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Should I get a C-section with my next baby? [edit x2]
- Nov 7, 2009 at 11:12 AM
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- Comments (29) Total Views (578) Everyone can see this journal post.
My husband and I aren't planning on TTC until August when our daughter turns 18 months so that she'd be at least 2 before I gave birth. However, with the birth of my daughter, my midwife told me to ask for a C-section next time for several reasons. This list is from least important to the most important:
1) My labor was 36 hours long because my contractions would NOT get close enough. They would stay 10 minutes apart for 2 days until finally they got 5 minutes apart. I didn't give birth until 12 hours after being at the hospital because I got stuck at 7cm and wouldn't dilate any farther even though my water had broken by that point and was 100% effaced.
2) Pushing took a few hours because I was told to stop halfway through pushing because both mine and the baby's heartrate kept dropping to dangerous levels. I was given an oxygen mask and was told to wait until a pediatric doctor/someone to perform an emergency C-section came. When she came they had me pushing again all the while with the oxygen mask still on. They were seriously going to pull me aside for a C-section except someone pointed out that every time I pushed I made GREAT progress. So we continued pushing and I had her vaginally. Our heart rates (especially hers) were so low that she was only given to me for 10 seconds before they took her to get her heart rate back up. My husband wasn't even given the option to cut the umbilical cord since they needed to get her heart up RIGHT THEN.
3) I gave birth at 40 weeks and 3 days, yet my daughter was only 6 1/2 pounds. We knew she was going to be small since at this point I was only measuring 34 weeks. However, even though she was soooo tiny, I got a fourth degree tear. HOLE TO HOLE, DAMAGED THE WALLS IN BOTH HOLES AND THE TISSUE IN BOTH HOLES. It took them an hour and a half to finish stitching me up. I was then given instructions as if I had just had rectal surgery because my anal hole was worse than my vaginal hole and I couldn't even get out of the hospital bed for 2 days (I had a catheter the whole time) and then I stayed one more night. This is one of the most important reasons because she said there is NO guarantee that my next full term baby would be as small and that if she was any bigger, I could really have damaged myself REALLY bad, way worse than this time, so that next time, if I had a regular 7 or 8 pound baby, he/she would hurt me coming out to the extreme. Also, the healing process took forever because of the damage. I didn't stop bleeding until 12 weeks afterward when I was given medicine to shrink my uterus. I couldn't even get a regular pap smear done or given BC because of not getting a pap smear done. Every time they looked, I was bleeding so heavily that she couldn't see ANYTHING. It took longer than the 12 weeks for me to stop crying everytime I had a BM because of that hole being the worse from giving birth.
Mainly, she was concerned about permanently damaging myself with the next baby and the fact that this one almost was an emergency C-section baby. Everything else combined, she said it would be better for me to ask for a C-section.
I'm fine now and my daughter is 8 months, but I want opinions from other mommies based off my story of whether or not I should try vaginal again or if these are grounds for asking for a C-section next time. I loved being able to have my baby vaginally but to risk my baby's heart rate and my body? I'm not sure...
EDIT: I did not have any pitocin, no pain medication, and an epidural at 7cm because I had been in labor for over 30 hours and it was all back labor. They wanted me to have the energy to push so I agreed. I asked for only a little bit to help me get through the last 3cm, so by the time it was time for pushing, I could feel everything again.
EDIT: Yes, baby was born sunnyside up, in the position I like to call "facing God" Most of my labor was not actually done on my back. I was either in the whirlpool tub, sitting backward (facing the wall) on the toilet, on a birthing ball with my arms resting on the bed, on my side in the bed, or on my hands and knees in the bed. The only time I was on my back was when I was pushing. Even with my epi at 7cm, I was laying in the bed on my side because that's just how I normally lay/sleep. I guess what I meant by back labor when writing this is that my contractions were ALL in my back. My midwife thinks that she changed positions inside me (I had an ultrasound done a few days before labor and she was in the correct position then) since I wasn't admitted into the hospital until my contractions were close enough apart. I admit that when they were 10 minutes apart REGULARLY for over 24 hours before being admitted into the hospital, I was laying in my bed on my back because I didn't know what to do, first time labor and all. I just laid on the bed on my back, which is unusual for me but at the time it felt good.
Comments:
No to the pitocin and yes to the epidural at 7cm since I had been in labor for over 30 hours at this point. They wanted me to have the energy to push and I had all back labor AND I got stuck at 7cm for a while.
And no pain medication, JUST the numbing stuff with the epi. I am allergic to almost all pain medications so I said no to ALL of them.
Oh AND since I got stuck at 7cm the epidural had already worn off by the time I was pushing because I asked for only a little bit to help me get through the rest of my 3cm.
It honestly sounds like you were pushing too hard when your baby and body wasn't ready. hence the tearing.
As for healing, c-sections don't always heal fast either. and if your allergic to medications, having a c-section won't be easy either.
Maybe you could look into relaxation and hypno birthing stratagies. Ways to help stretch your cervix when the time is right. Also, maybe next time having a doula would help :)
Your next birth might not be anything like your first. First time labor is sometimes a lot longer then others. It's not unusual for labor to last days. I would have contractions on and off for a whole month before I actually gave birth to my first son.
You have to really weigh the pros and cons of a major desicion like this.. this website gives some information.. http://www.childbirth.org/section/risks.html
But, I'm sure there will be mothers here that are all for a c-section. :)
My advice is to do lots of research and then decide. Just because you had a hard time with labor last time doesn't mean it will be the same this time. Especially since your baby was not in an optimal position. That most likely contributed to your troublesome labor.
Also, do you plan on having more kids? If so, then I would only do c-section as a last resort. C-sections get more risky with each subsequent birth.
It honestly sounds like you were pushing too hard when your baby and body wasn't ready. hence the tearing. KaidaMidnight
I was thinking the same exact thing.
I was 10cm when I started pushing because my body was giving me the feeling of pushing.
If I did do another vaginal, I think I'd want a water birth. Honestly, the water calms and soothes me and I wanted to be in the jet tub the whole time I was in labor but my midwife wanted me to try other things like the birthing ball and sitting on the toilet backward lol.
We want 2 kids right now that's all we're planning. If we WERE to have anymore, it'd only be one more to make it 3.
Here are some pretty good articles...
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Couple of questions first.. did they give you pit and or did you have an epi?
- KaidaMidnight
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