C-section for me again

I had my first consultation with a Dr and midwife at the Royal Women's Hospital in Melbourne on Monday. She is 99.9% sure i will get pre-clampsia like i did with my first son :wall: so she has scheduled me in to have a c-section on the 24th August :) Although i am disappointed, i was wanting a natural birth, i do know the consequences regarding pre=clampsia and know that this is a safe option as it all comes down to the health of me and the baby.

Has anyone else suffered from severe pre-clampsia both times or anytime during their pregnancies ??? I don't even know if there is really something i can do to try and prevent it or help in not getting it so severe like i did with my first son ??

Hi,

I'm having my BP monitored closely ATM. I don't have pre-eclampsia at this stage (BTs and urine have been normal) just some mild hypertension (that seems to be mostly stress related :redface:).

When I questioned my OB about gestational hypertension and pre-eclampsia she told me that it is often just a first pg problem and often doesn't recur.

I hope this is the case for you. :goodluck2:

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Hi,

When I questioned my OB about gestational hypertension and pre-eclampsia she told me that it is often just a first pg problem and often doesn't recur.

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That was always my understanding of PE as well? There is a chance you will get it again but it's by no means a certainty.

Did you have a caesar for your first birth?

Yeah there is definatly no guarentee that you will get it again. I had it with #1 but not #2. Even though there is a slight chance, i wouldn't be saying it was a definate at 21 weeks.

Hi there

Yep to what everyone else has said! there are no guaruntees that you will get it a second time and if you do more than likely its not as severe! I had it severely with my first and had to have emergnacy c-sec because they thought they were going to lose one or both of us. But had nothing with my second PG and had VB with no worries.
Then had slight PE with number 3 but still was ok and had VB again!.
So it definately does not mean you will get it or that it will be as bad and therefore there is nothing saying that you would definately need to have a c-sec again! If everything goes well during PG then there is no reason why you cant go trial of scar!

Good Luck

Thankyou all so much for your replies. :) With my first son Benjamin (who will be turning 11 on may 9th) i had the emergency c-sec. They told me i was in jeopardy of losing my baby and even myself.

The reason they are inclined to think i will suffer pre-clampsia this second time around is it is a different dad :) so it's like starting all over again. I am hoping and praying that i don't get it as severe or don't even get it at all to try and prove them wrong lol, but i know it is on the cards, so i am taking a day as it comes. My next appointment at the royal women's hospital in melbourne is on the 16th june. They are going to do more blood tests plus i have to do a 24 hour urine sample :rolleyes: (which is going to be great fun lol)... the doc told me that if i am going to suffer from the pre-clampsia there will be signs then of it occuring. At my appointment on monday (28th april) my blood pressure etc was absolutely perfect.

I remember all the signs i got with pre-clampsia with my son, so i am aware of the changes in my body if it does start to occur, but i am desperately hoping it doesn't. When i had the c-sec with my first son, they cut me from my belly button down to my private :doh: and it was terrible, it was a very awkward scar and it was a longer recovery than being cut the normal way. The doc has assured me she will not be cutting me the way they did with my first c-sec. I think what frightens me the most about another c-sec is the recovery process and how it makes it harder to enjoy the little things that matter with your new little bundle of joy. You have to rely on the help of family and friends.

Anyway i suppose i will just have to take one day at a time and see what happens and just hope and pray that everything goes well and i don't get it as severe as i did the first time :) i suppose you could say it has put me in a paranoid position now.

I had Peclampsia wiht MY DS who is now 15 months i am now 15 weeks pregnant and want to know if i can have a natural birth or not.. ..

I have heard about having a trial of scar... I am not sure when you have this done.. But this pregnancy i am much healthier then i was with DS and i am lighter in weight.. and exercising.. so Do i have any hope of a VBAC?

Wombles. I had PE with my first preg so I've done a lot of reading up about it since. There is a 10-20% chance of getting it again with subsequent pregnancies. So really, you've got at least an 80% chance of having a PE free pregnancy this time around. If your latest BP readings have been normal then that is a good sign :)
if your BP does begin to elevate I recommend seeing a good acupuncturist.

Didispunk, like I said above you have a good chance of not getting PE again so if you don't, there is no reason why you could not have a VBAC this time round :)

I am another one who had PE with my first and with my next 2 absolutely no signs of it. All have been vaginal births - although I will admit that I came close to having emergency c/s with my first and I am so glad that didn't happen.

Wombles - like you said, take each day as it comes, but it seems to me that the midwife has jumped the gun a bit my booking you for a c/s already. There is no way she can be 99% sure - there is not even that high a probability of PE happening again.

Wow Wombles, no offence hun, but they sure don't sound like they know a heck of a lot....I didn't develop a single solitary sign of PE until 6 days AFTER birth (which is the same day as your son's BTW:D). I had a c sec for other reasons, but 6 days after she was born I developed all the HELLP signs. At 21 weeks I certainly had no woraning signs.

When it all boils down to it, they put it down to having a "New Partner/Different Dad" :doh: that is why i find it confusing lol... why should a different dad make a difference ???

The Doc in Melbourne said it comes down to the dad having a different Gene/DNA.. that is why it is like starting all over again... :wall: i just hope that you are right and i don't get it again or if i do, it's only very minor.

I am overweight, i am fully honest with that...

New paternity puts your risk factor back to what it was when you were pregnant the first time. I'm assuming there's a genetic reason for that.
It all does sound a bit full on but hopefully things will work out well for you.

A friend of mine had PE for 2nd pg but not first or 3rd.. with 3rd she had GD though. So, there's no definite that you will get it because you've already had it. Fingers crossed you don't get it and you go into natural labour before the c/s date...hehe. As you get closer and if you don't have it, maybe you can talk to them in more detail about a natural birth :)

Didnt i read chocolate was good for keeping it away?

Wombles as your incision is a classical scar I "think" they won't allow you a VBAC anyway due to the damage they would have done to your uterus.

As for you have PE second time around, like the others said I think they are jumping the gun there.

The reason you will be having c section again is because they damaged your uterus first time around. I am so sorry that this has happened to you.

Unless it is an emergancy c section you will have a lower segment caesarean.

Didispunk, you have every reason to expect to have a VBAC. Please don't be bullied into thinking that it is not possible. I had 2 VBAC's, at home. In a hospital setting they will keep you on a monitor and you will have a canula in your arm.

Come and have a read in the VBAC groups

Wombles, I know a woman who had PE for all 3 of her children, they were as severe as each other, so it can happen. You can find this question on a few forums too & there are quite a few who have had it over & over.

I also had it with my DD who will be turning 9 & have been advised that I can get it again, I'm far to nervious this time about getting it again, we almost both didn't make it & DH is beside himself that he will get the bad news again so we are following what ever the OB says is right & in a way I'm hoping I'll be able to c/s ever anything looks at all strange. I'm going to try & finish up work earlier so that I can ensure I can rest as stress can bring on hypertension which can lead to PE.

It is your choice however to decide against a c/s, so do what you feel is right. Have you been put on low does asprin? I know that is meant to help.

Sperm factor is now considered to be a risk for PE.

It's now believed that perhaps the side of it is what your body is 'rejecting' causing PE. With the second and subsequent pregnancy with the same partner, it is unlikely that you will develop it as your body becomes immune to the sperm.

So the risk factor is considered as high as if you had your first baby with PE, if you have a new partner, the risk is the same.

If you google it it will explain it much better than I can.

I had two children with my XH. The first, I had PE and actually developed into HELLP. The second baby, I had no PE.

My third baby was with my current partner. I developed PE with that pregnancy also, which I almost expected considering the severity of PE with my first, as I was with a new parter.

In regards to your CS, what Trish says is exactly right. I'm not sure why they didn't tell you this, but I would almost say for sure the reason for a CS is because you have a classic CS scar, and up and down one, and the risk of uterine rupture is much higher if you have a VBAC with a classical CS cut.

I'm sorry you aren't getting the right answers from your care providers xo

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Wombles as your incision is a classical scar I "think" they won't allow you a VBAC anyway due to the damage they would have done to your uterus.

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I don't know how things stand now days, but my Mum had her c-sec and it was down the center of the stomach and then off to the left or right as well, she went on to have 3 vbac after this. There was a 7yr gap from that c-sec delivery to her vbac but she never had any probs through any of ehr 3 PG or Births.

Hope this is of some help and maybe encouragement that it can be done even with the old cut :)

I have learnt so much.. good thing i am with same DH!!! I am drinking tones of water exercising etc.. BUt going to Canada for 3 months and back at i think 30 weeks.. so i will be walking around the plane like a mad women..

How do they induce if I dont go into labour on my own before 40weeks+10days? any drips??
anything i can do to help labour??

Hi didispunk,

I think the only way they can try to induce you is to use a foley catheter. Basically they blow the balloon up just inside the cervix to put pressure on it to dilate and hopefully start producing the natural prostaglandins to start labour. You would probably have to discuss this with your care provider as I'd say not all would normally give this option. It's highly unlikely they would induce you with a syntocinon IV or the prostaglandin gel as this would greatly increase the risks of uterine rupture. Or you could always try some alternate therapies like acupuncture or reflexology to try and move things along. I know that Bluedaisy had reflexology in order to not go too far post dates with her second preg and it seemed to work for her. I tried acupuncture and it didn't help me go into labour (I think because i was trying to bring it on at 37-38 weeks as I knew I was up for a caesar otherwise). It did however, work wonders for my cankles and i think it helped a little with my BP also.
Fingers crossed you wont go over anyway :)

i had VERY severe pre-eclamsia with my first pregnancy i was induced and began having fits almost had a stroke because of it and it ended in an emergency ceaser, he is 6 now. my 7 month old has a different father and i had no pre-eclamsia at all!! (another ceaser) im now preg with number 3 and no sign of pre-eclamsia this time either *fingers crossed it stays that way*

my doctors told me there was no way to say if i would get it again, having it once doesnt raise your chances of getting it again at all, your chances remain the same as anyone else...

good luck!!

My hubby and i have decided to take it one day at a time. :) If it happens i know the precautions and if it doesn't happen that would be excellent. Thankyou all so much for your replies, they did give me ease of mind. It's a case of letting nature take it's course lol...

So far is so good, there are no signs of it, my blood pressure is perfect, so fingers crossed it will still that way. :pray:

I've had 4 pregnancies and in the other 3 I've developed PE and have been booked in each pregnancy to have an induction. I have a new husband, that has fathered #3 and this pregnancy. I think they've figured out that it's not so much the new partner as it is the age of the mother as there's usually a god sized gap between babies. But that doesn't really explain why Mums who get it with babies with the same fathers have it recurr either.There may also be underlying issues for the mother. I'm not sure what causes mine though. I guess they call it the mysterious disease for a reason! :)

I've just started developing hypertension, I'm crossing my fingers it doesn't develop into PE again. I'll also keep my fingers crossed for you :)

yes DARK CHOC has been proven to reduce chance of P/E

I have been watching out for the warning signs of preclampsia like fluid around the ankles etc. I am still working at the moment, my next visit to melbourne woman's hospital will determine whether or not there are any signs of the pre-clampsia starting.

Now i have an excuse to eat more chocolate lol... love chocolate and i have been craving it somthing shocking, but i haven't been to over indulging in it either.:lol:

Hi wombles
I didnt have csection for same reasons however didend up with repeat c section 2nd time afer wanting a vaginal birth.
I know it can be disappointing but at the end of the day you just want your baby and yourself healthy and safe.
I am sure once you hold bubs the way they were born wont matter, I know it didnt with me.
take care
XX

I could have written this post myself. I had bad pre-eclampsia with DS and i am going for an appointment with a specialist in a week to see how i will give birth. I am thinking i will be the same as you. I dont think you can do anything about P-E. Im sorry you cant try for a natural, but i feel for you. But i was scared to go thru hours and hours of labor to only have another emergency ceaser. My thoughts are with you hun xx

I am new to this forum so i hope im doing this right ;)

I could have written your post myself. I had pretty bad pre-eclampsia with DS and i have a specialist appointment coming up to determine if i will have another ceaser with this bubs or try for VBAC. I have a pretty strong feeling as this bub has a different dad i will get P-E bad again.

I hope it all goes good for you hun, and enjoy your chocolate ;) hehe ive already been eating choc, ill just say its to prevent P-E now. haha.