Elective c section or natural

I am similar. I had a c section in March 2022 as baby was breech. I am now due in Nov and not sure what to do. I am going to start perineal massage in case I opt for a v birth. I am also worried about recovery as they say it is longer and more painful second time. But worse fear would be trying a v birth anf ending up woth an emergency c section. We can't plan that 😥 There's risks either way so I am not sure.

In the same boat! I have a section booked at 39+ 4 but I'm going to push back to 40 weeks. It's so hard to know which route is better as I had elective section first time and much easier to plan childcare but then the recovery can be harder, equally some natural births can be harder recovery too. Im going to wait and see what little lady does but would be interested to know experiences too

I had second baby in feb this year, elective section (41 weeks wanted a chance of him coming on his own). Recovery was so much easier with the elective and we taught our not yet 2 year old to climb up the high chair himself and on to the footstool so I could change his nappies without lifting him. Honestly if I were to have a 3rd I’d go for another section

I had my 2nd elective section after having my first in April 2022 also. I have found the recovery this time so much easier - I don't if that's because my body knew what to expect, because I had to get on as I have a toddler, if it was a better op...but it's been a super quick recovery - I was baby wearing in 5 days, and now almost 4 weeks later I am sporadically picking up my toddler. We worked out solutions, like changing my toddler on the floor and using her little stool to get in the bath.

I had my 2nd baby 8 weeks ago. They encouraged me to have a section but I chose to be induced instead. The induction was so stressful as I was sent home after having the balloon to wait for a bed at the hospital for 5 days and to expect a call at any time. When you have a toddler this is not ideal, so he was passed around grandparents for 5 days, plus obviously worrying about the baby as I was overdue and high risk! They broke my waters, I laboured for 6 hours and still ended up with a section anyway. I had the balloon on 21st and went straight to 2cm, they broke my waters on 27th, I had the unplanned section on 28th, thats how long I waited. The recovery wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. If I had a 3rd I'd 100% opt for a planned section. Hope this helps x

I had an unplanned section in April 22 after failed induction and wanted a vbac for my 2nd baby. Did go into labour naturally and all was going well until an unexpected hemorrhage led to an emergency section. If I'd have known I'd have gone elective..but that's just it, you don't know and can only choose what you feel is best for you. Recovery with a toddler wasn't ideal but also wasn't as bad as first time round. Hope you have a great birth either way x

I had a planned c section with my second as she was breech. I also had another major thing happening in my life at the time so didn’t want to try and turn her and potentially have an emergency section etc… my hip was she would engage naturally and I could give both natural again. Life didn’t have that planned for me, so I booked the date. The weekend before I had my brothers funeral, Friday, the next day was my sons second birthday then the next Friday I knew I was bringing my daughter in the world. Crazy emotions. But….. the recovery is extremely hard with a 2 year old! You can’t pick them up, put them in high chair/cot/bath/carseat, You can’t move them over to cuddle you. All I was doing was holding the new baby whilst I kept saying “I can’t” to my boy! Not a nice feeling. I ended up trying these things anyway and ended up with an infection. If I had the choice again, I would chose natural 100% even tho that wasn’t the best,even with stitches I could do everything straight away agai

Literally the same, my first C-section was because of a failed induction. I planned for a natural with my second, but I had a planned Csection for just after 41 weeks because essentially risks are higher after a CS to go further from that. I didn’t want to be induced again due to it failing the first time. So I just waited to see if would go naturally. I didn’t. But it was nice to have the freedom to choose. And I was still happy with how it went. It was much more organised with care for my eldest. Recovery was a million times better the second time around. It is what it is. I don’t regret it.

Thank you so much everyone! I have opted to get a c section and am going in this week! A little nervous but hoping all will be okay. My husband works from home most of the time and so should be able to provide some support during the beginning weeks I’m hoping Thank you all again! If there are any tips on what to take in this time please let me know xx

Make sure you buy lots of paracetamol and ibuprophen. Keep on top of it, specially the first week.

Hey, I had an emergency the first time and elective the second time. Honestly completely different the second time in terms of recovery. Think it's because your body isn't already exhausted. I couldn't believe how much better I felt even with a toddler. Just don't strain yourself, I would have let toddler get himself on to my knee etc to get cuddles, so in that way he wasn't missing out. Chewing gum really helps with the wind pain (I had sharp pain around collar bone the day after). Organised packing, mine was absolute chaos and during the first night I felt so disorganised trying to find outfits after baby was sick. Something to keep you occupied for the morning of section, I was third on the list so had a wait until 12ish. Good luck with everything, very exciting!

Good luck and let us know how you get on!!