c-section vs. natural birth

JaneNY

Very glad that I had natural birth for both kids, no anesthetic. There are medically necessary c-sections and NO woman should feel like a failure for having one - obviously the most important thing is the safety of both the mother and child. I think the important thing is to research the health professionals that you are choose to involve in your pregnancy (and remember it is YOUR choice) and be sure that you are both on the same page as to expectations surrounding pregnancy and childbirth and in terms of what constitutes medical need for c-section. You can ask the person what their percentage of C sections are for example. You can also research hospitals. You can write up a birth plan and have it checked over and signed by your health professional, and then have this on file (and bring a copy) when you go to the hospital or place where you will give birth, to make sure all health professionals you encounter abide by your and your doctor/midwife's guidelines for care. Don't go into the experience blindly. Educate yourself.

Heatherj43

JR8805 wrote:

Having experienced both types of birth, but never "natural childbirth" (which my gynecologist said was so exhausting to her that she didn't really recommend it, but go with whatever you want), I can honestly say that recovery from non-surgical childbirth was a walk in the park compared to recovery from a c-section. I can't imagine having a c-section and post partum depression at the same time because I'm not really good at imagining hell. A c-section is major surgery which takes many weeks to recover from. A vaginal childbirth is what nature intended and takes not many days to recover from.

If a c-section is medically indicated--you or the baby are in big trouble--for godsakes don't think twice--go for it! But, if you're doing it so Aunt Tilly can be there for the delivery, because Big Bubba, your husband/boyfriend thinks you'll be "all stretched out" vaginally if you don't (I recommend stretching his brain to something larger than a size X-small), etc., then I think those are bad, bad reasons to have you and your child go through something which carries such risks when you don't have to.

I don't think other people should be there when having a c-section. It is major surgery!
Not only recovering from major surgery, and perhaps depression, BUT having to care for a newborn while you are trying to get better is a bit much!!
My 1st was a medical necessity. The 2nd was questionable. There is a danger in delivering vaginally after having c-section(s). I chose to be safe and had my second child c-section because of that risk. My second was a breeze compared to the first, but way worse than vaginal delivery. My daughter had her second vaginal birth a year ago and within 1/2 hour she and I snuck outside to smoke a cigarette. With a c-section, you ain't going anywhere!!

Thorns2010

It is nice that things have advanced in the last 30 years or so in regards to WHEN to do a c-section.

When I was born in '81I was born breach, came out feet first. And the best of it all?? They didn't/wouldn't call the doctor because he was in church. (it was Palm Sunday, oh, and I was born in a suburb of Minneapolis, so not some rural town hospital or anything)

I ended up getting stuck, and the umbilical chord was wrapped around my neck. Apparently I ended up having to stay in the hospital about a week. Or maybe it was a couple extra days? Also, I guess I 'ripped' up my mom pretty good, and since I was the youngest of 3 boys, I can now claim I broke the mold!

Anyway, so yeah, I probably should have been born via emergency C-Section, but they messed up. But yeah, the whole 'I fear the pain of delivering a baby vaginally', or the 'I don't want to be stretched/disfigured down there' are NOT, and SHOULD not be acceptable reasons for a C-Section.

Granted, what do I know? I'll just be the sperm donor in any kids I ever have.

_

Thorns2010 wrote:

It is nice that things have advanced in the last 30 years or so in regards to WHEN to do a c-section.

When I was born in '81I was born breach, came out feet first. And the best of it all?? They didn't/wouldn't call the doctor because he was in church. (it was Palm Sunday, oh, and I was born in a suburb of Minneapolis, so not some rural town hospital or anything)

I ended up getting stuck, and the umbilical chord was wrapped around my neck. Apparently I ended up having to stay in the hospital about a week. Or maybe it was a couple extra days? Also, I guess I 'ripped' up my mom pretty good, and since I was the youngest of 3 boys, I can now claim I broke the mold!

Anyway, so yeah, I probably should have been born via emergency C-Section, but they messed up. But yeah, the whole 'I fear the pain of delivering a baby vaginally', or the 'I don't want to be stretched/disfigured down there' are NOT, and SHOULD not be acceptable reasons for a C-Section.

Granted, what do I know? I'll just be the sperm donor in any kids I ever have.

That's an interesing perspective and just goes to show how our experience informs our beliefs. Today, it's standard practice to do c-sections for breech babies (as you mentioned) or twins. But in 1976, my sister and I were not only twins (and still are ) but were also BOTH breech. We were delivered vaginally just fine. So my perspective is always that breech babies and twins are not necessarily good enough reasons to do c-sections. Guess it's all relative.

Thorns2010

scb wrote:

That's an interesing perspective and just goes to show how our experience informs our beliefs. Today, it's standard practice to do c-sections for breech babies (as you mentioned) or twins. But in 1976, my sister and I were not only twins (and still are ) but were also BOTH breech. We were delivered vaginally just fine. So my perspective is always that breech babies and twins are not necessarily good enough reasons to do c-sections. Guess it's all relative.

Obviously I don't remember any of my birth, and I don't have any lingering complications from it, so most of my perspective is from my mother's opinion on the situation.

She was a nurse at the time, and I believe it was some years after I was born that she worked in the Neonatal Intensive-Care Unit, at the same hospital I was born at.

So I can't say for sure if at the time I was born she felt that way, or if it was after working in the NICU that made her form that opinion. But I assume since she had been involved with many delivers while working there that her views on C-Sections would be based on a if you will 'professional' experiences, rather than just a personal bias.

_

Thorns2010 wrote:

Obviously I don't remember any of my birth, and I don't have any lingering complications from it, so most of my perspective is from my mother's opinion on the situation.

She was a nurse at the time, and I believe it was some years after I was born that she worked in the Neonatal Intensive-Care Unit, at the same hospital I was born at.

So I can't say for sure if at the time I was born she felt that way, or if it was after working in the NICU that made her form that opinion. But I assume since she had been involved with many delivers while working there that her views on C-Sections would be based on a if you will 'professional' experiences, rather than just a personal bias.

I think that's just why we need professional opinions... because otherwise all we have is our own personal bias. Of course professional opinions are still just opinions, but they're based in medical facts and tons more experience. That's why I think its important to find a doctor you trust and whose philosophy is similar to your own, but who still has tons of experience, knowledge, and good judgement.

haffajappa

pickupyourwill wrote:

does anyone believe that one is harder than the other?--and why? I had one the natural way but with an epidural--so technically still not 100% natural.

does anyone feel that those having only c-sections are missing out on something? of course, most the time it is beyond the mother's control anyway. the doctor calls most of the shots.

it just seems that so many women today are having c-sections. so hundreds of years ago, what would these women and doctors have done then? would these be some of the women that died in childbirth or had stillborns? I've never really read up on the subject. I think its a great marvel that modern medical science has made it possible for every woman to deliver without losing the mother or baby. I guess I just wish that natural birth was the majority, but it doesn't seem that way anymore. I have no statistics on it, though. anyone else agree or disagree?

wasn't Caesar born this way? hence the name... but i hear that's debated.
but if true, then hundreds of years ago the method was available - though (i assume) a lot of mothers wouldnt have survived.

both my brother and i were born c-section. my brother was a 10 lb baby and my mom wasn't able to have him naturally, when i came along i was smaller and she tried to have me naturally but she couldn't, her pelvis or birth canal still wasn't wide enough for me either

Wilds

haffajappa wrote:

pickupyourwill wrote:

does anyone believe that one is harder than the other?--and why? I had one the natural way but with an epidural--so technically still not 100% natural.

does anyone feel that those having only c-sections are missing out on something? of course, most the time it is beyond the mother's control anyway. the doctor calls most of the shots.

it just seems that so many women today are having c-sections. so hundreds of years ago, what would these women and doctors have done then? would these be some of the women that died in childbirth or had stillborns? I've never really read up on the subject. I think its a great marvel that modern medical science has made it possible for every woman to deliver without losing the mother or baby. I guess I just wish that natural birth was the majority, but it doesn't seem that way anymore. I have no statistics on it, though. anyone else agree or disagree?

wasn't Caesar born this way? hence the name... but i hear that's debated.
but if true, then hundreds of years ago the method was available - though (i assume) a lot of mothers wouldnt have survived.

both my brother and i were born c-section. my brother was a 10 lb baby and my mom wasn't able to have him naturally, when i came along i was smaller and she tried to have me naturally but she couldn't, her pelvis or birth canal still wasn't wide enough for me either

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caesarean_section

pearljgirl2010

It's a very interesting debate. I've not had children yet, and I'm terrified of the natural birthing process....I'd prefer it if I were handed a 3 year old, but since that isn't the way it goes, I'll have to deal!!

At the same time, the thought of voluntarily letting a doctor slice open your abdomen muscles and everything just seems WRONG unless it's medically necessary. My niece was born via emergency C-section, and would have died otherwise....so I completely understand that there are times when it HAS to be done, and that's OK.

It just seems that the healing issues alone from a C-section are far more complicated, and are much more difficult to bounce back from. Plus, isn't there some sort of health benefit from the child being born vaginally? Something to do with fluids?

_Crazy_Mary_

I've always been confused by the controversy around c-sections. And around taking drugs during labor, as well. If a person physically can, she will have a natural birth, right? C-sections are generally used during emergency (at least in the U.S.) or if the woman has already had a C-section and the hospital doesn't allow you to vaginally deliver your baby. I don't understand why women feel they have failed if they aren't able to deliver their baby vaginally. How is that a failure? You've just created life and why should it matter how the baby comes out? Also, I've heard that the child and mother bond is not as strong as it could be had the child been delivered naturally, but I just don't believe that. I breastfed my oldest daughter (vaginal birth) til she was 14 months old and she hates me, she's 13 now. What happened to our magical bond from breastfeeding?

catefrances

_Crazy_Mary_ wrote:

I've always been confused by the controversy around c-sections. And around taking drugs during labor, as well. If a person physically can, she will have a natural birth, right? C-sections are generally used during emergency (at least in the U.S.) or if the woman has already had a C-section and the hospital doesn't allow you to vaginally deliver your baby. I don't understand why women feel they have failed if they aren't able to deliver their baby vaginally. How is that a failure? You've just created life and why should it matter how the baby comes out? Also, I've heard that the child and mother bond is not as strong as it could be had the child been delivered naturally, but I just don't believe that. I breastfed my oldest daughter (vaginal birth) til she was 14 months old and she hates me, she's 13 now. What happened to our magical bond from breastfeeding?

once they reach those teen years all bets are off. especially with girls... they may be a force of nature but they become a whole different animal. and yeah that whole vaginal vs caesar bonding thing is bullshit. i idnt even gove birth to the toddler in my house and we couldnt bond any tighter.

_

_Crazy_Mary_ wrote:

I've always been confused by the controversy around c-sections. And around taking drugs during labor, as well. If a person physically can, she will have a natural birth, right? C-sections are generally used during emergency (at least in the U.S.) or if the woman has already had a C-section and the hospital doesn't allow you to vaginally deliver your baby. I don't understand why women feel they have failed if they aren't able to deliver their baby vaginally. How is that a failure? You've just created life and why should it matter how the baby comes out? Also, I've heard that the child and mother bond is not as strong as it could be had the child been delivered naturally, but I just don't believe that. I breastfed my oldest daughter (vaginal birth) til she was 14 months old and she hates me, she's 13 now. What happened to our magical bond from breastfeeding?

Yeah, but just think of how much more she would hate you if you hadn't breastfed her!

ZiggyStar

I'm having an elective caesarean when I get pregnant. I've already spoken to my doctor about it! Fuck having one naturally. Does not interest me at all. :?

And it's a FACT that some women's vaginas get totally fucked up by natural births and don't "bounce back" as everyone says they do....screw that....cut me open, pull it out, stitch me up and pass me a glass of red wine! I'll do everything else by the book but there is NO WAY I'm pushing out a baby.

catefrances

ZiggyStar wrote:

I'm having an elective caesarean when I get pregnant. I've already spoken to my doctor about it! Fuck having one naturally. Does not interest me at all. :?

And it's a FACT that some women's vaginas get totally fucked up by natural births and don't "bounce back" as everyone says they do....screw that....cut me open, pull it out, stitch me up and pass me a glass of red wine! I'll do everything else by the book but there is NO WAY I'm pushing out a baby.

lets hope you dont go into premature labour then zig and your sprog decides to pop out on its own accord. cause fuck knows your first consideration should be absolute convenience when giving birth.

TravisTheSky

pearljgirl2010 wrote:

It's a very interesting debate. I've not had children yet, and I'm terrified of the natural birthing process....I'd prefer it if I were handed a 3 year old, but since that isn't the way it goes, I'll have to deal!!

It just seems that the healing issues alone from a C-section are far more complicated, and are much more difficult to bounce back from. Plus, isn't there some sort of health benefit from the child being born vaginally? Something to do with fluids?

1. Oh, PLEASE adopt a 3 year old! There are tens of thousands of kids who never get adopted because most people will not even consider falling in love with a child they did not give birth to. I've wanted to adopt for years, but I have no money. [I can breed for free. I don't want to pass on my kyphoscoliosis. My immune system is already attacking itself (absurd # of food allergies.) So I may be infertile like the many women I know who happily eat GMO food and blindly take every vaccine offered.] A toddler who is over 23 months is usually listed as a "Special Needs" adoption. When the details are looked into, the only "special" problem is that the kid is 2 years old! I've seen even younger babies labelled "special needs" because they weren't 100% white.

2. I also thought of birth as terrifying before I educated myself. I was raised to think that regular people were dependent ignoramuses incapable of handling our own health: We had to rely on god-like authoritarians ('Doctors') to dictate to us. Speak with women who rocked their birth experiences. They will be keen to share. Read books like the ones Satyagraha and I mentioned in earlier paragraphs. Fear is a natural response to the unknown. Replace that fear with knowledge and understanding.

3. Yes, natural birth squeezes out the amniotic fluid from a baby's lungs before it takes a breath of air. Caesar babies are filled with fluid when plucked from the womb.

ZiggyStar

catefrances wrote:

lets hope you dont go into premature labour then zig and your sprog decides to pop out on its own accord. cause fuck knows your first consideration should be absolute convenience when giving birth.

Shhhh.....no premature labour allowed!!

My sister is booked in for a ceasarean on Monday! Will be interesting to see how she recovers, what she goes through etc! Glad I get to see her go through it first!

pandora

Well I say natural for sure
Had both of my kids that way and my vagina is just fine
a couple of my friends had c-sections- not by choice
thats major surgery so if you've never had major abdominal surgery and all that goes with it
might want to rethink it. The bloating of the abdomen and the pain that goes with that for days after is what both my friends experienced.
I was up taking care of baby home the next day all was fine.
Pain you will forget and its really not all that bad if you feel you have control of the situation
women keep doing it so it must be worth it.

dimitrispearljam

what is the best for baby and mother be safe..

meme

The birth of a child is momentous (and traumatic) enough that women really don't need the extra anxiety about "Oh, I delivered by C-section, I am a failure!". I am happy I didn't have one (although when they brought it up as an option after 30 hours of back labor I thought it would have been marvelous), but it's such a small detail in the grand scheme of having a child!

Dirtie_Frank

Heatherj43 wrote:

JR8805 wrote:

Having experienced both types of birth, but never "natural childbirth" (which my gynecologist said was so exhausting to her that she didn't really recommend it, but go with whatever you want), I can honestly say that recovery from non-surgical childbirth was a walk in the park compared to recovery from a c-section. I can't imagine having a c-section and post partum depression at the same time because I'm not really good at imagining hell. A c-section is major surgery which takes many weeks to recover from. A vaginal childbirth is what nature intended and takes not many days to recover from.

If a c-section is medically indicated--you or the baby are in big trouble--for godsakes don't think twice--go for it! But, if you're doing it so Aunt Tilly can be there for the delivery, because Big Bubba, your husband/boyfriend thinks you'll be "all stretched out" vaginally if you don't (I recommend stretching his brain to something larger than a size X-small), etc., then I think those are bad, bad reasons to have you and your child go through something which carries such risks when you don't have to.

I don't think other people should be there when having a c-section. It is major surgery!
Not only recovering from major surgery, and perhaps depression, BUT having to care for a newborn while you are trying to get better is a bit much!!
My 1st was a medical necessity. The 2nd was questionable. There is a danger in delivering vaginally after having c-section(s). I chose to be safe and had my second child c-section because of that risk. My second was a breeze compared to the first, but way worse than vaginal delivery. My daughter had her second vaginal birth a year ago and within 1/2 hour she and I snuck outside to smoke a cigarette. With a c-section, you ain't going anywhere!!

Did your daughter smoke a cigarette? If so did she smoke while she was pregnant? I find it very wierd that if your daughter did not smoke for 40+ weeks that she had to have one as soon as the child was out of her.