Vaginal Birth or C Section?!

I would always choose vaginal delivery. 1000%, unless you have a medical restriction I am very cautious about my body and health as well I was paranoid about epidural, I was so scared of the side effects I actually experienced most of them right after I received the epidural 😂 My body was super itchy, my blood pressure was dropping etc. But then it was all good And my delivery was painless I would also say PLEASANT my husband was stressing out like crazy so I had to support him emotionally between pushes 😂 No side effects after the delivery And no pain I never took any pain killers after the delivery I am joking that I delivered like a cat and I was ready to go home right away lol In my opinion c-section is way more difficult in terms of recovery I was super scared of the possibility of it But sometimes it’s the only option for both a baby and Mom!

Personally I think if you have a very low pain threshold and panic that much when something doesn’t feel right in your body, you might struggle with a c section. I found a lot of the surgical prep painful and got panicky as your body can do weird things in/just after surgery and as a result of all the drugs. Recovery can also be very painful! Everyone is different though.

I had an elective c section due to the same reasons as you and it was a positive experience. I liked the fact I felt in control, I knew when I was having my baby, I knew that I was in the best place if anything where to go wrong the surgeons would be on it straight away. I liked the fact there was no risk of an emergency c section. Everything was really calm, the surgeons and theatre staff were really reassuring and supportive I’m on day 8 of recovery and doing really well and my scar is healing well too and I haven’t taken pain killers since day 3 x

I haven’t given birth yet so I can’t speak from experience. But I have a doula to help me with understanding and preparing for the birth process. I have a very low pain tolerance and through our conversation she told me that at any point in labor I can get the epidural (even if I’m not in true “pain” yet). She also said when they hook you up to the IV they have various medications they can give you through the IV. One specifically for anxiety which could maybe help you in your situation? I would talk to your OB/hospital to get a better idea of their process and maybe things they can provide to help you through the pain and anxiety issues you may encounter.

Vaginal with epidural 🙌🏻 I couldn't imagine looking after a newborn and having to recover from surgery myself. My first, I had my gallbladder out when she was 4 months old and recovering from that while looking after her wasn't ideal. Labour hurts. There's no denying it. Breathing through contractions does help. There's power in providing your brain with oxygen and breathing through. My second, I presented to hospital fully dilated and requested an epidural. I got that and it was a great birthing experience. My heartrate sky-rocketed, which had everyone else a bit nervous, but I felt perfectly fine. The catheter is great too, not having to get up to pee was amazing 😅

i have no pain tolerance, i wince brushing a knot out of my hair i’m a massive wuss and i had such bad anxiety about giving birth as you hear about how painful it is and you know it’s gonna be painful cause a baby is coming out of your vagina like how messed up is that🫣 but that being said, i managed. i demanded an epidural at 2cm and refused to speak to anyone because the pain was intense, but once i got the epidural i was fine, wouldn’t even think i was about to have a baby😂 the idea is always worse than the actual thing, so try and keep that in mind. i ended up being told i’d be taken for an emergency section as baby’s heart rate was dropping and we had sepsis markers, but i was absolutely terrified of the thought of surgery so i ignored their advice and ended up with horrendous tearing😅

@Aimee this is my worry! The horrendous tearing 🙈🙈

Having delivered both vaginally & via c section I can assure you that the c section is more painful. If there’s no medical reason to have a c section it’s a hell of a lot to put yourself through. There was a girl in the bed opposite me & she felt very much like you did. She had no medical reason for a c section she was concerned anxiously about the pain so was refused to have one. I see her now at a toddler group & she said she took one look at me & was so glad she didn’t have one. I’ve got a pretty good pain tolerance so I dread to think what I would have looked like or how I would have handled it if I had a low pain threshold. I’m in no way saying a vaginal birth is easy or not painful I think maybe some more consideration of pain relief may be a better option for you. I only had gas & air & it was so painful. However once I had her & got through the 13hrs of pain it was mostly over. I’m due to deliver again in 6 weeks & im gutted it looks like another c section.

I feel like although a c section will probably be tougher with pain recovery wise, for your health anxiety (which is what I have and choosing a c section!), an elective c section would be ideal as you are more in control x

I ended up having an emergency C-section with my first and hoping to go into natural with my second! (My recovery couldn't have been more perfect either with only needing paracetamol and ibuprofen), but the fear every night and pain from the heparin injections was awful! It was worse pain/fear than from the contractions of an oversensitive reaction to the induction!

it took about 8 weeks to recover from the tearing because i ended up losing 3L of blood, in hindsight i should’ve just gone for the section as it probably would’ve been more controlled. the only reason i tore was baby was pulled out too quick which i didn’t really have much of a part in😂