Moms! How did you decide if you wanted a vaginal birth or a C-section?

@isidore Thank you for sharing. My OB is very confident in their delivery vaginally, even if breech. I worry about health complications the baby would have if delivered breech. Both are head down now, on one hand I feel like everything will go perfectly smooth, but on the other hand I am definitely the type to think of every worst case scenario! This is why C-section takes away those questions!
 
@komdiarect Are you a FTM? I have three singletons already and they were super easy births for me. I’d get the epidural once the contractions were too much and then I’d push them out in like literally two pushes. They practically slid out of me lol it’s because I’m a really good pusher. I also have huge wide hips. I tore a lot (third degree) with my first but tbh it probably was faster and easier healing then a C-section would have been (but again I have no experience in them).

If my twins are head down I’ll totally try a vaginal birth if their positioning allows. Only because I have that prior knowledge of myself. If this is your first pregnancy, I’d sway to C-section then try vaginal next time.
 
@jajejllc I had my first Singleton vaginally and he had mild shoulder dystocia that required an episiotomy and some maneuvers to get him out safely. I ended up tearing past the epi to third degree. For what it's worth, my C-section recovery was the same if not easier recovery! I guess each body heals in its own way!
 
@jajejllc I have 2 singletons and my 2nd literally flew out (I went from 4 cm to 10 in like 20 mins), which makes me hopeful I may be able to have a vaginal delivery with these twins, but we’ll see.
 
@jajejllc Im a first time mom yes! I’m pretty small as far as hips go- how have things been after a tear like that? These are the things I worry about, I understand it’s not the end of the world and you heal. But do you truly?? Intimacy is extremely important to me, and I just worry it won’t be the same :(
 
@komdiarect I can feel the scar tissue when we have sex. It bothered me for about two years after we had our first. Now I barely feel it. But I mean third degree is pretty extreme tearing. I never did perineum massages, but I know they’re highly praised leading up to labor and even right before pushing.
 
@jajejllc Thats fair! I definitely hear perineal massage can potentially help reduce the risk but unfortunately it can still happen regardless, from my understanding!
 
@komdiarect My thoughts were if I'm already looking after two babies, I don't want to be recovering from major surgery. I told my Dr that if there was any reason to go to c section I would be willing but all things equal I wanted vaginal.

I was able to delivery both babies vaginally in November and had a fairly smooth physical recovery
 
@komdiarect I really really want to attempt vaginal birth if both are head down. I don’t like the idea of being cut open through 7 layers of tissue and being expected to be up and running just a few hours later. not to mention being basically bedridden for a few days after and have to have the babies brought to me for nursing. and a big ole scar that will make my doctors want to give me another one next time. nope not for me unless it’s necessary.
 
@minimermaid Thank you for sharing! Totally understandable and reasonable, I definitely don’t like the idea of a major surgery. It’s really not having the anxiety of not knowing what could possibly happen!
 
@komdiarect So I’ve had 2 sets: first set was vaginal delivery with breech extraction of baby B, second set was scheduled C-section because they both flipped breech at 37w3d. I can’t recommend a vaginal delivery enough. Recovery is so much easier, and you’re not setting yourself up for complications (like Accreta) with future pregnancies.
 
@komdiarect I planned on going vaginal if baby A was head down. My doctor was very comfortable and confident doing a breech extraction for baby B if needed. Had she not been comfortable with that, I would have gone c-section. I ended up with a c-section after an induction due to pre-eclampsia getting worse during labor. My only suggestion if you go c-section is to walk around ASAP. I pushed a wheel chair around the ward 3x a day and had a very fast easy recovery, with no pain meds besides Tylenol and Advil for 6 days. The nurses highly encouraged being as mobile as possible, even if it’s super slow.
 
@komdiarect I went back and forth too. I had already had a vaginal delivery so that was a big part of my decision making. I ultimately decided to do whatever the doctors recommended. It changed week to week honestly as they kept flipping but ultimately they were both head down and I delivered vaginally which is what I was hoping for. Besides my OBs perspective, I knew vaginal recovery is often easier than a c-section in terms of lifting and I already had a toddler at home. That was a huge thing for me. My recovery with the twins was honestly easier than my singleton. I was going down the slide with my toddler 8 days post partum. But everyone's experience is different. That being said, my induction was truly awful and I was thissss close to requesting a c-section because I was so ready to be done. Thankfully they were born a few hours later. I'm not sure how far along you are but a lot of times the decision is made for you. Even though I was a good candidate for vaginal (previous baby, head down) there were still weeks when we were planning on a C-Section.
 
@michael8 Thank you for sharing! I am exactly this way, and both are head down. So many women say they’re thankful for the fast recovery of a vaginal birth (because of the immediate recovery period) but what about the long run?? No one tells you how things heals down there afterward! Is it worth it to have a longer recovery, for a lifetime of being in my body? Everyone is different, and I understand that, but that makes it that much harder to decide :(
 
@komdiarect I was told that because of how B was positioned, there was a high likelihood that she'd be unable to be delivered vaginally. And yep, that's exactly what happened. A was head down but I do the c-section and as soon as she was out, B flipped to be frank breech and would have needed a c-section for her. I would have been very mad if I had to deliver one vaginally and the other via c-section.
 
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