Which is easier?

[allycat]

Which is easier to recover from -physically - C section or vaginal birth?

What about mentally?

A.

[littleteapot]

Natural vaginal delivery to both. Just saying "Vaginal delivery" is too iffy; it's harder to recover from one that you've been exhausted from alt he interventions and stuff.
I've had a c-section and a natural birth and I'd go through the 44 hours hard labour ANY TIME to avoid that c-section pain.

[wifeandmom]

I've never delivered vaginally, so I can't say for sure which is easier, although I will say I can't imagine recovery being any easier that it was.

Both of my sections were scheduled, and that apparently makes a TREMENDOUS difference in recovery. I also didn't care one way or the other about delivering vaginally vs. having a c-section, so there were no emotional issues for me to deal with.

First c-section was for full term twins, born just before noon on a Monday morning. I was up walking by 2pm and was never in any pain whatsoever. We went home with both babies the following day, approximately 30 hours after surgery began.

The only thing I *couldn't* do was lie flat on my back in bed and get up again without help. I propped a few pillows and that solved that problem. I did not bleed post-partum AT ALL, I had no pain, my milk supply was enough for the entire neighborhood...I really thought 'How can this be any easier?'

Resumed sex (per my insistance...I was very amorous post-partum) at 12 days post op. Pooped and peed with no problems or pain.

Fast forward 13 months to c-section number two. Again, scheduled procedure, although we did stay 48 hours since I was GBS+ and my membranes ruptured prior to surgery.

I could feel them cutting into me at first, and while it wasn't painful, it was startling. When I told them I could feel what they were doing, they fiddled around a bit and fixed things before they continued. So, while it didn't hurt at all, it was freaky to say the least.

Again, no pain whatsoever afterwards. I could sit down on the floor and get back up again without help from day 2 post-op, I spotted enough for a pantiliner for abou 3 days, and could pick up my twins (they were each right around 18-20 pounds) by 5 days post-op. Up til then, I would pull them into my lap on the couch, but full lifting (like picking them up from the floor) took 5 days.

Resumed sex at 6 days post-op, again at my insistance. Let's see...milk supply that go round was even more ridiculous than the first time. I pumped on day 4 post op cause I was so engorged and got 10 ounces of milk in one sitting. Pooped and peed with no issues this time as well.

Now, don't get me wrong here. While I was truly never in what I would call pain, I was tired and had a lower backache for a few weeks. I attributed the backache more to my entire center of gravity being shifted suddenly and the fact that I was using other muscles to compensate for my stomach being cut open than anything else. And it didn't really HURT, more of an annoying ache.

I can only hope and pray that my third c-section is as pleasant and easy to recover from as the first two were. Like anything, there are no guarantees, but the trend I've noticed with women IRL is that each subsequent section got easier and easier unless there were complications.

I really can't imagine delivering two almost 7 pound babies vaginally in the same day or an almost 9 pound baby the following year would have been any easier, but I never thought my sections would be that easy either.

[mary3mama]

My first child was a c/s, my second was a medicalized VBAC -- by my insistence.

I'd prefer to give birth by even a medicalized VBAC any day over going the c/s route again. I'm glad that PP had so little discomfort or difficulty following her c/s deliveries, but I'm afraid that's something I've rarely heard about c/s's.

It took me 2 weeks after my c/s to be able to walk across the floor without constant pain. It took 3 months to be even slightly interested in sex again, and even then, it hurt. It was a year before the numbness and weird feeling around my surgical scar started to disapate. Then there was the 'fun' of trying to take only tylenol for the pain so as not to put narcotics into my newborn's body via breastmilk.

Following ds #2's birth, I was up, walking around within 2 hours of birth and talking about going home. By the time he was 24 hours old, I felt better than I did 6 weeks after my c/s. We were able to resume our sex life, tentatively at least, at about 8 weeks PP -- that late only because I remembered the pain from the first time after the c/s.

I felt 'normal' (if a little sleep deprived) by the time DS #2 was 3 days old.

No comparison at all.

Mentally it was as clear as a distinction, too. After my c/s I spent many days crying because I had this cloud over me and I could only express it as, "they reached in and took my baby from me." Whereas because I actively birthed my second son, I didn't feel 'robbed', I felt empowered and connected.

If I have to have a c/s for some medical emergency this time, well, then so be it...but I'll not go that route unless it is a serious situation. That's one of the reasons we're working with midwives and planning a homebirth. As the are 'low-profile' (sometimes called hands-off) oriented, I know that if they see a reason for a hospital transfer, then it would be serious...as opposed to a practitioner that operates under the assumption that all pregnancies are a crisis waiting to happen.

I don't believe it is more 'honorable' to birth naturally, meaning that I don't think that c/s is a failure. But, I do think that given my own experiences, I'd never suggest that c/s is the 'easy way out'. I'd rather have another 2 1/2 hour pushing marathon than go through another c/s.

[AllisonR]

What is prettier, a sunrise or a sunset?

Your question is unanswerable, because it varies from women to woman and birth to birth. There will be people, who through their experience, felt vaginal was 1000% bettter than cesarean (probably a lot on this forum). Other people will feel exactly the other way around.

I think regardless, what is easiest to recover from is the birth with the least trauma. A long, difficult vaginal delivery can be good, if the mother feels empowered afterwards. A cesarean can be good, if the mother feels there was a good reason for the cesarean.

If you have shock after whatever type of birth you have, the stress and tension will build in your muscles. Whatever vaginal or abdominal pain you already have will only intensify because of this. Your stress my prolong your exhaustion or intensify your already rampant hormonal changes.

No matter what happens, may you have peace. (I'm looking for it myself.) Kind regards,
Allison R

[kalisis]

Originally Posted by AllisonR

What is prettier, a sunrise or a sunset?

Your question is unanswerable, because it varies from women to woman and birth to birth. There will be people, who through their experience, felt vaginal was 1000% bettter than cesarean (probably a lot on this forum). Other people will feel exactly the other way around.

I think regardless, what is easiest to recover from is the birth with the least trauma. A long, difficult vaginal delivery can be good, if the mother feels empowered afterwards. A cesarean can be good, if the mother feels there was a good reason for the cesarean.

If you have shock after whatever type of birth you have, the stress and tension will build in your muscles. Whatever vaginal or abdominal pain you already have will only intensify because of this. Your stress my prolong your exhaustion or intensify your already rampant hormonal changes.

No matter what happens, may you have peace. (I'm looking for it myself.) Kind regards,
Allison R

:

[cottonwood]

I've never had a c-section. But I can say that my immediate postpartum after my uninterfered-with births was wonderful, I felt great. I was tired, sure, but there was little actual stress on my body, so really very little to recover from. Also, with an undisturbed birth process I had the benefit of normal hormone release, which was good for me physically and emotionally.

Even the most successful surgery -- which is inherently an injury to the body -- could not possibly be easier or better for me, unless it was a matter of life and death. I also really hate the feeling of being drugged when I am vulnerable, and would feel very badly about narcotics in my baby's system as well.

If we're comparing it to the trauma and invasiveness of the typical managed vaginal birth, maybe it's not so clear-cut. Hearing of my friend's (highly unusual) planned c-section with soft music, low lights, and immediate contact with the baby, I think I'd rather do that -- even given the damage to my body and risk to the baby -- than many of the violating managed vaginal births I hear about, which carry increased risk to the body and baby anyway. Thankfully, though, I don't live in a world where those are the only two choices available.

Psychologically speaking, I love the idea of my body functioning as it was made to. That feels to me very good and right. In contrast, for my body to be cut open unnecessarily would be a violation to my spirit. Hospitals make me feel queasy and nervous too. Who really enjoys those places?

[wifeandmom]

Originally Posted by mary3mama

I'm glad that PP had so little discomfort or difficulty following her c/s deliveries, but I'm afraid that's something I've rarely heard about c/s's.

Couple of thoughts on this comment.

You have to keep in mind that my sections were scheduled with no labor prior to delivery (2nd one was after 6 hours of ruptured membranes, contractions every 3 minutes that did exactly NOTHING to my cervix, nor did they hurt, so I don't really count that as 'labor' like if I'd labored hard for 30 hours THEN been sectioned, kwim?).

Usually when I hear of a woman IRL who had a terrible c-section experience, it's one of two things, or a combination of the two. First is after a hard labor that didn't result in vaginal delivery for whatever reason. It only makes sense that to have major surgery after a day or more of hard labor, your body isn't going to recover as quickly or easily. For these women, if they go on to have an ERCS, I've never heard of a single one that didn't go on to have a MUCH better experience the second time around, and this was verified by all of my peris during my twin pg (who were all very much anti-c/s).

Second is the woman who desperately wanted to deliver vaginally and wasn't able to for whatever reason. It seems to me from reading stories online and listening to women IRL that if a woman was crushed MENTALLY by the thought that she'd had to have a c/s, her PHYSICAL recovery is severely impacted as well.

I honestly have rarely heard of a woman having a scheduled section that she felt MENTALLY ok with having such a horrific time recovering unless there were specific medical complications above and beyond what is normally expected.

[wifeandmom]

Another example I thought of is a friend of ours who now has three children with a fourth on the way.

Her first was a c/s after 3+ hours of pushing with absolutely no progress whatsoever. Apparently the baby's head was tilted to the side just enough to make vaginal delivery impossible considering the circumstances (hospital with epi, not a huge surprise that baby wasn't able to self-correct her position). She had a HORRIBLE recovery according to her. Hated every minute of it and desperately wanted to VBAC.

Second was a successful VBAC, but with LOTS of internal tearing, so much so that she came very close to needing a blood transfusion. They were concerned that she'd actually ruptured, but it turns out her cervix was torn pretty significantly which was causing all the bleeding. This was 4+ years ago and sex is STILL painful according to her.

Third was an ERCS. She made it VERY clear after her VBAC experience that she was not interested in EVER doing that again. With the ERCS, she recovered beautifully, BUT again....it was planned and it was her choice to do so, both of which make a huge, huge, huge difference in physical recovery from what I've seen.

[kawa kamuri]

My children have only been born vaginally so I don't know. I do know this - I will continue to do everything in my power to avoid a cesarean because elective and/or unnecessary invasive abdominal surgery is not my idea of pleasure.

[Autumn_Breeze]

I think a vaginal birth would be easier to recover from both mentally and physically. A c-section is major surgery, that usually requires one to take it more slowly otherwise. I suppose if you look at it from both sides, neither idea is loads of fun, lol.

I prefer a vaginal delivery to a c-ssection simply because I think I would feel better sooner rather than later. Add to the fact you have a crying baby, and you're battling the after c-section pain, and it looks pretty grim. The most important thing though, whatever way your babe came out, do not baby your body, iot slows the progress of healing.

[alegna]

Well, I trust evolution to have created the best and most healthy way for things to happen. Last I checked no one has birthed a baby out their abdomen without someone slicing it open first, so obviously the way that nature designed is best.

-Angela

[huggerwocky]

I did not recover from my managed vaginal birth for years, mentally it took even longer but a single incidence does not make a statistic. So this one will be a homebirth where I doubt I'll end up feeling abused and traumatized.

[JayGee]

For me, the vaginal birth was by far easier to recover from, both physically and emotionally. My c-section took a long time to heal and I had fairly severe PPD for a full year after DS's birth. After my first VBAC (hospital), I felt really good physically and emotionally, although I did take Zoloft as a precaution against PPD starting at 36 weeks. I tore pretty badly though (3rd degree), so that took a while to heal from. Still, I was up and around the day DD was born. My second VBAC (homebirth) recovery was amazing! No tearing and I felt physcially great the same day. I swear, it was like nothing happened down there ! Emotionally, I'm still on a birthing high and don't see any signs of PPD so far, even without antidepressants.

[joesmom]

Originally Posted by allycat

Which is easier to recover from -physically - C section or vaginal birth?

What about mentally?

A.

In general, I would say drug free vaginal, on both counts- BUT- I had an unexpected, completely anesthetized csection after laboring for a good while, plus I was sick with a bad sinus cold : : ... I had about 24 hours of bad pain, but I recovered SO fast, NO problems nursing... no regrets about how it turned out, although I would not have CHOSEN that path...

I had less recovery problems than my sister who had her boys vaginally, one with & one without an epidural. I had no breastfeeding supply issues, & was up & around much sooner than I anticipated.

The anesthesia gave me weird visions & made me unable to eat anything but cling peaches, apricot nectar & scrambled eggs for days, but that was the anesthesia & not the csection itself- & really, scrambled eggs are darn tasty!

[Sijae]

Originally Posted by wifeandmom

I honestly have rarely heard of a woman having a scheduled section that she felt MENTALLY ok with having such a horrific time recovering unless there were specific medical complications above and beyond what is normally expected.

One of the objections going around in my head is this idea that you have put forth that "complications" in c-sections are rare. They aren't. I'm glad you had experiences that pleased you. But having surgery (any surgery) these days is a crap-shoot in terms of complications and infection.

For ME I can't imagine surgical delivery EVER being preferable to natural birth. My first was a fast birth that left me bruised with skid marks that had me pretty uncomfortable for a few weeks. My second was as if I'd not even had a baby the "recovery" was so nonexistent and my third was a few days of recovery from substantial blood loss but my "parts" were just as fine as after the second birth.

Laura

[CalebsMama05]

i had a 9lbs 10oz baby on my back in the hospital...he tore me inside and then I had an episiotomy.

I was completely back to normal at 2wks except I was anemic. and on the iron pills i was fine. sex hurt at first (attempted at 12wks pp) but after a couple of months it was fine.

well except that my episiotomy scar itches sometimes. not sure if its psychological or not. weird feeling that.

[wifeandmom]

Originally Posted by Sijae

One of the objections going around in my head is this idea that you have put forth that "complications" in c-sections are rare. They aren't. I'm glad you had experiences that pleased you. But having surgery (any surgery) these days is a crap-shoot in terms of complications and infection.


Laura

I think what I said were 'complications above and beyond what is normally expected', thus indicating that some minor complications ARE fairly normal and to be expected.


For example, it's not unusual for mom to get a post-partum infection of some sort. These numbers range from 6-8% for an elective section with no prior labor to 25-33% for an emergeny section. However, in the grand scheme of things, if the only real consequence of such an infection is getting an addtional dose of antibiotic via the IV, I just don't see that as MAJOR.

I guess maybe our definitions of major and minor complications might be different, and that's ok. I personally find it fascinating the different ways women can look at a situation and either totally dismiss certain issues or totally blow them out of proportion depending on how they FEEL about the issue in the first place.

For example, I have a friend that had a section after external version failed to turn her son. He was knicked (not even enough to require a band-aid) on his bottom during delivery. Cuts to baby, esp breech baby, during section are fairly common, somewhere around 5% or so IIRC.

My point is he was knicked, again no band aid required, and she was DISTRAUGHT over this MAJOR complication. That's just how she saw things. I personally didn't get it, but I never said as much to her.

Then there are the women who go through a terrible vaginal birth complete with extensive vaginal tearing that makes sex painful for a year or more, yet they brush this off and consider it part of the deal, so it's acceptable and not a big deal to them.

It really does have a lot to do with how you look at it, and I will agree that it's a crapshoot as to which complications you suffer from, if any, although that goes for BOTH vaginal delivery AND c-section. While you can certainly decrease your chances of suffering from all sorts of complications during vaginal delivery, a certain amount of risk exists no matter what you do or don't do. The exact same thing is true of c-sections.

[~member~]

Originally Posted by wifeandmom

Second is the woman who desperately wanted to deliver vaginally and wasn't able to for whatever reason. It seems to me from reading stories online and listening to women IRL that if a woman was crushed MENTALLY by the thought that she'd had to have a c/s, her PHYSICAL recovery is severely impacted as well.

I honestly have rarely heard of a woman having a scheduled section that she felt MENTALLY ok with having such a horrific time recovering unless there were specific medical complications above and beyond what is normally expected.

That makes sense, as our mental state is very much connected to our physical state of being. My recovery also hinged on how I was treated by the hospital staff. They took my baby and were downright evil to me and my family.
In 2005, I wanted to breastfeed my baby, but they gave her an IV without my consent and told me there was no need to breastfeed and I would only harmher because of the narcotic painkillers they had given me.

[~member~]

Originally Posted by fourlittlebirds

I've never had a c-section. But I can say that my immediate postpartum after my uninterfered-with births was wonderful, I felt great. I was tired, sure, but there was little actual stress on my body, so really very little to recover from. Also, with an undisturbed birth process I had the benefit of normal hormone release, which was good for me physically and emotionally.

Thank you! I think since Birth has become medicalized, women no longer even 'hear' about how it should be. I have attended many such births and the mothers never looked like the mothers in the hospital. They were radiant and many were up and eating a meal with everyone and nursing their newborn at the same time. Something you NEVER see in a hospital setting. Most hospitals will not even bring a meal to the mother.
Thank you for sharing your story!