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

@komdiarect I have had two vaginal deliveries of singletons already. As of right now, baby A is breech, but both babies have flipped positions every single time we check. So he’ll probably flip back over before delivery… and then flip again. So I’m starting to try and weigh my options for a breech vaginal delivery (if applicable) and a planned c-section. I realllllly do not want a c-section, but I’m not delusional. If it’s not safe, I’m not going to force a vaginal birth. But I also have (actual, diagnosed) OCD and the thought of major abdominal surgery WHILE AWAKE and then I can’t have my babies immediately, and I can’t jump back into parenting my big kids when I get home, and what if my milk comes in later bc of the C-section, etc… is more than enough to start a spiral.
 
@komdiarect Even before I knew I was pregnant with twins I knew I wanted a c-section. I was scared of a vaginal birth and didn’t want to deal with possible tearing/other complications. Of course a c-section comes with its own risks but somehow it made more sense to me to go that route. That may not make sense to others though.
In terms of a twin pregnancy, baby A was breech the entire time and baby B was transverse and measuring quite a bit smaller. My doctor advised a c-section for those reasons.
Recovery wasn’t bad at all once I got home. I was in the hospital for 4 days (partially because baby B was in the NICU that long). I’m glad I had a c-section for vanity reasons tbh, and it’s a plus that it ended up being medically necessary anyway.
 
@komdiarect My Dr said from the get go that the twins would be a planned c-section which I was fine with bc my older two kids were c-sections so I knew exactly what to expect. I was scheduled to arrive at the hospital at 10am for the births but woke up at 2am in severe back labor and three hours later after finally breaking down and waking up my husband to go to the hospital the on call Dr checked me and I was 9cm dilated already. The dr offered me the chance to push them out and I probably could have but I was in too much pain to debate it so I said no I want the c-section. If I could do it all over again going back to my very first child I wouldn’t have fallen for the scam artist Dr who told me I was going to have an 11lb baby and needed a c-section. My 1st born wasn’t even 8lbs, the Dr was just old and lazy and wanted to schedule the birth for his convenience. That first c-section ruined my stomach forever bc it gave me the “c-section pouch” that hasn’t gone away in 15 years no matter what I do. I feel like I could have eventually got my flat stomach back with a good diet and hard work had I only had vaginal births.
 
@komdiarect If I could do things over, I'd go with a c-section. I was in labor or for 4 days then had twin A vaginally and twin B via emergency c-section. Thankfully pregnancy and recovery were both magically wonderful.
 
@komdiarect I went 38 weeks with di-di twins. First pregnancy, and I was CONVINCED I wanted to have a vaginal birth. I even accepted the very real possibility of a breach extraction because baby B was breach my entire pregnancy. Because my OB wouldn't let me go past 38 weeks I was scheduled for an induction at 38+1. My induction time kept getting pushed back because there were so many other moms in L&D. I was finally admitted and started pitocin at about 2:00am, 38+2. Labored an entire 24 hours (got the epidural at about 9am after my OB broke my water) before I stalled at 7 cm and my OB offered a c-section since my water had been broken nearly 24 hours and I was failing to progress any further. My partner and I discussed the c-section in private and decided we were both exhausted and instead of waiting for something bad to happen we would just move forward with the c-section and my girls were born at 2:30am.

Looking back I wish I had never agreed to the induction. Putting myself through 24+ hours of hell was just not the L&D I wanted for myself. When I made it to 38 weeks I should have just asked to schedule the c-section and the whole thing would have probably been much more relaxed.

So I guess what I'm trying to say is if you don't go into spontaneous labor, just schedule the c-section. The recovery is tough, but you can save yourself the heart ache and exhaustion of an extended labor.
 
@komdiarect I have a history of major hip and pelvic surgery so I wanted to have a c-section even when I thought it was only one baby. When we found out it was two, vaginal delivery was not even an option that was discussed as Baby B had a marginal cord insertion and IUGR - they ended up being delivered at 32 weeks as a result.

Obviously I have a different baseline of surgery than most people, but I would take a c-section over more hip/pelvic surgery in a heart beat. I was off painkillers within two weeks, and driving after a week and a half. My babies were in NICU until after my six week PP checkup though so I didn’t have full caring responsibilities for them until I was mostly recovered.

The only bit I really underestimated was how long it takes to get your core strength back. For whatever reason, the midwives said wearing PP compression pants wasn’t necessary and just gave me a theraband type thing to wear. I got the pants after seeing my physio and I was so mad I’d not had that support earlier on. They saved my back while I was regaining my core strength (tbh I still wear them for extra support when I’m exercising and my girls are 2 in a couple of weeks).
 
@komdiarect I have a chronic illness and so that played into a number of factors.

Being concerned about energy delivering two
Being concerned one would get stuck and I’d end up healing from both kinds of birth
Being a first time mum
My OBs recommendation

When my water ended up breaking at 33 weeks both babies were transverse breech and baby b had a true knot so I’m really thankful I opted for a section.
 
@komdiarect I had 3 unmedicated vaginal deliveries and they are my most treasured memories. BUT twins is unfamiliar territory so my plan is to be flexible.
I'm scared of the epidural but will have to do that no matter what. I'm even more scared of major surgery (I've seen horror stories from both sides but the C section ones seem to be a bit worse).so hoping for vaginal but is what it is!
Also I totally get the planned section being appealing but it's kind of fun too having the whole "is this it? Am i in labour?!" experience.
 
@komdiarect Similarly to a lot of the folks who have commented already....in retrospect I think choosing a c section gave me a sense of control at a time saturated with unknowns.

I had previously had complications with a surgery, and the thought of an emergency C section terrified me. If I was going to have surgery, I felt it needed to be planned.

I had at least a questioning face from every male doctor when they found out I had requested a c section. Most female doctors / health care professionals said something along the lines of 'of course' or ' I don't blame you'. ( For context this is in Massachusetts in 2022) A couple of male doctors I felt I needed to advocate pretty hard to that this was what I wanted.
 
@komdiarect I went for a vaginal birth because there was no reason not to. Both babies were head down, full term, of a reasonable size, their own sacks. My OB was happy to go with it and see what happened and said there can be good reasons to give it a go such as the benefits of baby’s lunch function etc with a vaginal birth. And I figured if anything wasn’t going well I would just have a C-section, which was the other option anyway.

In the end I was induced, then received an epi, baby A was born fine, baby B flipped so they did an internal extraction, baby B was born feet first. No issues! Not even a single stitch.

I will say that my hospital is a breech hospital and my OB was the head of the breech clinic. So they were all confident in doing this if necessary. Not all medical providers have the skills
 
@komdiarect I didn’t have a choice but I think I would’ve gone with c section anyways. I think because it was a planned one and I picked my dr carefully and trusted her, the whole process the day of went smooth as can be. The healing felt easier because there was no big stress going into it compared to my vaginal 8 years before. Also, my babies were in the nicu for 3 weeks so I had that time to pump and heal on my own before they came home and that made a big difference. The most pain I felt after was from trapped gas in my shoulder. Maaaaaan fuck that shit hurt. Just move slow and keep up with the pain meds best you can.
 
@komdiarect I had decided from early on I wanted a scheduled C-section because I didn't want to run the risk of delivering one vaginally and needing a c section anyway. I also didn't want to have any sort of "plan" because it would just be anxiety inducing.

I will say that I underestimated the whole C-section. It was scary and it was a painful recovery. BUT I didn't suffer any of the traditional labor pains IN ADDITION to the C-section and my babies were out without any complications or NICU time at 37weeks.

I went into this whole thing with the idea that I wanted these kids out without complications or risks and, for me, a C-section was the way to go.

Best of Luck!
 
@komdiarect I also just had a C-Section in New Year’s Day. Both babies were head down. They gave me the option of vaginal delivery. I decided on the section because I have joint problems and I couldn’t imagine a prolonged labour. Just lying still for the NSTs caused me extreme pain. I worried about the decision, thought maybe I was being selfish and second guessing myself.

What we know now is that baby B who was supposed to be full sized near the 25th percentile and near the exit was the smaller baby at just over 4lbs and baby A had a cord around her neck they lost her heart rate the second the spinal was in (again likely because of my pre-existing conditions, they knew the spinal maybe wasn’t gonna work and we were prepared for it). Anyways the point I’m making is that would have been out of my hands very quickly if I had my heart set on a vaginal birth and I probably would have been crushed. My planned C-section because quite the event.

I think what ever decision you make will be the right one.You got this!
 
@komdiarect I went into it with a 50/50 chance twin b would have to be a c-section (they were flat across the top) and chose to try for vaginal. I mainly just hated the idea of (potentially) picking their birthday for them. I ended up delivering one twin vaginally and recovery was weird, I didn't really feel any pain from twin A's birth (my brain was too focused on recovering from surgery) but pushing and then getting cut open caused a vaginal muscle to spasm so I had to learn to relax it (kinda like a reverse kegel) postpartum

*Edit: One thing that made me feel better about my decision to try for a vaginal birth is my doctor preped me for a c-section before anyone was born, so it was an easy transition from trying to turn B the right way to we need to cut
 
@komdiarect I agonized over it for weeks. Really there’s no way to be 100% confident about it in advance. I scheduled a C-section just in case but wanted to risk a vaginal delivery first. Luckily both were head down a few days before surgery so I asked to be induced instead, luckily they agreed and I had a great and very speed vaginal delivery! Examine the pros and cons of each but try to be at peace once it gets down to it since there’s not much you can control and remember whatever decision you choose is right
 
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