is a c section as painful as natural birth?

Question

I think I will end up with a c section because it runs in my family.

Answer 1

actually my wife discribed it as feeling alot of pressure but no pain during the c section, but she was hurting the next day and the recovery time is longer....the hospital stay is usually 4 days and I think 4 to 6 weeks of taking it easy. I remember the first week she wasn't supposed to lift anything heaver than our daughter and to avoid going up and down stairs. We are planning to have another so it couldn't have been too bad.

Answer 2

First, saying c-sections run in my family is ridiculous. Doctors do them for many reasons, some not necessarily needed. You are your own person, and unless you are having complications with your pregnancy, you should be able to deliver vaginally. C-sections are a different kind of pain. No pain during the surgery because you are numb from the chest down. The pain comes afterwards when the anesthesia wears off. You are extremely sore afterwards and are usually on pain medication during your hospital stay. You need to be informed regarding the 2 types of deliveries, and keep an open mind to both. You really don't know what will happen at this point, and speculating does no good.

Answer 3

I've had both. I had an emergency c-section with my first. During the procedure I, of course, felt nothing. the recovery was uncomfortable, but not incredibly painful. I stopped taking the narcotic painkillers after the first day. The hardest part was getting to a sitting up position from laying down because your abdominal muscles have been severed.....My second delivery was vaginal. The labor was extremely painful until I got the epidural and that didn't "take" entirely, although, for the most part I was comfortable. The aftermath of the birth was quite painful. I had to have a significant episiotomy and for days afterward, I could hardly stand up straight or sit down comfortably (between that and the milk coming in). Altogether, I would absolutely say, hands down, that the aftermath of the vaginal birth was significantly more painful. The deliveries were comparable because I was kept fairly comfortable. The vaginal-delivery labor was worse because the time before epidural lasted longer and the total labor time was longer. So, having experienced both, I'd say vaginal is worst.

Answer 4

I have absolutely no idea what natural child birth feels like. I was in labor for 36 hours, but only felt the first 6 hours of it, which were pathetically painless contractions. after that, I had 4 epidurals before delivering by c section, and honestly, including my entire recovery time, I'm more afraid of having a vaginal delivery in the future than another c section. they give you really good medication as long as you're in the hospital, and as long as you are up walking around as much as you possibly can, you'll heal a lot faster. I stayed with my mom after my daughter was born, because everyone told me I'd need help, but the truth is, I could have gone home to the house I live in alone with my daughter, and would have been just fine. I never needed help. I took the medicine that they gave me faithfully (which is safe for breastfeeding) and did everything on my own. and I rarely felt that much pain. I guess all I'm saying, is take your time, but do as much as you can, and you'll be fine with a c section. trust me.

Answer 5

I had 2 c-section, no natural births so I can't compare, but neither of my c-sections were especially painful. After the epidural wore off and the morphine that they place in the incision also wore off there was some pain, but I never rated it more than a 4 on the 1-10 pain scale. The only medications I took were ibuprofin and acetominophen, I never took any of the narcotic drugs that the doc prescribed. But talking to other women who've had c-sections I think I ended up better off than most (but I do know other women who only took OTC drugs after c-section too).

Answer 6

It is a completely different type of pain. A c-section pain is like you've been cut, because you have. I had no throbbing like I did with the natural birth, no irritation from stitches "down there". I did require quite a bit more pain meds with the c, but the recovery for me was much faster. If I had a choice, I would do that again over the vaginal birth.

Answer 7

Generally it's the same during the birth because anesthetic is given that numbs you to the pain (you can choose to get anesthetic in vaginal birth too.) The recovery is another issue and most report back saying that the recovery from a caesarean section is painful. It is major surgery after all. But check out the stats:
Statistics from the 1990s suggest that less than one woman in 2,500 who has a caesarean section will die, compared to a rate of one in 10,000 for a vaginal delivery.

Answer 8

Don't really what you mean by "runs in the family," I don't think it works that way, unless your pelvic is positioned a certaint way that you inherited that prevents a baby from coming out???

Anyway, I think it is less painful. Some people are in labor for hours and hours and the pushing is really painful. I had a c-sec and the surgery itself of course was painless because of the epidural and the healing was painful for a few days. Of course, the pain doesn't completely go away after a few days but it is milder and milder until about 6 weeks.
But everyone is different, some people have a fast and smooth, painless natural birth labor.

Answer 9

Recovery from C section is longer and more painful than vaginal birth because of the incision and it is surgery. Make sure there are people who are going to stay with you the first couple of weeks to care for you and the baby. Even if it runs in your family, you shouldn't assume that you can't give natural birth so I would make plans for both just in case.

Answer 10

I've had two births that may as well have been natural, my daughter had a C-section with a Spinal. She doesn't have any idea what my pain was about. There's no reason to be scared because you don't feel anything. Lucky you!