you will either experience pain during the labour (natural) OR after (c-section). unfortunately I don't know much about c-section apart from that...you can't realistically get out of "pain" in any sense of the word when you're having a child. it is nice to be able to plan, but I had a couple friends who had "planned c-sections" and still they had to have their c-section early because the baby was just "ready" to come out because their doctor advised against waiting or else it'd be a natural instead...so, though they wanted an auspicious date for the birth of their baby, it didn't happen. i'd just say let nature take its course - c-sections are not a bad thing if you really need to have one, that's just my opinion though - why put baby through a risk when you "need" a c-section, right? i wouldn't think too much at this point in time - plan what you can and let nature take it's course.
Deciding between a natural birth or planned c-section: Pros & cons?
- Thread starter RileyC
- Start date
Hi charade, Did nurse ask you for epistiomy in HK public? I heard we have no choice about drug at public. Yes, I paid deposit for private but my doctor seems only interested in c-section. If I will go natural, I will definitely go to public as save lots of money. I booked at HK adventist, no room type confirmed until delivery date, cost is out of control. I told my husband if VIP room I will leave, not sure about private room, my husband thinks too expensive, totally we should pay around $115000.
I will ask public again about if I can ask epistiomy by myself next week. Thank you very much.
I will ask public again about if I can ask epistiomy by myself next week. Thank you very much.
Carang, it is a misconception that a c-section = no pain, but it doesn't therefore entail that it has to mean a lot of pain. I would say that it is a controlled pain at least. One upside is that it starts off bad and can only get better (which it did very quickly in my experience) versus having pain that you know is going to keep getting worse but you don't know how bad it will get. I have never had a natural delivery so I don't really know what it is like, but I imagine it might be quite scary in that respect.
But Appledai, I think my c-section was fine for me because I have quite a high pain threshold. If you are sensitive to pain anyway, then a c-section may be just as bad / worse than a natural delivery.
Another issue with a c-sections is that it really is serious abdominal surgery. Everyone said this to me before I had mine, but I don't think I really appreciated how much it would affect me. I am strong and recover quickly from most things (I've had lots of breaks in the past including femur and pelvis) so I thought I'd get over it quickly. I was very fit before I got pregnant and throughout my pregnancy. I waited 3 months after delivery to do any exercise as advised, felt fine, so started doing a lot to shed those baby pounds. What I hadn't expected was that my abdominals would take much much longer than three months to recover properly. I ended up damaging my knees and not being able to do exercise at all for months. It has now been 7 months and I still have to be very careful. I underestimated the importance of my abs. Because they were cut, they are no longer strong enough to support my pelvis properly - even months after surgery - so this affects my running gait, causing my foot to turn in as I run which causes my knee to twist. I ran through the pain for a while but had to give up in the end. Your abdominals support your core so messing around with them can have serious consequences.
(sorry - just realised I was a page behind...)
But Appledai, I think my c-section was fine for me because I have quite a high pain threshold. If you are sensitive to pain anyway, then a c-section may be just as bad / worse than a natural delivery.
Another issue with a c-sections is that it really is serious abdominal surgery. Everyone said this to me before I had mine, but I don't think I really appreciated how much it would affect me. I am strong and recover quickly from most things (I've had lots of breaks in the past including femur and pelvis) so I thought I'd get over it quickly. I was very fit before I got pregnant and throughout my pregnancy. I waited 3 months after delivery to do any exercise as advised, felt fine, so started doing a lot to shed those baby pounds. What I hadn't expected was that my abdominals would take much much longer than three months to recover properly. I ended up damaging my knees and not being able to do exercise at all for months. It has now been 7 months and I still have to be very careful. I underestimated the importance of my abs. Because they were cut, they are no longer strong enough to support my pelvis properly - even months after surgery - so this affects my running gait, causing my foot to turn in as I run which causes my knee to twist. I ran through the pain for a while but had to give up in the end. Your abdominals support your core so messing around with them can have serious consequences.
(sorry - just realised I was a page behind...)
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nicolejoy
Registered User
They will offer you an episiotomy during labour. The pros are that it can help the baby come out faster. I had one in my first delivery for that reason. But I found that it was the most painful part of my healing. For my second child, I asked for no episiotomy and they didn't do one. I did still tear a little, but it was much less painful for me in the healing process. All women are different though and some women who have had episiotomies didn't find the healing process too painful. Personally, I would not ask for one again though. But the public hospital is ok with either option.
Yes, it was scary because of this the first time for me and because I was fearful and apprehensive that slowed down my labor and it ended up being 43 hours long. The second time, I just told my body everything was going to be okay and that I could roll with the pain and move with it (literally and figuratively) and my labor went by like nothing--12 hours--8 of it at home--4 of that was really early labor, 4 of it was pretty much sitting in a hot tub of water and 4 was at the hospital pushing. I had NO FEAR this time and it made all the difference--as far as pain, length of labor as well as recovery goes.
carang
Registered User
apple: do you really think that doctors would allow you to labour away if there is ANY danger to the baby???? this is not a third world country. they should be able to manage delivering your baby without too many complications. it seems to me that what you are actually worried about (if what you wrote is really how you feel) is extremely unlikely to happen....
while childbirth has not always been the routine procedure it is today, it really isn't as awful as your mind is making you think it is. women have been doing it forever. and with modern medicine what it is today, it is major, but routine.
licorice, i realise that not everyone had the terrifying c-section that i had, it still has it's own accompanying pain. for me, i wasn't myself for about 2-3 months afterward.
while childbirth has not always been the routine procedure it is today, it really isn't as awful as your mind is making you think it is. women have been doing it forever. and with modern medicine what it is today, it is major, but routine.
licorice, i realise that not everyone had the terrifying c-section that i had, it still has it's own accompanying pain. for me, i wasn't myself for about 2-3 months afterward.
carang
Registered User
i do agree that the hardest thing about delivering a baby, whichever way you do it is the fear of the unknown. i cried all the way through my first, extremely painful c-section (epidural didn't work and i FELT it all!).... for the second one, i was "lucky" in that they put me completely to sleep, which is not best for either baby or mummy, but the only way they'd do another c-section on me.
Appledai there are two things I mentioned in my comment:
1. Episiotomy: this is a cut on the vaginal wall to enable the baby to come out easier. You can read about it here (http://www.babycentre.co.uk/pregnancy/labourandbirth/labour/episiotomy/). There are pros and cons... the article touches upon them. When you register at the public hospital (ie. when you are in labour and go in there to give birth) one of the forms they ask you to sign asks if you are ok with an episiotomy. I said yes. Towards the end of my labour, my energy was really flagging and they offered me an episiotomy. I said yes. They made the incision and the baby came out quite quickly then. It did not hurt when they made the incision. It hurt after when they were stitching me up but that would hurt even if you tear naturally. Being a wound it started to hurt after the routine painkiller they give which stitching you up wears off. However, this is not unbearable pain. I was given painkillers (something like panadol) but did not take it so you can imagine the pain (of the episiotomy) was not that bad. By contrast, I have not heard of anyone who did a c-section going without painkillers after. So I presume c-section scar pain is more than episiotomy pain. In my case, the stitches did not dissolve and heal for two months. Again, it was not severe pain just some discomfort. This is unusual, for the stitches to take so long. Part of the problem is the public system doesn't use the highest quality thread. However, others who have episiotomies in the public system have healed faster than me (correct me ladies if I'm wrong) so I assume my case was a one-off and normally the stitches would dissolve sooner.
2. The other thing I mentioned, was epidural: This is a regional anaesthesia to block/reduce pain during labour. If you are terrified of pain, this is the one you could consider. I too was confused about the procedure for getting an epidural in the public system. However, I was offered an epidural at some point during my labour - quite early on. At that time, I refused but asked if I could let them know later and when... they said yes. But when I did inform them I wanted one later, they did not provide one (first started telling me disadvantages of it, which I had already seen on some material they gave me, then the very rude doctor said 'oh but you aren't in that much pain', then they said anaesthetologist wasn't available, finally 'oh now you're ready to push'). I think being a Cantonese speaker, which I think you are, would help as you could make sure there is no miscommunication. Yes, you can also ask them in your next appointment. Please note that epidural, being a drug, could also have some side effects so read up and make an informed choice.
Finally, my labour started at 4 am and I delivered at 4 am the next morning. That is technically 24 hours. However, till 8 pm in the evening the pain was very bearable... till about 4 pm in the evening, it was like a severe period pain. So the really painful part was from say 9 pm to 4 am, which yeah is a long time but it sounds so much worse when I say 24 hours. If indeed you are in active labour for very long, they (ie. the public system) will not let you go on if your baby is in distress - the baby is constantly monitored - and they will recommend a c-section. This has happened to a friend of mine. In the public system, my sense is that if they sense your baby is even slightly in danger, they will NOT take a risk.
Having said all this, do not get too stressed out whatever you decide. I strongly believe a natural birth - unless c-section is reccomended for special cases - is best for mom and baby but if you are geared for a c-section and it stress you out to unthink everything now, go ahead with your initial choice. A c-section will not harm severely you or your baby. I also know people who breastfed very successfully after c-section.
Also wanted to add, about your concern that if there is too long between water breaking and baby's delivery... in my case, my water broke at 9 am and by 8 pm, my contractions still were not regular so they decided to induce labour. The reason they did this was because of the chances of infection setting in if too long a gap between water breaking and active labour. I had vaginal infections throughout my pregnancy and I was monitored and tested till the 37th week to make sure I was free of infection. On the other hand, my friend had a c-section (also in public) and when the baby was born they found meconium (baby poo) on the baby or in the fluids that came out. So they kept the baby under observation (baby was fine in the end). So c-section is not a guarantee that there is no risk of infection. Sorry, maybe I gave you too much to think about.