[jeffyharrymum]

Hi all,

Have been doing lots of satlking on the elective c-section posts and responses as I am trying to decide on trying for a VBAC or booking in for an elective.

Have read of ladies having spinal blocks, but have not come across anyone having an epidural. Is this the done thing for electives?

Will ask midwives, but curiosity got the better of me

[Charli73]

I had an epi first time and a spinal block for elective second time.

Dr told me it worked better and gave less side effects like a headache but that i wouldnt notice any difference and i didnt except it seemed to work quicker as my epi needed 3 doses to make both legs numb..

Hope this helps

The other difference is the space that the needle is actually put into.

[mollybot]

I had an epi for all three. Fabulous things - mine got left in for 24 hours afterwards so I could do the patient-administered painkillers thang. No headaches, either.

[doozah83]

Hey Im preggers wiv number four and about to have my 4th c_section. Ive had epis with all three prior surgeries but apparently its repeat use on me, instead of using a spinal block with the last twos was due to my high bp, pre eclampsia,, the epi drug is ment to drop your blood pressure and give an open access point to administer pain relief top ups for the first 12hrs post op via the epi site. Ive never had a vag delivery part of me wld love to try if given the oppertunity. Do what eva feels right for you and all the best x btw by 'epis' i mean epidurals lol i reread it and realised it cld look like episiotomy, so just clarifying myself bahaha x

[DG22]

Hi ladies
Am interested in your feedback on your experience with a csection?
How was your recovery?
Were u able to return to your pre pregnancy body shape/ weight?
Thanks

[Sunshineandsmile...]

My last c section was elective and I had a spinal put in and then an epi for pain relief after. It was great. I didn't use much of the epi in the end and it was taken out the next day. Recovery was great and a lot better than my emergency c/s some 16 years before. Scheduled for elective in april for this one. I didn't really have the option of vbac but was overall very happy with my experience. Very calm and relaxed as for body weight, I did get back to pre preg weight at one point and then ended up galling about 6kg before I fell with this one. Hope that helps

[DG22]

Thnx sunshine&smile
I'm scared of all the stories I hear of the c section overhang ur left with

[Becs]

I had twins by elective c-section so for me no I don't have the same figure. I am actually alot smaller than before I had them. Even 10 years later! But have the little overhang which I think is more from carrying twins to 38 weeks. Although it would have been nice if the Dr had of done a little tummy tuck whilst I was there

I had a spinal block too.

Recovery was fine, a little more painful the 1st day or two but having newborns makes you forget about that pretty quickly.

[duck-o-lah]

I spoke to a MW today who explained I would most likely have a spinal for my elective CS.

She explained that with an elective, they have a fairly definitive timeframe in which to work, so the spinal is well suited to planned CS's. With labour, they're dealing with a far less defined time period in which the anaesthetic is required, so an epidural (which can be topped up if needed) is better suited for that purpose.