Vaginal delivery more painful than c-sec?

Question

I had an emergency c-sec. 3 yrs. ago after going through the beginning stages of labor & personally think I went through hell, with being awake during surgery and the recovery....

Someone told me that vaginal delivery is far worse....I'm not quite sure I believe that...I think they both have their pros & cons....what do you think? Which do you think is worse?

I'm giving birth again in a couple of months, & am considering vag. del. but am absolutely terrified, but then again a c-sec is major surgery.....
I know this baby has to come out, but I wish it was one of those things we could just put off. lol

I'm giving birth again in a couple of months, & am considering vag. del. but am absolutely terrified, but then again a c-sec is major surgery.....
I know this baby has to come out, but I wish it was one of those things we could just put off. lol

I'm giving birth again in a couple of months, & am considering vag. del. but am absolutely terrified, but then again a c-sec is major surgery.....
I know this baby has to come out, but I wish it was one of those things we could just put off. lol

Answer 1

Everybody's opinions will differ.

To be truthfully honest, I've only had a vaginal delivery. But on another forum, I've heard a lot of gals who had c-sections say that its a lot harder than vaginal deliveries because you can't hold the baby very long, the scar hurts a lot, it takes longer to heal, etc. With a vaginal delivery, you only have some minimal pain, obviously in your vagina, but with peri-packs (the cold ice pads are a blessing) and some pain relievers, I was up and walking that night.

Answer 2

The next c-section may not be as bad. I feared a c-section after a previous ab surgery. However, I ended up with one after I could not deliver my baby. I went form an 8 to a 6 with a failed epidural. Honestly, I didn't have little to none as far as surgey pain. I had the morphenine after surgery, but after that I didn't take any pain meds. I simply forgot all abou the surgery. A lot of it could have been all the changes going on, and I've had several other operations and never took more than a pain pill or two at the most. To make a long story short, to me the c-section was a breeze. The labor was much longer and I didn't have any more recovery than a natural delivery(with the stiches down south). My next birth will be a c-section. Good luck!

Answer 3

I had toxemia with my son (5 years ago) and unfortunately, I'm one of the very few that are allergic to magnesium sulfate, so they couldn't control my bp. I was induced and was in labor for 19 1/2 hours, but only dialated to a 1/2, so I had to have an emergency c section. The epidural they gave me sucked and i could feel more than just "a lot of pressure". Afterwards, I was in a lot of pain, but the nurses would only give me 2 vicodin every 6 hours, which didn't do sh*t..but it did prepare me for when I went home. I had to stop the pain meds bc I slept all the time and my husband was working 17 hour days. With my daughter (a year ago) I had a scheduled c section, and it went a billion times better--I had a spinal block, which was much better, and I was walking the next day. It's going to be hard bc you just had your stomach muscles cut through! (you never know how much you actually use them until something like that) At any rate, although I preferred a c section bc I already knew what to expect, my dr was the one who said he wanted me to have one.
After a csection, with the scarring to your uterus, you run a greatly higher risk of rupturing your uterus while you're pushing your next baby out. If that happens they have roughly 15 mins to get you to the OR, deliver the baby and stop the bleeding, which, in some cases, can't happen. Most women require a hystorectomy after that, but not all. You are cautioned to not get pregnant again, though. Whatever you decide, make sure you're well informed of all the risks. Congrats & good luck!

Answer 4

RELAX why do people get so crazy at the thought of giving birth women have squatted in fields and given birth for centuries. I have delivered 4 babies all vaginal with no epidural and the third baby was 10 lbs 6 oz! I am not some fitness guru just a regular everyday person that is really not crazy about being cut open. It is harder to recover from a c section that it is a vd. After my first baby was born I spent the required 48hrs in hospital was released and went for a walk when I got home. I was 19 with no car and I walked everywhere with him. I went bk to work after 3 wks bcos I couldnt find a sitter any earlier. With the 10 lb 6 oz I went bk to work after 3 days. With the next baby I went bk to work again after 3 wks. I also worked right up until I actually went into hard labor with 2 of my children. All of my babies were over 7 lbs the smallest at 7lbs2oz and the largest at 10lbs6oz.
On the other hand I am 5'7 with a long torso and wide hips. My sister is tiny at 5'3 and was in the beginning stages of labor for 2 weeks and still had vaginal delivery.

Answer 5

I had a brilliant labour and I was very lucky. I had a vaginal delivery and it wasn't that bad. It's my first baby so I have nothing else to compare it to, but I noticed that I was up and about far quicker than the mums who had c sections. My son was coming so quick I only had the chance for gas and air and it was exactly what I wanted. The only thing was I had to get some stitches because I had a labia tear and I found the stitches more painful than the pushing! Although I healed really well I'm not right and have a bit of a chunk missing, but I can't imagine going through a c section at all and, if at all possible, I would avoid having one. But at the end of the day you have to do what's best for yourself and don't make any firm decisions until you really have to. I found I was far more relaxed with only a rough birth plan and just took it as it came. Good luck

Answer 6

I had both vaginal and c section and i think vaginal is the best way because you heal up alot quicker than with a c section but if you have it vaginal i would get a eperdiual and if you have a vaginal delivery you might can have more than one person in there if you wanted someone else in there with you if you already had a c section and you got some family memebers coming in from town or just got something going on u could always set your day to have the baby but if i had to do it all over again i would want mine to be a vaginal delivery before a csection

Answer 7

I can't say I have had a vaginal delivery, but I just had my second child a couple months ago. My first delivery like you I had labor and all the horrible pain that goes along with it but ended up having a c-section. It was very hard afterwords and I was wiped out. But this time around after debating a VBAC I had a scheduled c-section and it was much easier. No labor, I was much better rested and felt pretty good afterwards. I think that was a big key to my feeling better. I still had some incision pain but all in all my second experience was much better. I would definitely have another c-section if it could go as well as my second!! I hope this helps and good luck!

Answer 8

I think it depends on your perspective. You had an emergency c-section, the fact that you had to have an emergency procedure which I am sure was to make sure baby would be able to be born healthy, you were more than likely scared which caused you to tense up even more, you add fatigue on to that that is more stress.
Someone who had a "typical" vaginal delivery at one point and then a schedule schedule c-section may find the vaginal delivery more difficult due to amount of time in labor, whether or not they had epidural, and that when it is time to push we usually decrease epidural to aid mom in pushing so you would be feeling a whole lot more.
However after a c-section it is difficult because you have new baby, but you just had abdominal surgery which is one of the most painful areas to have surgical procedure.
My mom said I was most painful delivery she had, I was 2 months early a total of 4lbs her labor was not very long compared to my brother my moms first when she was a teenager he was 11lbs 4oz, she said with me she was scared so she was more aware.

It is possible to have a vaginal delivery after c-section, at one point we didn't do that and Doctors would also tell patients that after third c-section they should not have another but with more research, more women today are successfully giving birth vaginally after a previous c-section.

Answer 9

Vaginal Delivery isn't easy but it does have a far greater healing time and overall is better for you and the baby unless there are complications, then they will take it via c=sec anyway. As you said It's Major surgery. I just had a vag delivery with MAJOR tearing and yes it hurt but the doctors still figured c sec was much worse

Answer 10

I had my daughter vaginal (18 hr labor) not alot of pain, and my son was an induction that after 24 hours of labor ended up a c-section. I have never had so much pain in my life as the c-section and now almost 2 years later, i can fully say that my abs are in a good enough state that I don't notice the pain anymore. A C-section is major surgery, although many women are in great shape afterwards with little pain, my feeling is that you should never opt for surgery when you can deliver another way. But ultimatly, it is up to you, and I totally agree with the lady that said she wasn't as exhausted.......I was tired....then went straight into the sleepless mommy daze.......so it is picking the lesser of two evils surgery....or try vaginal and maybe surgery.....lol!!! Good luck to you!