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Thank you @Bennett_C_ 
This (apart from the slightly misleading title) hits the nail on the head and captures my experience of official attitudes to elective c-section.
This is going to turn into a thread, I can feel it...
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/nov/23/why-so-hard-to-allow-women-kind-of-labour-they-want
This (apart from the slightly misleading title) hits the nail on the head and captures my experience of official attitudes to elective c-section.
This is going to turn into a thread, I can feel it...
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/nov/23/why-so-hard-to-allow-women-kind-of-labour-they-want
1/
As a low risk pregnancy (though how a first-time mum can ever truly be considered low risk is a another question..), C-section was not on the table for me. A vaginal birth was presented as the only option, as if I had chosen this by the very fact of getting pregnant.
As a low risk pregnancy (though how a first-time mum can ever truly be considered low risk is a another question..), C-section was not on the table for me. A vaginal birth was presented as the only option, as if I had chosen this by the very fact of getting pregnant.
2/
HCPs sang the praises of the services available for vaginal birth from early on in my pregnancy, as well as my praises for being âlovely and low riskâ. By late on, the methods used were more directly coercive, âhave you visited our lovely midwife-led unit?â â
HCPs sang the praises of the services available for vaginal birth from early on in my pregnancy, as well as my praises for being âlovely and low riskâ. By late on, the methods used were more directly coercive, âhave you visited our lovely midwife-led unit?â â
3/
Epidural and labour ward were mentioned too, although they were presented as a âback-upâ for the midwife-led unit. C-section was nowhere in the discussion. Needless to say, I never saw an obstetrician in pregnancy or knew the name of any consultant assigned to my case.
Epidural and labour ward were mentioned too, although they were presented as a âback-upâ for the midwife-led unit. C-section was nowhere in the discussion. Needless to say, I never saw an obstetrician in pregnancy or knew the name of any consultant assigned to my case.
4/
The message as I understood it was I was expected to have a vaginal birth unless I wanted to be difficult and awkward and expose myself to shame. (To be fair to the NHS, this message was also prevalent outside of my healthcare appts - among some friends, family and the NCT).
The message as I understood it was I was expected to have a vaginal birth unless I wanted to be difficult and awkward and expose myself to shame. (To be fair to the NHS, this message was also prevalent outside of my healthcare appts - among some friends, family and the NCT).
5/
But a C-section was what I wanted. I was fearful of certain aspects of vaginal birth, which unfortunately, turned out to be prescient. Perhaps I have tokophobia, but since exactly what I feared happened, it seems more like I just knew instinctively what was best for me.
But a C-section was what I wanted. I was fearful of certain aspects of vaginal birth, which unfortunately, turned out to be prescient. Perhaps I have tokophobia, but since exactly what I feared happened, it seems more like I just knew instinctively what was best for me.
6/
(and, btw, I love what Catherine Bennett has to say on fear of birth when referring to the RCOG guidelines on choosing C-section:
âYou may, it kindly suggests, have âtokophobiaâ (extreme fear of childbirth). No, mate. Though you may have overactive paternalismâ.
)
(and, btw, I love what Catherine Bennett has to say on fear of birth when referring to the RCOG guidelines on choosing C-section:
âYou may, it kindly suggests, have âtokophobiaâ (extreme fear of childbirth). No, mate. Though you may have overactive paternalismâ.
)
7/
Anyway, unfortunately for me, I never dared to voice my preference for C-section. I feel an idiot for that now... But I can only say that when my baby's position and my blood pressure etc were all praised for being 'normal', mentioning C-section became impossible for me.
Anyway, unfortunately for me, I never dared to voice my preference for C-section. I feel an idiot for that now... But I can only say that when my baby's position and my blood pressure etc were all praised for being 'normal', mentioning C-section became impossible for me.
8/
Iâll never know whether, had I raised my preference, it would have been plain sailing to an elective c-section... I can only assume it would probably not have been, judging by the RCOGâs guidelines (linked to in Catherine Bennett's article) that I mentioned above...
Iâll never know whether, had I raised my preference, it would have been plain sailing to an elective c-section... I can only assume it would probably not have been, judging by the RCOGâs guidelines (linked to in Catherine Bennett's article) that I mentioned above...
9/
These RCOG guidelines on choosing C-section are really interesting for making sense of why C-section was never mentioned to me. The benefits of vaginal birth has its own section, whereas the benefits of c-section are grudgingly presented as âreasons you may want a C-sectionâ.
These RCOG guidelines on choosing C-section are really interesting for making sense of why C-section was never mentioned to me. The benefits of vaginal birth has its own section, whereas the benefits of c-section are grudgingly presented as âreasons you may want a C-sectionâ.
10/
This framing of all benefits of C-section as illusions runs through that document, e.g.: âHaving a planned caesarean section may make you feel more in control and avoid the anxieties and uncertainties of going into labour naturally, butâŠâ
This framing of all benefits of C-section as illusions runs through that document, e.g.: âHaving a planned caesarean section may make you feel more in control and avoid the anxieties and uncertainties of going into labour naturally, butâŠâ
11/
It is funny how in trying to negate the reasons women might choose a c-section, the RCOG document reveals and reinforces for me, many of my own. Feeling in control was a major factor for me. In addition were some very personal factors:
It is funny how in trying to negate the reasons women might choose a c-section, the RCOG document reveals and reinforces for me, many of my own. Feeling in control was a major factor for me. In addition were some very personal factors:
12/
-Sleep deprivation
Knowing that vaginal birth often takes many days (in my case it would be 6), I feared entering the overwhelming new world of caring for another life around the clock having not slept at all. This happened and was as distressing and harmful as I predicted...
-Sleep deprivation
Knowing that vaginal birth often takes many days (in my case it would be 6), I feared entering the overwhelming new world of caring for another life around the clock having not slept at all. This happened and was as distressing and harmful as I predicted...
13/
- Wanting to avoid psychological distress
Of course, I can't know what the elective C-section I didnât have would've been like, but instead of finding out, I became one of the many women to experience serious distress (though not PTSD, thankfully) from a vaginal birth.
- Wanting to avoid psychological distress
Of course, I can't know what the elective C-section I didnât have would've been like, but instead of finding out, I became one of the many women to experience serious distress (though not PTSD, thankfully) from a vaginal birth.
14/
- Some of the risks were not of significance to me
I was planning one child, so the risks to later pregs were irrelevant. My husband, having planned/saved to take weeks off work as a self-employed person, meant coping alone with the recovery was also not of huge concern.
- Some of the risks were not of significance to me
I was planning one child, so the risks to later pregs were irrelevant. My husband, having planned/saved to take weeks off work as a self-employed person, meant coping alone with the recovery was also not of huge concern.
15/
But a person-centred discussion that would have allowed me to raise these concerns (and lack of concerns) never happened...
But a person-centred discussion that would have allowed me to raise these concerns (and lack of concerns) never happened...
16/
The only choice I was presented with was between the midwife-led unit and the labour ward, though once in early labour and begging for induction, the labour ward was in fact not a choice and I had to fulfil certain criteria of being in established labour for transfer there.
The only choice I was presented with was between the midwife-led unit and the labour ward, though once in early labour and begging for induction, the labour ward was in fact not a choice and I had to fulfil certain criteria of being in established labour for transfer there.
17/
My vaginal birth was everything I feared/predicted. It caused excessive sleep deprivation & distress and set me up badly for parenthood. I wish I'd followed my instincts and asked for a C-section. But had I done so, what scrutiny would I have had to go through for my choice?
My vaginal birth was everything I feared/predicted. It caused excessive sleep deprivation & distress and set me up badly for parenthood. I wish I'd followed my instincts and asked for a C-section. But had I done so, what scrutiny would I have had to go through for my choice?
