Had a vaginal birth first time, may need c-section this time - If you've had both, share your experiences?

I have a low-lying placenta and I will find out this week at my 32week ultrasound if the placenta has moved out of the way. My doctor has advised that I will need a caeserian if it hasn't moved.





I know that the end result is the main thing and I will be happy as long as I have a happy healthy baby, regardless of the method of birth.





I had a good experience with the first birth, and felt a great sense of achievement and wonderment at the ability of the human body.





I guess I'm worried that after a natural delivery, a c-section might be less personal or less rewarding because it's a surgical procedure.





How did you find your different births? What kind of emotions did you experience with them? Did you find the recoveries to be a lot different? Which method did you prefer? Do you have any tips for preparing for a C-section?





(Please don't share your horror stories if you had particularly traumatic births - I'm just after general experiences with the different birth methods.)

Had a vaginal birth first time, may need c-section this time - If you've had both, share your experiences?
No horror stories, I promise!!


I had a C-section. I will say I want vaginal births in the future. I didn't get the chance to actually go into labor and try to birth my child, so I felt robbed of the experience. Also it didn't feel personal at all, and I didn't see her for 12 hours because no one cared to bring her to me. I think a way to try and combat that is make sure your baby is given to you immediately (except for health problems of course), and room in. I will say having a healthy child makes so many sad/angry/disappointed feelings just fly away!





If you have a C-section:


*You need to WALK, soon after the surgery. Gas builds up in your intestines as a result of surgery and it's very painful; walking helps reduce that.


*If you plan on nursing, your milk is likely to come in later than with your vaginal birth. Don't stress, just eat well, drink water, and put that baby on your breast constantly to stimulate your production. It'll be fine.


*Every woman recovers differently from the surgery, but keep walking, rest when you're tired (or you'll postpone healing), and keep an eye on your incision. If it gets infected you'll need treatment.


*Be careful with your incision when you're trying to exercise post partum. It's not advised to do anything besides walk for at least 6-8 weeks. Remember how many layers of stitches need to heal, deep down. Eventually you'll feel almost like yourself again, but I'll say my incision still feels half-numb yet very uncomfortable to the touch, and almost like it's not a part of my body. My daughter is 15 months old.





Good luck to you! A C-section may turn out to be what you have to have this time, but I'll pray you can have another vaginal. It's just easier! :)
Reply:My vaginal birth was a terrible experience, with a 4th degree laceration that took 3-4 months to heal. With my second child 7 years later, I discussed this with my new Dr., and we planned on a C-section. (She ended up breech, so I would have had one anyway). The C-section was great! The pain level was a little more intense immediately afterwards, but I only had to ask for one dose of pain meds. As long as you don't move too much, the pain isn't bad.





As far as emotions/experiences, I also liked the C-section better. With my first, there were many complications that could have been avoided had I had a c-section, and my daughter was in critical care for 24 hours. It was very scary. My second daughter had to spend a little time on the respirator from not getting all of the fluid out of her lungs, but it was nothing compared to the first.





I have never been an "I am woman, hear me roar" kind of person, but I am no wimp, either. Having said that, with my experience, I was so tired and scared that by the time the vaginal delivery was over, I couldn't enjoy a single thing about it and just wanted to get it over with. I could sit back and relax, and enjoy my c-section birth. However, I had a c-section for different reasons than you, so your experience might not be as good as mine.
Reply:I had vaginal birth for my first child 5 yrs ago, it was pretty exciting and scared for me as a first time mom but everything went well. I was in labor for 6-7 hrs. with no pain medication and only spent 1 night at the hospital. I just had another baby early last month via c-section because my little booger was breech. I was so scared because I've watched the c-section procedure video before I actually had ones done(for study). Everything went very quick, you won't feel a thing when you're in the ER due to epidural. After the numbness is gone(about 4-5 hrs. later) that when you really feel pain. I had to spend 4 days in hospital and the first day I can't even walk. It was so painful to get in and out of the hospital bed, I had to sleep on the chair because it was so painful. It's so painful to sneeze or cough.


I feel a lot more bonded with my first baby than my second ones. I will never do c-section again if I have another baby unless it's unfortunate thing happends like my second child.
Reply:My mom's first birth was a normal and then her second two were c-sections. She said that the normal birth hurts more, but the c-section leaves more scares and takes longer to heal from.
Reply:well I hated my c-section but I had a lot of problems. I was in labor 26 hours and my baby was stuck. They didnt give me enough meds so after he came out I felt everything. It took a long time to heal and I wasnt able to take good care of my son. if you get a c-section make sure you have tons of help because I eneded up back in the hospital for doing too much.