Deciding vaginal vs. C section?

But, I am 32 weeks and 2 days. As of today, both were head down, which I know can change. However, my doc says if they stay head down, I need to "decide" if I want to try for vaginal or just do a c section. Now, I had a vaginal delivery with my two year old and am seriously nervous about a c section.....
BUT - my other fear is having one vaginally and then the other flips or something and then all of the sudden I have to have an emergency C section! I so don't want that. What are the chances of baby B flipping? Anyone know?
My initial thought is try for the vaginal.... but I am so nervous about delivering twins. Any advice?? I know it's early to ask, but my daughter was 5 weeks early due to PROM, so my chances are higher that these two will also come before my due date.
Thanks!
Molly
32 weeks and 2 days

 

Heck! It's never too early in my book! I was thinking about this decision today as well once I found out from my doctor that I can opt for a c-section if I want it. I'm nervous about doing one of each births or heck even trying vaginally and having both through an emergency c-section rather than a scheduled c-section. I'm only 21 weeks, 5 days

 

My opinion...and this may be totally useless to you..but you go with what you feel most comfortable with. You will get a huge variety of answers on here. Everyone has had good and bad experiences with both ways. Get all the information you can from your OB, talk to your OB about what he/she feels is best, and then make a decision about what you feel most comfortable with. For me, I didn't have a choice, I went into pre-term labor and it was made for me. Hopefully, all is well for you and the decision won't be made for you. In the end, once you have all the info, it really is what you feel most comfortable with.

 

I opted for a c-section early on. At one point later on both of mine were head down and I toyed with the vaginal idea - but at 38 weeks they both turned so we had no choice but to do the c-section. I don't know - I was kind of glad I did not have the choice in the end. - I was also afraid of having baby A vaginally and then needing an emergency c-section for B. One birth method in a day was plenty! I have had 3 vaginal deliveries and 1 c-section. I am pregnant right now and your post made me think about vaginal vs c-section for me - I used to think that I would never choose a c-section but now that I am faced with another birth I just might if given the option. :crazy: sorry I am no help!

 

I did have one each way. From my experience I would try vaginal if you can. There are health benefits for the baby going through the birth canal. Also, prior to giving birth I had heard so much about vaginal pain and discomfort, and although I could tell I was swollen and my husband reported that things looked pretty "torn up" down there during the labor :lol: the pain of the c-section completely over shadowed the vaginal pain (my husband said I had stitches too, which I don't remember). A c-section is major abdominal surgery and is more risky (although as far as surgeries go, this seems like a pretty common and safe one). You may have to deal with post surgical complications such as infection, etc. Also, the nerves in my stomach skin are damaged and I still have numbness around the incision, many moms here report numbness or uncomfortable sensations around the incision long after the procedure.

That being said, I think you should ultimately choose what you feel is right for you. I believe recovery is more difficult with a c-section but if it will make it a better birth experience for you than by all means choose the c-section. From my experience if you try vaginal and end up with c-section I don't think there will be much of a difference than just having the c-section since the vaginal stuff takes a back seat to the c-section pain.

Congrats on the twins, I wish you all the best in whatever you decide.

 

go vaginal if you can!! As long as your dr. is comfortable with it. My doctor woudlnt' dream of even doing a C-section if both were head down and there were no complications.

 

i would ask your doc for some stats on the chances of baby B flipping. i mean, it's certainly a possibility - but even then, they would likely try a breech extraction before needing to send you for a c-section. also, maybe ask your doc what an emergency c-section would actually look like. i think because we use the term emergency we all have this picture in our head of being rushed into the OR with screaming doctors & nurses & alarms going off, but depending on the situation it may be a lot less dramatic than that.

for me personally, both my girls were head down & after Riley was born, they broke Danika's water & she came straight down, head first & was born 8 minutes later.

as PPs have said though, i think you need to make the decision that you are genuinely the most comfortable with. good luck with your decision!

 

Yep, I agree with PPs who said consult with your doctor and go with what feels right for you and your babies. There is no right and wrong answer to this question, but everybody has an opinion so dont be swayed by whether someone thinks vaginal is best or vice versa.

Good luck to your and your little ones.

 

QUOTE(sparkle77 @ Jun 11 2009, 08:42 AM) [snapback]1350228[/snapback]
Yep, I agree with PPs who said consult with your doctor and go with what feels right for you and your babies. There is no right and wrong answer to this question, but everybody has an opinion so dont be swayed by whether someone thinks vaginal is best or vice versa.

Good luck to your and your little ones.


so true!

 

This is a very personal choice, but I just thought I would toss one more thing to consider out there.

Will your regular doctor be able to do the Csection if it is scheduled?

My practice has many doctors. I only see my doc for my appointments, but it'll be luck of the draw when it comes to delivery. I do think the option of having my doctor (who I trust, admire and feel connected to) perform the scheduled C-section vs luck of the draw for a vag with the potential of a csect anyhow would weigh heavily on my decision.

 

I am really worried about have 2 types of births also and so I am actually kind of secretly hoping for a c section although it scares me to death. I am going to talk it over with my doc soon though.

My experience: I was in so much pain after my last vag birth due to horrendous hemmroids and the fact that they made me start pushing at 8 cm due to her decelerating heartrate (I think this may be why I had such a hard time pushing her out since I wasn't fully dilated). The nurses told me I was only one push away from a c section when I was able to deliver her with the help of a vaccuum and that freaked me out. I remember saying to my relatives back then that it was a good thing they didn't have to do the c section or else they would have had to suspend me from the ceiling to try keep me comfortable. Because it hurt too much to sit with the hemmroids (a bad bad case) and with a c section it would have hurt too much to lay on my tummy. YIKES!

I will talk it over with my doc and if he thinks it's ok to try for a vag and that it should be 99% ok given my last birth I probably will try. But I want a pretty good chance of only 1 type of delivery before I try vag unless the doc refuses a c section for some reason.

Hope I didn't scare you, talk with your doc and hope trust and pray that not matter what you get it will only be 1 way. That's what I will have to do. Good luck!!!