Staying calm during c section

Could you access some therapy for the trauma from the first birth before you have your second? Or do a course in CBT - you can self refer to talking therapies and they can help you with some anxiety management skills. But yes, elective would be very different and you’ll be wholly in control. Hope it goes well x

That does sound traumatic. Sorry you went through that :(. Have you tried hypnobirthing? Pop that Mama on Instagram is a great page. Definitely make it known to the midwives so they can support you too xx

I’ve only had elective c section so I can only talk about that! It was a calm experience. I think the best thing about it was knowing the date of my c section and being prepared for it as much as possible. The staff in the operating theatre were great! They calmed me down!

Sorry to hear this! All mine have been natural but my friend has had an emergency section and elective and she said there’s such a difference, it’s not rushed, so much more relaxed. Hope this helps xx

I was also in the same boat a month ago! I had a traumatic emergency c section with my daughter almost 3 years ago, also after a long labour (over 24 hours) after being induced. My experience probably wasn’t as terrifying as yours, but I had a few complications from trying to birth my almost 11lb baby naturally. I was so so anxious leading up to my elective this time, and was quite fed up of people telling me that it’ll be so much better than the first time as I just really couldn’t believe them. So as cliche as this sounds, it was honestly the best experience. So much better that I’d happily do it again 😅 (let’s not tell my husband that!) Although I went into theatre this time sobbing my eyes out from PTSD, and we had some trouble getting my spinal in the right place which I didn’t experience first time round as I already had an epidural before going into emergency c section. That was the most painful part this time round.

follow csectionuk on instagram they’re really great for easing worries and giving you loads of info on what’s happening and when etc i felt so prepared going into my surgery i didn’t feel anxious as i knew why they were doing things and what to expect! helped a lot with my anxiety. i was originally an elective but went into labour naturally so it was all a bit rushed and panicked to get me in quickly!

Just to add too that the surgeons and all the staff in theatre were honestly the best which definitely helped, they took their time with me as they could see how emotional I was. I also felt very anxious when my legs went numb but the staff kept talking to me trying to take my mind off it, and would tell me what was happening each step of the way. I would definitely take a playlist with you, this also helped me to put my mind at ease. The shakes were uncontrollable this time which I didn’t experience last time, possibly because of the anaesthesia or a combination of that and my nerves. Recovery was also so much easier this time round (surprisingly, as baby boy was 11lbs 11oz 😅) maybe because it wasn’t an emergency like the first time (although I know it differs with different people). I think the only thing that might have been slightly worse this time was how long it took them to stitch me up. I don’t remember it being that long first time. You will be absolutely fine!!

I had an emergency c section for my first and a planned one for my second. The planned one was waaaaay different. I was worried abt it too and I quite foolishly looked up pictures of what happens during a c section 😅. Anyway it was way smoother the second time and I was terrified going in but the doctors, nurses, and anesthesiologists made me feel much calmer and I was able to focus on being able to meet my baby as soon as she came out. It’ll be fine and ur gonna do great! U can always speak up if there is a problem or have ur partner speak up for u in the operating room. The nurses will be asking u if ur okay during the procedure too.

My first was an emergency c section and I was so worried about trauma coming back up and my second was an elective c section and I can’t lie I was visibly shaking before they’d even put the spinal in because my anxiety was so bad. My best advice would be to focus on your breathing and keep speaking to people, whether it’s your partner or a midwife or anaesthetist as it really helps take your mind off it and calm you down. My partner wasn’t the best at keeping me occupied so the anaesthetist stepped in as she could tell I was panicking and she was amazing at keeping me calm and my mind off what was going on behind the curtain.

I had an elective section and the full experience was so calm. No rush, no stressing. Totally chilled experience. Was talked through everything they were doing and I’d do it all over again tomorrow x

Definitely tell them how anxious you are as they were really good trying to keep me calm and distracted for my last section.

had similar 3 and half years ago. Emergency c section with my first very traumatic time after 36hrs in labour. believe and think i have a slight ptsd from first birth but i received support from perinatal mental health team. Went on to have my second baby in July 2024. Although didn’t have a planned c section as I was adamant I wanted to experience a natural birth (lowers risk of long term adhesions/scarring problems) however that didn’t to plan, ended up needing an emergency c section again as baby went into distress, at which point the minute a c section was mentioned I went into shock mode, dizzy and vomiting with worry of the worst at then time think I was more frighted of having to have epidural/spinal for the c section. wish id had a planned c section with 2nd, as I actually am suffering mental health since needing emergency c section again. Anxiety, depression and constantly overwhelmed by everything, and struggle to bond with my 10week old.