Emergancy C- Section Vs Planned C- Section (my story)

I found out we were expecting our first baby at the start of 2005. We were very excited and couldn't wait for September when the baby was due. We went to all the birthing classes and read every book we could get our hands on. I thought i knew everything until the baby decided that he had his own way of how he was going to come into this world.

I was 10 day overdue and was booked in to be induced. We went to the hospital at 7am on Sunday 18th of September and the doctor put the gel in to begin the induction. I thought that labour would start soon after. I was hooked up to a monitor so i couldn't move around at all and i had to press a botton everytime the baby kicked or moved. Just my luck that the labour didn't start and 4 hours later the doctor returned to put more gel in. That seem to do the trick and labour started 20 minutes later. Everything happened very fast after that and at 7pm we were moved into the birthing suite, my labour was very intense from the start. They offered gas but that just made me sick so they tried pethidine and i don't think that helped either. I wasn't dilating and after about 5 hours of full on labour i was only 1cm. My waters finally broke at about 2am and that's when they thought that there was a problem. They were a greenish brown and the midwife told me that the baby was distressed. By this stage i was exausted and was falling asleep in between contractions. They decided to call a surgon and told me i was going to have an emergancy c-section as they needed to get the baby out.

I was rushed into theater and don't remember much. I just remember a heap of people in the room and i couldn't see hubby anywhere. They put in a spinal block and the relief i felt was nothing i can describe. After about 10 minutes the doctor announced that we had a boy. I got to see him quickly but they took him away to a warming bed and to check him over. Hubby went off with Josh while the doctor closed me up then off to recovery. I had to stay in recovery for about an hour when i was in recovery i realised that i had been in labour for 13 hours and it was actually 4am.

Once the spinal block wore off completely a few hours later the pain began. I couldn't get out of bed for a few days and couldn't stand up straight. I was in hospital for 4 days because i asked if i could leave early because i wasn't sleeping well. I made a big mistake leaving early because i still couldn't manage my pain properly. It took me about 7 weeks to start feeling normal again.

18 months later we found out we were expecting again. This time i was keen to try a VBAC (vaginal birth after caesarean). My obstetrician explained that i would not be able to be induced and he would not let labour go for longer than 8 hours. So we decided to opt for a planned c-section because i didn't want to end up having another emergancy c-section. The pregnancy went without a hitch and before too long the due date arrived. We went to the maternity ward and was shown to our room. When the time came to go to the operating room, it was all very calm. We were talking about the football and making jokes. Everything was done very slowly. All up it took about 45 minutes before we heard the doctor say that we had a girl. This time i actually got to cuddle her and have some photos taken. I still had to go to recovery but at least i knew that Amy was fine.

I was up and walking around after the spinal block had worn off and was feeling great by the next morning. This time i stayed in for the full 5 days as i had a very clingy 18 month old at home.

I think the planned c-section was heaps better than an emergancy one. We were able to explain to Josh the whole way through the pregnancy that mummy was going to be sore. I even stopped picking him up before Amy arrived so he didn't expect it when we got home. He is a very big help with Amy and we never had any behaviour problem after she came home.

I have never felt less of a woman because i can't give birth "naturally". I still went through labour. Because of the C-sections i can say that i have 2 very healthy children.

Thank You for taking the time to read this. Sorry it is so long. Please don't forget to leave a comment.  

Juzzy