How mahy here have had c-sections? - Page 2

[3bees~1flower]

I've had 3, and will have my 4th in Oct. my first was 7 weeks early due to severe pre-e. he was double footling breech...attempted an external version, but he was stubborn (still is, :LOL), so he was born c-section, he was 4lbs 8oz. 2nd was an attempted VBAC, i was induced 3 days early due to how big i was (or rather baby was), had a good labor and dilated fairly quickly, but i never got an urge to push and when i did push it felt as though he was going to be born abdominally with no scapel or anesthesia (ie: like he was going to come shooting out my previous scar), so i basically said let's do a section, he was 10lbs 7oz. 3rd was scheduled, he was 10lbs 3oz. my 4th, this oct, will be scheduled as well.

[cinnamonamon]

I had a c/s that was probably unneccesary -- but I had an ob/gyn who was "slightly" intervention happy, and I didn't realize it til too late. My water broke & 6-8 hours later still no progress so they started the pit...no progress, no progress (and I mean NONE -- except pain and discomfort I never dialated, effaced, dropped, etc.. long story short, after 20 they discovered he was breech -- almost transverse, actually. So it was a routine c/s...

This time I will be hbacing...and I'm a bit more confident in my midwife - she will be able to tell if I am breech, I'm sure. And no stupid 24 hour cutoff!!

[15yrsbetweenboys]

well, my first was 111 hours of sheer horror-they wanted to do a c on me, but I refused and FINALLY delivered my little guy 6lbs 13oz. They told me it would be better NOT to ever have another child (silly dolts).
15yrs later with ds #2, all went well and I was about 38 1/2 weeks when he turned from in position to a semi transverse (hard to explain how he was laying LOL) position ACROSS my stomach (it happened really quickly and was SO painful-it put me on my knees in the floor!). After he turned, I thought-sheesh, but at least he has time to turn back over before he is due-WRONG! The next morning, my water broke, and by the time we got to the hospital I was dilated to 5 and had steady contractions 2-3 minutes apart-BUT, he was still sideways and the cord was trying to prolapse, so I had an emergency c-section. I know that he would have been a quick delivery too-after progressing to 5 in about an hours time, and contractions weren't even that bad-I could have went drug free (like I had planned)-but instead got a scar and morphine drip (and really adorable baby LOL).
So, to make it shorter-necessary c-section
Shan

[Colorful~Mama]

hi

i had two emergency c's with my first two children.
daughter #1, water broke, no labor... induced with pitocin. Had demerol, dialated fully , pushed..she was wrapped in the cord around the neck and legs. emergency cesarean
daughter #2 induced with pitocin, epidural, fetal hearttones dropped. emergency c

i think both could've been avoided if i'd been smarter, more knowledgeable, less afraid and had demanded to be allowed to progress without pit with dd1 and never allowed induction at all with #2

my son was born by vba2c this past summer . naturally

[KiwiZ]

1st dd: unplanned c-section, her heart rate dropped to less than half of what it was supposed to be and they couldn't get it back up. Turns out that her umbilical cord was tied in a knot and when my waters broke, the knot pulled tight. I don't know what would have happened without a c/s, so I am grateful my little one was OK

2nd dd: VBAC!!! At 7#,3 oz she was actually 2# lighter than her sis, so that was a nice bonus LOL

[Wildcrafter]

My first was a c-section that I know deep down was UN-necessary. It was a horrendous, heart wrenching experience. My next will be a homebirth.

[Peppermint]

3 necessary c-sections here

[Eggie]

I had an emergency c-section at 38 1/2 weeks. I was effaced 100% but I had dilated just 2 cms. plus my DD signs where getting weak, it only took the doctor 8 minutes to take her out of me, I was amazed! and a little disapointed as I wanted a natural birth... but I'm so glad everything went well for both of us

[rebasea]

I had a emergency c/s at 41 weeks after 12 hours of being fully dialated, 24 hours of labor ( it started as a lovely but hard duala/ mid-wife assisted tub labor). My temp was going up and his heartrate was dropping when we finally headed in to sergury after 6 hours of being in the hospital. His head was asinclitic (sp?) which is why he wasn't progressing. I think is was nesassery.

[Piglet68]

I don't really think it does a whole lot of good to decide for women whether their C/S was necessary or not. Perhaps they may question it themselves, but it irks me when people try to put that label on such a personal experience. Even to ask a women if they think it was necessary or not...I don't think that's helpful.

My preferred course of action is disseminating factual information, educating women before they go into the birthing experience, and basically just advocating for a thorough education for women to know their options and the way birth is generally handled in hospitals and what they can expect re: pressures for interventions, restrictions on food and movement, etc.

I had a C/S and it likely falls into the category of "not medically necessary". I, however, chose it because the risks of a vaginal birth were more than I was personally comfortable with, given my history and given my own set of priorities re: birthing. I don't think that makes my C/S any more or less valid. I can say, however, that I did my research and was here at MDC well before my birth. So I feel confident that I based my decisions on facts. Ultimately, it came down to my own level of personal comfort and confidence in my decision.

[clewal]

My first was a c-section. He was breech and the dr didnt know he was breech until my water broke and she felt a foot. It wasnt my dr, it was the dr that was on call and she was pissed about it. Called my regular dr and made her come in early to do the section. You would've thought that they would have done better at trying to figure out his position in my last few visits because he was transverse at 37 weeks.

My daughter was a VBAC.

[PadmaMorgana]

My first was unscheduled, non-emergency c-section. 30+ hours of labour, 14 hours after my water broke, "failure to progress" at 4 cm. DS was bang on time...40 weeks.

Second was scheduled c-section. My OB has a 85% vbac sucess rate, and he didn't think I was a candidate.

Both babies never dropped, never engaged. They used forceps and the pediatrician leaning on the top of my belly to get #2 out.

[witchbaby]

i had preterm labor from 33 weeks to 36 weeks, then had prodromal labor from that point. after all these contractions, i still had only dilated to 2.5 centimeters by december 20, the day i was induced. i'd gone to hospital 10 times by the time i delivered (you read that right, TEN) and the last few visits, the baby's heartrate was non-reactive and i ended up staying much longer for these "false alarms" than i would have had her heartrate been okay.
almost 12 hours after i was induced, i was having HARD contractions that would barely receed before the next began and i had only made it to 3 cm. her heartrate kept dropping and barely recovering. i ended up with an emergency c-section. and, yeah, i think it was warrented.

[polka123]

Me - I had a Emergency C w/DS due to PIH

I had DD vag - yrs ago,

[copslass]

Two here, in 1984 and 1985. "Ftp and cpd." LMAO!

Two of the worst experiences in my life, imo. Of course, I was grateful at first that the dr had "saved my baby's life."
It was a few months later before I could look back objectively and realize that dd and I were subjected to dangerous, iatragenic routines, culminating in a crisis, rather than evidence-based care.

Vbac was still unheard of in my area in 1989, so I traveled out of state to be the second vbac after multiple sections mom with the U of Michigan cnms. 3 day labor, my babies tend to favor the OP position.

The cutting of so many women (and baby boys, but that's another thread) and the American infant mortality rate makes me ILL.

[be11ydancer]

I had a c-section 9 months ago because my daughter was breech. We tried all the methods we knew of to get her to turn including chiro, ECV, pulsatilla, pool, etc. But she wouldn't turn. We are religious so we prayed and meditated about it. Afterwards, we came to the decision that a c-section would be the healthiest way to deliver her. As it turned out, the umbilical cord was wrapped around her shoulder in a way that wouldn't allow her to move. And while I don't regret having it, I hope I never have to go through that again. It was very traumatic and so stressful on all of us. I had dreamed of having the perfect, unmedicated birth with DH as my coach. But it wasn't meant to be, at least not that time. But hopefully in a few years, we can try again!

I started a cesarean support group at www.meetup.com . You can find it through doing a topic search (my link doesn't work). I hope you all will sign up! I think it's important for those of us who have had one to be able to meet each other and share our thoughts and feelings on the process.

[Lucysmama]

I had a c/section. I feel it was totally unnecessary. I don't wanna recap the whole thing, but my birth story is posted under the Birth Stories forum if you feel like reading it. Basically, my baby and I went through many many interventions to the point where nothing about my labor was natural. I was scared into a cesarean.

Piglet-
I have to respectfully disagree with you when you say it isn't helpful for women to label their cesareans as necessary or not. Some women, including me, had extremely traumatic births and have a lot of processing to do. A lot of healing to do. I had Post traumatic stress disorder after my labor/cesarean. In sorting through what happened, it was important to me to be fully aware of the lasting implications of what I was told.

Did I actually believe that my pelvis was too small? That my baby would have gone into distress if I hadn't had the c/section? Did I believe that I couldn't birth naturally? These questions were EXTREMELY important to me, because I wanted another baby. If I believed these things, I would probably now be planning a repeat c/section. But I don't believe them. Hence, I feel my c/section was unnecessary, because I feel all the "reasons" for me having one were based on false conclusions, IMO.

So figuring out my c/section was unnecessary was important both to my emotional healing, and my planning of my next birth.

Needless to say, I am planning a VBAC. A home water VBAC.

[Peppermint]

If I can speak to what (I think) Piglet was saying (maybe not, but it's what *I* am saying either way)--- No one ELSE should be discussing or questioning the necessity of MY c-section, that is not helpful, unless I have asked for other's input .

[dallaschildren]

2 C sections; first for pre-eclampsia; second was my decision to have while being informed and educated. Good thing too because my uterus was thin enough to see the baby and with a 9 pound 12 ounce child, I likely would have ruptured. Wanted to keep my future fertility.

[Lucysmama]

Oh, well if that's the case, I apologize for my tangent...I misunderstood, Pig!