C-Section Vs. Natural Birth?

Question

I'm not ready to have children yet for another few years but I have to ask this.. If I am very very very bad at handling pain and I faint from just a shot.. How do I handle giving birth? Would doctors give me a C-Section birth for this reason alone or just from me wanting it or can they only give it if the baby is breached?

If you had a C-Section was it painful? Did you miss that first moment when your child comes out?

How painful is a natural birth?

What's a good age physically where the body is mature and able to handle it.. By age 21/22 it would be fine right?

Answer 1

Trust me when the time comes to give birth the natural way, the "superwoman" in you comes out. Even if you think that you are bad at handling pain, your body will step up to the challenge immediately, because your body was designed for such a challenge. Besides, you can have an epidural to make it easier for you - it won't be totally pain-free but it won't be painful either.

I had a vaginal birth with my daughter, with an epidural of course. When the time came to start pushing the baby out, I didn't feel any pain, only a sort of pressure on the birth canal. And I was so focused on the pushing and timing it with the contraction, that I wasn;t even thinking if I was in pain or not. I'm sure I wasn't in pain because I don't remember it. =)

I never had a C-section, but my mother-in-law had two. She said that the postpartum recovery process was awful. She couldn't do anything afterwards because of the surgery. It took her a long time to recover and be up and running again. With my vaginal birth experience, sure I was sore down there postpartum (I had an episiotomy), but by the end of the 3rd week, I was fine. By the 6th week postpartum visit, everything was back to normal, bodywise, and I was up and running again.

The bonuses of a natural birth: you get to see your baby right away, as soon as he/she comes out, postpartum recovery is fast, and you won't have scarring or scar tissue in your uterus from a surgical incision - like the one you'll get if you have a c-section. I'm not saying that a C-section is bad. Of course it is vital if the pregnancy has complications (such as a breech baby, cord wrapped around the baby, etc.), I'm just saying that if you can do a natural birth, then why not go for it? If it's only fear of the pain that's keeping you back, well there's always help for it - like an epidural. And besides, being able to face your fear and say that you've done it, gives you power and more self-confidence.

You're a woman, you have the power, you can do it!

Answer 2

When the time comes for you to give birth, you will be able to handle it. Your body takes over and nine times out of ten, if you go natural, you won't remember the pain, especially when you hold your baby for the first time and look into their face. We were meant to handle the child birth because when the time comes we can handle it better than men can. It is understandable to be scared because you don't know how your labor will go, each person is different, each pregnancy is different. I have had three babies, all vaginal, we are still deciding if we want a fourth, if we do then I am going for a voluntary c-section, because I want a tubal ligation done at the same time, to save on hospital stays. However I did enjoy the short recovery time from having my other three babies vaginally. C-section is a major surgery that you need to be absolutely positive that you want it and the recovery afterwards. Doctors say that when you have a c-section, you cannot lift anything heavier than your baby, no carrying diaper bags or baby in the carseat because you can rupture your stitches and bleed uncontrollably. You really need to look into everything about c-sections and vaginal birth. You must obtain all the information you possibly can before making this decision. It is your body and your decision, but please do educate yourself on everything, it will help you make an informed decision on what type of child birth to go through. If I was not going to have a tubal ligation done, then my next baby would be a vaginal delivery as well. There are many different forms of pain relief that are available to you during labor and delivery, look into those as well. My first baby I had completely natural, no pain relief, nothing, because I too feared shots in my back. My second and third babies, I had epidurals and I absolutely loved them, because I was actually able to enjoy the process of giving birth without being in pain. So just be absolutely sure to completely educate yourself before getting pregnant on the different forms of childbirth out there. Only you can make the decision as to what you want to do.

Answer 3

I am 61 years old so feel qualified to answer this question. I had natural birth myself. My daughter had her first child at 17 (married) and her body was not really mature enough to give birth. She tried to birth the baby and could not so after 30 hours of labor the baby was starting to be in trouble so they took it by c-section. She was a minimum of 6 weeks to heal up with a LOT of pain. Her second and 3rd child were born naturally and the pain was over when the child was born. She strongly advises all women to have a natural birth if possible if for no other reason than the recovery time. I can't imagine how it would be to try to take care of a new born baby while being stitched up from hip to hip. I am sure if you talk to your doctor (or midwife) and tell them of your pain level and also your fears they will help you overcome that. Don't be afraid it is worth it.

Answer 4

I had a C-Section just last June. I have to tell you from talking to other mothers who have had a vaginal birth that the recovery time for a C-Section is a lot harder. I could not get up out of bed without a lot of pain for about a month. I did miss out on the first moment when my son came out but within an hour I was holding him. Also with a C-Section you have to either get a Spinal shot or Epidural shot in your back. Not painful. Trust me.

Well I hope that helps.

Answer 5

Child birth is painful, but you'd be amazed what you can do. We are made to have children....I have 2 children, both vaginally. The first was with an epidural, and wasn't hard at all. My second was all nautural with no drugs, and wasn't too bad either...you forget about the pain when you hold your child for the first time! I recovered a lot faster after my second one. C-sections are major surgery. Major surgery = PAIN, and a longer recovery. The lower half of your body is draped, so you can't see your baby being born. Good luck to you in the future!

Answer 6

My first son was born natural and I am not going to lie to you, the contractions hurt so so so bad. But after having him I hurt but it was dealable. My second son, I labored not to bad of a labor this time, I guess it's all how you deal with pain, and ended up with a c-section. The c-section was aweful! It hurt more than anything I've ever felt in my life. But then again I had never had major surgery before either. My third child, was a planned c-section because there was that 50/50 chance that I was going to do the same with her as I did my second and go through all the contractions only to end up in a c-section. I was not going to take that chance. So to me, if I could, I would do natural birth. It's less time to heal and the after effect is what I like better. The c-section hurt so bad afterwards. And yes, I did feel like I missed out when I couldn't deliver my son, but just as soon as they took him out, he was placed in my hubbys arms and at my face. So it wasn't bad on that part.

Answer 7

You can schedule c-sections..people do it all the time. I would recommend a natural birth because with a c-section you miss the birth and you can't see a thing plus there's always that surgery recovery which means a longer stay in the hospital. With the natural delivery, you get to see the birth and even though there is pain there is always drugs for that :)

Answer 8

after 9 months of lugging around a baby inside u you will just be happy to get it out. natural birth with an epi is the smartest way i had the same concerns and when it was over i laughed about all the horor stories i had heard it wasn't as painful as kidney stones. its ur choice but there are more needles and cuts with a c section more pain with them. and you could miss the first moment either way i did because my baby was having problems. Isaac is now 6 mos old and i can look back and laugh at all the things that went wrong because he is so perfect. My husband got to hold him first.

Answer 9

Hate to tell you this, but you're going to have pain with either option. My baby is two weeks old and we went in for a planned induction due to some medical complications I was experiencing. However, upon being hooked up to all of the medical monitors, the baby was stressing so we ended up having an emergency c-section.

I have a high pain tolerance so was prepared for natural birth. I had asked not to have any type of epidural or spinal block and minimal medications via I.V. Because I hadn't opted for a block, I ended up being put to sleep for the operation. My regret isn't for myself but for my bf as I had wanted him to be present for the birth of our son but wasn't able to be in the operating room because I had to be put completley out. I asked for the morphine drip to be stopped as soon as possible following the c-section and was able to tolerate the pain with the use of Ibuprofen. Two days after the surgery, I stopped all medications. It's now 16 days later and I know when I move too quickly or wrong. I also still have some mild to moderate cramping (just the uterus trying to get back to it's pre-pregnancy size) but again, for me it's tolerable.

I'm a firm believer that pain is a matter of mind. If you have it in your head that you're going to be in extreme amounts of pain, you will be. I anticipated some discomfort and it's been tolerable. I've not used any medications for 14 days now and I feel great!

Answer 10

The only time a C-section is done is if the baby and or the mother is in danger of losing their lives.

As far as the pain, you will deal with and actual get over it when it is all said and done. I thought the same way and all though it hurt it is well worth what you have to go through for that wonderful little person.