay for it upfront, but the costs associated with a CS can be quite massive, and these may be additional costs if your baby needs special care after birth or if you have complications post surgery. Have a look around the forum and chat to other mums who have also been scared of birth. There are also lots of birth stories here detailing the good, bad and ugly of vaginal birth and CS which you might find helpful.

Trav
xx