My husband and I are trying to conceive. It's taken a long time for me to get to this point due to my extreme fear of giving birth. I know birth makes many women nervous/fearful, but I think mine would be considered beyond ''normal", I'm not even pregnant but yet for years have experienced regular panic attacks and nightmares about birth. I've done reasearch and when weighing the positives and risks, I believe I want to elect for a c-section when the time comes. Due to my anxiety and panic attack disorder I worry the vaginal birth option would result in me making it harder on myself and the baby as I'd be tense and panicking, I worry this will increase the risk of an emergency cesarean anyway.
Has anyone else experienced this? Will I struggle to find an obstetrician supportive of c-sections for mental health reasons?
Would love some thoughts. ❤❤❤
7 Replies
I don’t think you will have trouble finding support for this decision especially if you go privately.
Good luck
If you go private, they will 100% honour your decision without hesitation.
I just told my OB at my first appointment I will be having an elective c-section and she was fine with that. My sister said the same to her OB and he was also respectful of that decision without swaying her.
For private OBs, they prefer c-sections anyways as they can schedule their time better.
PS - LOVEEEEEDDDDD my elective c-section and recovery was fine, hardly any pain and was back and active within a week.
I used to fear birth also but I can tell you i had one very traumatic birth and it still wasn’t as bad as the fear I had of the birth. I have had 2 natural and one ceserean and ceserean is peace of mind when someone is at risk. Epidural is amazing and when you are pregnant, you don’t seem to think of the birth like you do when you aren’t. It defiantly changes & the fear lessens.
Go private and you'll be ok. Just remember, things can also go wrong with CS and I would actually get some counselling now so that your mental health is at its best.
I didn't have your anxiety surrounding birthing a baby but here are my experiences.
My first baby was an emergency csection due to bub getting stuck after an induction. My epidural was a God send as my contraction were hectic and one after the other all on top of each other. I wasn't getting any time to relax or breath. When we got to the pushing stage, I pushed for a couple of hours and he wasn't coming. Bub was out an hour after the csection was called.
Even though it was classed as an emergency csection. It was so calm and relaxed, compared to my induction experience, that with my second baby I opted for a Scheduled csection. I had her in a public hospital and the OB that I saw was happy for me to have a csection.
I would definitely be seeing someone about your fears and worries but also I don't think you would have a problem with an OB agreeing to a scheduled csection on the ground of your anxiety and mental health
Go private and you shouldn’t have dramas. I know people who have opted for c sections with no medical reason. Public will def give you dramas and it will make it more stressful.
I also did not want to go through natural birth. I had two elective C -sections through private and both obs were totally fine. Didn't question me. One even said he prefers c-sections as most of the time they end up in a c-section. I loved my c-section births!!!!! Best thing about the whole pregnancy if you ask me. Only pain the next day when they get you up but nothing some pain killers can't help. The whole surgery process takes about an hour, super quick!