Birth writes

Contributors to Netmums.com comment on their experiences,

good and bad, of having a caesarean
Sun 26 Oct 2008 00.04 BSTFirst published on Sun 26 Oct 2008 00.04 BST

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'I had an emergency section after wanting a home birth. We had gone through
IVF to get pregnant, so I already felt I'd failed by not being able to get
pregnant naturally. Having a section just added to this.

I found it hard to do things after the birth due to the section and feel this
hampered the bonding process with my daughter. I found it hard to breastfeed
and suffered from postnatal depression.

I found a lot of pressure from some friends for having the section and one
implied that I had 'given up' by having a section. Having the section is one of
the many reasons why my daughter will be an only child.'
Amy, Leeds

'I had two normal births before and had never planned on having a C-section,
but my baby stopped moving the day before I was due to be induced. Hospital
staff quickly realised something was wrong as her heartrate kept dropping
from a normal 160 to just 40. Despite them managing to put me into labour,
she was so poorly that they had to do an emergency C-section.

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At the time I was happy as I had always thought a C-section was the much
easier option, but I soon realised how wrong I was. It was agonising. They'd
done quite a lot of damage to my insides getting her out and I had to spend a
further hour after she was born being mended. I was in so much pain
afterwards I didn't know what to do. The section has left me so adamant that I
will never go through it again that I am booked in to be sterilised.'
Stephanie Filby, Milton Keynes

'I was an elective caesarean throughout my pregnancy because of a medical

problem I felt would be aggravated by natural labour and had a high chance of
causing complications for myself and the baby.
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After initially being open about being elective, I stopped discussing it after
receiving horrified responses from nearly everyone, including my mother.

I believe these reactions are due to the way society has been informed by
health professionals and the media that you don't make the grade if you don't
give birth naturally and you're a bad mother (in the same way that views on
breastfeeding are enforced upon us).'
Helen, Kent

'My first son was an emergency C-section after a very long labour, as he was
back to back – a scary experience. My second son was born four months ago
by elective caesarean due to a uterine tear.

I had a wonderful experience and my recovery was very swift. I have never felt
any less of a woman for having sections; it's just the way my body was.

We did experience some resistance to the second C-section from the

consultant. Even though I had a tear she still wanted me to try for a normal
birth.'
Siobhan

'I feel I have missed something by having my first child by emergency C-

section in 2006. But I would have died if I hadn't had it done.

Even if I was awake during the surgery, I did not feel that joy you are
supposed to feel when you give birth to your own baby. This was one of the
causes that triggered my postnatal depression – together with the care I
received in the hospital.
There are times when I feel like a failure as a mother because I didn't manage
to do it naturally. But I know it wasn't my fault and I know that I wasn't too
posh to push.

Unfortunately, there are some people that think you've failed because you
didn't do it by nature, and this is bad. This can be another trigger of postnatal
depression in women.'
Stefania, London

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