Working mothers and C sections

[formergothardite]

Not no one. Few people, but not none.

And I'm very very surprised you could have surgery and no painkillers afterwards. That's amazing.

I'm not. One of my cousins had a C-section and the next day she was up walking around like it was nothing. She took nothing but regular Tylenol after she got home from the hospital. Some people just recover easily.

[Childless]

I ended up with an emergency c-section after my son got jammed up in the birth canal. I pushed for 3 hours before they finally took me to the OR. The poor thing had a bruise covering his entire forehead, a black eye, a bruise across his cheek, and an open sore on the back of his head. He looked like he'd been in a bar fight. He was in so much pain. All the bruising caused jaundice and we were in the hospital 4 days trying to get his billirubin levels down. When we went home, we had to rent a billi blanket which he wore for the first week of his life. The traumatic birth also caused skull deformation for which he was in a helmet from 6 months to 1 year of age. Two and a half years later, we're still dealing with the fall out from the birth.

If I ever get pregnant again, you're damn right I'm scheduling a c-section. There's no way I'm putting another child through that. My poor little boy has done nothing but suffer due to my attempt to deliver vaginally. I wish I would have insisted on the c-section sooner.

[lorem ipsum]

I'm not. One of my cousins had a C-section and the next day she was up walking around like it was nothing. She took nothing but regular Tylenol after she got home from the hospital. Some people just recover easily.

This was my experience after a c-section for twins (tried vaginal, first boy got stuck for no apparent reason and after 22 hours of labor with 3 hours of pushing, I gratefully accepted my doctor's recommendation of switching to a c-section). I was dreading the recovery after all the horror stories I'd heard, but I was up and walking in half a day, had no problem going up and down stairs in our 2-storey home or bending over cribs, etc. And all I ever took was Tylenol.

Surprised the hell out of me since I do NOT have a high pain tolerance, but my recovery was honestly a breeze. I realize my experience is probably not typical though!

[Trynn]

Some people recover faster than others. I've never had a c section, but when I got out of the hospital after My appendectomy it wasn't the pain that bothered me, it was the side affects of the anesthesia and pain killers. I still needed them, but I decided I'd rather be able ro empty my own bladder (yes, they let me out of the hospital before I could do that. Unsurprisingly I had to go straight back in a few hours later.)

I'm also told that not all medication is tranfered through breast milk, so that might or might not be Lori showing off her lack of research.

I personally would not want to be dealing with abdominal surgery and a baby. It does not seem convenient at all.

[bekkah]

My sister was born via c section because my mom showed up at the hospital to late to turn the baby. She was a breech baby with her knee coming out, they had to get her to the OR stat so they could save the leg. Mom and sister doing fine.

I came along and I ended up being a big baby. 9 lbs and they decided to do a csection because my mom was worried about the VBAC and me being such a big baby. Her brother was a 11 lb baby and she said he looked awful after birth, she didn't want that for me. She could have pushed for a few hours and then just went to the OR anyway.

Its all about what is right for you. Csections are sometimes the only safe way to deliver a child.

[Jana814]

Its all about what is right for you. Csections are sometimes the only safe way to deliver a child.

Agree!! I have a Facebook friend that had stated (on Facebook) that if it was not for c-section she & her mother would be dead.

[bananacat]

Honestly, even in those rare cases where a woman decides to have a C-section "for convenience", I expect there are other health reasons behind it, like maybe extreme anxiety that is undiagnosed and untreated. So even that unicorn in the survey that did the unthinkable probably did have a legitimate medical reason for it. I have an anxiety disorder and that doesn't mean I just get a little more nervous than other people. I could easily see a woman with extreme terror over an uncontrollable vaginal birth requesting a C-section to have some feeling of control over the situation. I wouldn't personally do that, but I could see it manifesting that way in some women. Health reasons aren't just about the baby, either. And anxiety is a pretty serious health issue even it if "only" mental.

[Katiebug]

The argument that a planned C-section would be desirable to a "working mother" doesn't even make sense. A C-section has a longer, more painful recovery than an uncomplicated vaginal birth. A woman in a hurry to go back to work wouldn't be likely to sign up for that, would she? (Recovery from a C-section is definitely easier than recovery from a birth with complications- this comment isn't meant to contradict the previous post.)

The only way this could be a "working mom" issue is that typically a woman with short term disability coverage will get 8 weeks of short term disability after a C-section and only 6 after a vaginal birth. If a woman is not eligible for FMLA or can't afford to take any unpaid leave, then a C-section might seem like a way to have a little more time off. I'm not saying it makes any sense but I can see how it might sound appealing. That's more an issue with our extremely inhumane and family-unfriendly maternity leave situation in the US than anything inherent to working moms vs. SAHMs.

Primary, scheduled elective C-sections in the US are quite rare, despite the entertainment media's breathless discussions of various celebrities being "too posh to push". It may be coded as elective, but IMO for a woman with a history of severe trauma or who has massive anxiety about a vaginal birth, a primary C-section at her request is about her mental health (not just physical).

I was induced for medical reasons (pre-eclampsia) at 39 weeks with our first. My OB said he wanted to do everything in his power to have me deliver vaginally, due to the increased risks of a C-section for the baby and particularly for me. I did have a successful vaginal birth with a quick and uneventful recovery.

I have to be honest, at 36 weeks pregnant with our second child my husband and I have discussed the fact that a scheduled (i.e. elective) induction would be logistically easier than going into labor on my own. I could have things fully wrapped up at work before my leave, scheduling of the baby starting daycare would be easier, everything would be ready to go around the house, and we could get our daughter and dog off to my parents' at our leisure rather than a rush. My OB doesn't do elective inductions before 39 weeks, for very good reasons that I agree with 100%. I would not choose to be induced for non-medical reasons before my due date, and I know from experience that inductions are no picnic - but if I hit 40 weeks I'll have absolutely no guilt about asking to be induced thereafter.

[AVENues]

Why does she like to bring people down and make them feel like shit? There are some assholes that love to tell C section moms that their birth was not a birth, they have never given birth, they have never suffered for their child so they won't appreciate them - rly?! esp the ones after a 24hr labor experience... - and that they aren't real mothers. They tend to rub this under C section mommies noses. I think it's thoughtless, soulless and nonsensical... it's like pouring salt into their scar. Lori is a despicable human being who totally lacks a brain and empathy. Yes, whoever said it, she should eat shit and die. Heartless, even tramp. If she worships a god that puts thoughts like that into her big airhead, then I want to worship Satan.

[Savoring Samsara]

This was my experience after a c-section for twins (tried vaginal, first boy got stuck for no apparent reason and after 22 hours of labor with 3 hours of pushing, I gratefully accepted my doctor's recommendation of switching to a c-section). I was dreading the recovery after all the horror stories I'd heard, but I was up and walking in half a day, had no problem going up and down stairs in our 2-storey home or bending over cribs, etc. And all I ever took was Tylenol.

Surprised the hell out of me since I do NOT have a high pain tolerance, but my recovery was honestly a breeze. I realize my experience is probably not typical though!

I'm envious. My unplanned c-section followed 30 hours of labor. I couldn't even sit up on my own for two days afterwards without experiencing pain worse than any of my contractions. And praise be to the good drugs they sent me home with, which got me through the worst of the recovery. Still, it took me months afterwards to start feeling even remotely normal. If and when we have another kid, I definitely want to go for a VBAC. I never want to go through that kind of a recovery again.

[salsa]

Not no one. Few people, but not none.

And I'm very very surprised you could have surgery and no painkillers afterwards. That's amazing.

duly noted. :doh:

[lilith]

My first two caesareans were about as elective as Lori's brain surgeries, and my last was medically indicated. Lori can fuck right off.

[mockingbird]

The only person I know who had an "elective" C-section was having one for her second child after an emergency C-section with her first child. It wasn't safe for her to have a vaginal delivery. Like someone else said, it was considered "elective" because it was planned in advance (and she did get to pick her date within the window her doctor gave her) but medically necessary.

[rward]

Some people recover faster than others. I've never had a c section, but when I got out of the hospital after My appendectomy it wasn't the pain that bothered me, it was the side affects of the anesthesia and pain killers. I still needed them, but I decided I'd rather be able ro empty my own bladder (yes, they let me out of the hospital before I could do that. Unsurprisingly I had to go straight back in a few hours later.)

I'm also told that not all medication is tranfered through breast milk, so that might or might not be Lori showing off her lack of research.

I personally would not want to be dealing with abdominal surgery and a baby. It does not seem convenient at all.

I had the "old style" appy 20 years ago and I took Tylenol afterwards. It hurt, but so do menstrual cramps.

[lorem ipsum]

I'm envious. My unplanned c-section followed 30 hours of labor. I couldn't even sit up on my own for two days afterwards without experiencing pain worse than any of my contractions. And praise be to the good drugs they sent me home with, which got me through the worst of the recovery. Still, it took me months afterwards to start feeling even remotely normal. If and when we have another kid, I definitely want to go for a VBAC. I never want to go through that kind of a recovery again.

It's amazing how different experiences are, isn't it?! We're not planning on having any more kids, but if we did I would absolutely have another c-section. I know I'm "supposed" to want a VBAC, but my c-section experience was so good and my labor experience so bad (toward the end I was SO tired that my contractions started disappearing, and continued to fade even when they put me on pitocin as a last ditch effort) that I wouldn't even want to try. :/

I hope if you have another little one that your VBAC is successful and your recovery easy! :)

[NotALoserLikeYou]

Lots of celebrities have had elective Csections because they did not want to experience labor: Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears, Jessica Simpson, Liz Hurley, Victoria Beckhams first birth. Denise Richards scheduled one because of Charlie's schedule but went into labor earlier (they still did a csection). I've heard it for wives of athletes too.

My midwife told me (yes shes a gossip, she told people about my birth in a very traumatizing way and we obviously had a falling out, but I digress) that she was at cedars when Madonna had an elective csection. She tried to get it done at I think 36 weeks but the dr refused so she fired him and got one who would. She didn't want to gain any more weight or have her abdomen (see what I did there, not stomach) stretched anymore.

[August]

Yes, I know someone who had talked her OB into letting her have a c-section (she was scared of tearing), but afterwards she was diagnosed with previa, so it became necessary. She would have had one regardless, though. She then circumcised her baby boy, because apparently only vaginas are precious.

She is the only person IRL I know for a fact had a non-indicated c-section. Online people who've claimed to I take with a grain of salt.

[August]

Lots of celebrities have had elective Csections because they did not want to experience labor: Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears, Jessica Simpson, Liz Hurley, Victoria Beckhams first birth. Denise Richards scheduled one because of Charlie's schedule but went into labor earlier (they still did a csection). I've heard it for wives of athletes too.

.

I don't believe it of all of them. You wouldn't come out and tell people you had active herpes and therefore needed a c-section, would you? There are lots of reasons why they might not want to share with the world.

[moonbeam59]

I can't imagine choosing to undergo an unnecessary C-section, but honestly, I think what a woman chooses for her own body is her business.

[keen23]

I've had multiple c-sections, and the recovery got easier with each one. The first was the worst, because it was an emergency c-section after a failed induction- so I was just exhausted from the beginning and could never catch up. The other two were a breeze. I picked the days- Wednesdays. I slept in the day of- afternoon sections were scheduled. I had spinals that wore off quickly, so I was up and moving very soon afterwards. They weren't elective c-sections, in that my OB did not encourage VBACs at that time in her practice, and due to the way my induction failed, I wasn't a good candidate anyways.

[quinoa]

I'm a little surprised that elective c-sections are so rare, according to this board. When I was pregnant 6 years ago, another woman in my department who was due around the same time with her first scheduled a c-section like it was no big deal and said it was because labor sounded yucky and she wasn't that into stuff like that.

Another woman in the department, in a conversation that had nothing to do with the first woman, asked me whether I was scheduling a c-section. When I told her I thought I'd just give it a go the regular way she became angry with me and told me I was stupid and putting myself and my baby at risk and that the only safe way to give birth was via scheduled c-section. She never spoke to me again, which I thought was a little weird since she didn't really have any investment in my pregnancy to begin with, but I came away from that period of time with the impression that scheduling a c-section was a thing you could pretty easily do. This was in a major US city.

Re: mammograms, I've had two in the last six months (at 30 years of age), one at a world-renowned cancer center where signs were posted on the machines explaining that the radiation from a mammogram was equivalent to 30 minutes of background radiation from being on Earth. I'm not sure how that translates in terms of chest x-rays, nor did I consult medical literature to verify the veracity of the claim. I don't think they're very dangerous, though.

Neither facility would perform a breast ultrasound, which was what I really needed both times, without first performing a mammogram. At least in these two large medical facilities (part of a much larger conglomeration of hospitals, medical schools, and research centers) mammogram is still the standard of care, and they have to money and equipment to switch to ultrasound or MRI.

Again, I haven't done an exhaustive search of literature, but the evidence for mammograms doing more harm than good generally falls into the "false positive causes unnecessary stress for patients" arena, as opposed to RADIATION GIVES YOU CANCER THROW AWAY YOUR MICROWAVE.

Edited: paragraph fixin'

[Blahblah]

Add my two cents to the c-section recovery. I was up and about the same day. Csection at 7.00am, walking around by 7.00pm. Only pain killers were paracetamol. And I discharged myself from hospital early too. I was driving again within a week.

But I will add that because my csections were for transverse lie babies and therefore scheduled, I didn't go through hours of labour first which probably helped my recovery.

[Coconut Flan]

The stories above about women choosing to have I'll say totally self-selected c-sections and the rapidly rising rate of c-sections, is what lead the local hospitals and many insurance plans to change their policies and procedures. It's been changing over the last two to four years in this area. I used to hear of women deciding that they didn't want to labor and that c-sections were "easier" and doctors agreeing. The last two years though not at all here.

[LadyBlue]

Why does she like to bring people down and make them feel like shit? There are some assholes that love to tell C section moms that their birth was not a birth, they have never given birth, they have never suffered for their child so they won't appreciate them - rly?! esp the ones after a 24hr labor experience... - and that they aren't real mothers. They tend to rub this under C section mommies noses. I think it's thoughtless, soulless and nonsensical... it's like pouring salt into their scar. Lori is a despicable human being who totally lacks a brain and empathy. Yes, whoever said it, she should eat shit and die. Heartless, even tramp. If she worships a god that puts thoughts like that into her big airhead, then I want to worship Satan.

I don't feel that my cesarean was a birth. It was a violation, imo. But that's my opinion about my eldest son's entrance to the world. He was born, but I was gutted like a fish. If other women are happy with their cesareans and feel like it was a birth, more power to them. I kind of wish I could feel that way. I don't get to tell them they can't feel that way, so long as they respect that I get to feel about mine the way I do.

I'm envious. My unplanned c-section followed 30 hours of labor. I couldn't even sit up on my own for two days afterwards without experiencing pain worse than any of my contractions. And praise be to the good drugs they sent me home with, which got me through the worst of the recovery. Still, it took me months afterwards to start feeling even remotely normal. If and when we have another kid, I definitely want to go for a VBAC. I never want to go through that kind of a recovery again.

I'm very envious too. It took me over a year to finally be pain free the majority of the time after my cesarean. I was on heavy duty pain killers for at least 2 months. I couldn't shower/dry myself or walk upstairs without help for weeks. I had pain from my incision..which was NOT a bikini cut, but a horizontal line halfway between where it normally is and my belly button, as well as severe pain from the spinal site. I would sit on the couch sobbing in pain nursing my baby, because my belly hurt so much and I couldn't lean back either because of the pain in my back. I *still* get pain from the spinal site if any pressure is put on it and my eldest will be 12 in August.

I finally visited a physiotherapist when my son was just over a year who used ultrasound on my scar and had me do an exercise (modified plank, basically), which ripped the adhesions that were the main source of my pain by that point. He said all women who had cesareans should be advised to do the exercise after healing. Oh, and on top of everything else, I wound up with a seroma and had to be sliced open a bit again at 6 weeks and have a "wick" of gauze stuck in me to drain it. Fun times.

I had 3 VBACS after that. Being able to shower and walk around immediately after birth was amazing. I had severe bruising with second son since he "helpfully" came out facing sideways and it was still so much better than the cesarean, they weren't even in the same universe.

[OnceModestTwiceShy]

Yes, I know someone who had talked her OB into letting her have a c-section (she was scared of tearing), but afterwards she was diagnosed with previa, so it became necessary. She would have had one regardless, though. She then circumcised her baby boy, because apparently only vaginas are precious.

She is the only person IRL I know for a fact had a non-indicated c-section. Online people who've claimed to I take with a grain of salt.

Sorry, I really don't want to derail to a circumcision argument, but... :clap: :clap: :clap:

ETA, back on topic: I don't have a link but I remember the interview with Britney Spears when she was pregnant with her first where she said she was scheduling a C-section because she didn't want to get stretched out.