Controversial Subject!

*Long post alert *

The thing is, giving birth is a risk to both mom and baby. We have had ladies (and babies) on Moomie that had complications with both of these options. And someone said that every birth differs and that my positive experience with natural is not necessarily the norm.

Just my experiences before I conclude with, what is to me, the essence of the matter:

1st baby born 1 day before 35 weeks when my waters broke. NVD. 3.02kg (and big head, LOL). Never did my gynae say something like: "He is (will) be too big". Even with him being prem she didn't even mention a CS. True, for my specific circumstances it was the right decision. Got an episiotomy as I got a spinal block which made the pushing difficult. It took some time to heal, but I never thought it was a pain in the butt . From waters braking to birth was 6 hours (therefore a positive experience for me).

2nd baby born on 38 weeks after being induced as the amniotic fluid was very little (not leaking, though). No pain relief this time... My advice? Get epidural before it is too late. I never knew giving birth could be so painful, and I have a very high pain threshold. From insertion of gel to birth was 3 hours 40 minutes and from 2cm to 8 in no time. My worst part of the experience (other than the pain) was the involuntary poo episode . And that after the enema worked like a bomb (pun intended, LOL). At least only the nursing sister witnessed that. Got an episiotomy again, but a smaller one. Baby 3.375kg. Will the pain and the poo episode keep me from going natural again? Definitely not. I think that it could have been a less painful experience had I not been induced, but we couldn't really do it differently (natural induction did nothing for me).

With both I was on my feet shortly after the birth and couldn't wait for the drip to come out so I could take a bath. The episiotomies didn't bother me much and there were no other complications (except some placenta left behind with last birth, which could happen with CS as well). My gynae is wonderful and she respects your decision, whether it is natural or CS. She is a bit more pro-natural from what I have heard, but would not try to convince a CS mom to go natural.

So, my conclusion is: Make your decision (I know, I'm not really helping) and stick to it, but also be willing to change your decision. The difficult thing is if your gynae says a CS will be better for the baby and you don't know if it really is the case. Just don't let the gynae tell you the baby is big, so you must get a CS. That is BS. Firstly, the scan measurements are by no means accurate and secondly a big baby is not a good reason for a CS. When my 2nd was born, there were 29 babies in the ward. I had a look on the board as they indicate the type of delivery. Of those 29, only 4 were natural, of which I was one. Granted, it was before the long weekends of April, but still. Another indication that gynaes try to fit thing into their schedules. When asked about the type of birth by any of the nursing staff and the pead, I got the idea that they assumed it was a CS and was surprised when I indicated that it was not. This tells me it's getting very scarce to have a natural birth in a private hospital.

To conclude (really now...), a "funny" story from my stay in hospital: I talked to the one dad in the "dad's corner" where I was sitting with my daughter. He asked me about my baby's birth and I asked him about his. He said that the gynae said the baby was big and they could not take a chance with a natural birth. I saw him and the "big baby" the next day and I, having forgotten his comment about his big baby and the CS, told him his son looks so small and that compared to my daughter he is minute... That was no big baby and he could have been born vaginally had the mom chosen to. So that is the problem that I have with gynaes giving size as a reason for a CS. I have nothing against C sections, but I feel it is forced upon moms who would have loved to try for natural.

I think gynea's like giving c-sections because they can work it into their schedules and they don't have to worry about being bothered in the middle of the night (or during a game of golf ) Some will try and convince you to have a c-section, but they cannot force you. I know of women that gave natural birth to babies that weighed more than 4 kgs and some didn't even tear. Like everyone said it’s a personal decision that no one can make for you.

I personally feel that birth should be a natural event and you should only have a caesarean for medical reasons. I have read article's and have spoken to medical personnel that have said that natural is much better for the baby (unless there are signs of distress) and if you think about it birth is a natural process that God intended us all to go through so it can only be good for baby. I tore quite badly and had an episiotomy so I had pain for a week or so after, but I promise you it is totally worth the pain. There is just something gratifying about giving natural child birth. I really was proud of myself - even though I had an epidural in the last 2 1/2 hours (but by then I couldn't handle the pain any more)

Whatever you decide, birth is a wonderful experience regardless of whether you have natural or c-section.

Enjoy the rest of your pregnancy, you will miss your baby bump!

Hi

Thanks to all the ladies that shared their experiences.

I was also wondering about this and now reading your oppinions has helped me allot.

Tanz I have not read all the responses but I will just say the following:


Yes while our gynaes in SA are very pro c sections, you are your own advocate and have the option to choose your own birth. They can't insist on you having a c section. The most important thing to do is to make sure your gynae is aware of your birthing preference from the word go. They need to know that you will not be bullied into either and that you are aware of when a c section is necessary. Remember there are very few true emergency c sections so even if you do a trial of labour there is still time to set up for a c section if you need one.

Fact is that natural birth is safer for both baby and mother. C sections are pretty safe mainly due to them being done so much these days and every effort is made to reduce the risks. I recon SA is probably the safest country to have one.

So those are my two main points.

My personal input would be that you should make this choice on your own without your doctors input unless there is an obvious issue. The fact is that regardless of what you choose sometimes your baby has other ideas. This is the one thing in life you can't always control. Yes an elective c section can be done two weeks early but this is less than ideal for the baby so if you choose an elective please consider doing it as late as possible.

I really wanted a natural birth. My son had other ideas. I guess I am really pleased he chose his arrival naturally so he was ready and that I could have an emergency c section to bring him into this world unharmed. I can't say the same for myself but here I am anyway and despite the comedy of errors I managed to breastfeed him till he was 9 months old.

It's all about what is important to you. Obviously your child too, but I think we tend to forget that it is our own birth experience too.

Good luck. xxx

I was one of those determined to have natural birth. I was one of those who judged woman who had c-secs...was. My dr. backed me 100%. He works mainly at Genesis, so he is very pro-natural.

Then I just didn't go into labor. At 39 weeks, he started to panic. Baby was getting big, too big for my size (according to my doc my cut off was 3.5kgs) He started begging me to have a c-sec. Sending me sms, asking me to reconsider. I told him to keep an eye on baby, but as long as we were both healthy, no c-sec. I would not be bullied. We sat and discussed options. Eventually, we came up with a plan we were all happy with, with exit strategies (ie emergency c-sec) for all possibilities. I was induced at 41 weeks and gave birth to my son who was 3.8 kgs.

All I can say Tanz, is that dr's give you their opinions based on their experience. What we need to remember is that most of our gynae's trained in government hospitals and were only called in to the complicated cases where the midwife couldn't do it. Those are extreme cases. They do however have your best interest at heart.

Also, I watched 100 live births online, training myself, preparing myself. It was nothing like any of them. Your labor and delivery will be completely unique and there is no way to know exactly how it will turn out.

I will say this though. I had to be cut. It was a very bad cut, baby was in distress and my doc was already worried about him getting stuck. It took 6 weeks for the cut to completely heal. I could not drive or sit for those 6 weeks. After my labor, I slept for 12 hours straight. I could only get up the next day. These were all things I was trying to avoid by not having a c-sec.

Looking back, I think I was a bit stubborn and a bit stupid. So much could have gone wrong and we're very lucky it didn't. You do have a choice though...you can ask for trial of labor. If labor doesn't progress, it means your body can't do it. It's a sign built in that baby won't fit. This didn't happen with me and that's how we knew he could fit. As for the pooping thing...I had an enema and didn't worry about it again...I did pee a little though.

Sorry for the essay, this is a very personal topic for me.

I know what you mean! We've all struggled to fall preggies together and look where we are now

Tanz I'm booked for c-section on 28 July. It was a personal choice both DH and I made and I'm still scared for the whole ordeal but I trust my gynae and trust my decision is best for my baby boy.

By the way Tanz,last time we spoke you couldn't see if it's pink or blue! Do you know yet?

Nefertiti, I am in Pretoria...

Laliek, thanx for your reply. What did you decide to do in the end? I guess its fair to assume that no woman experiences it the same way... Ag I cant believe you and Tanasha are almost having your babas.

I guess this decision is so difficult bcoz I never thought I would be fortunate enough to be able to make it.