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trust me OB doctors have done so many c sections that the know what they are doing. I have had 2 c sections, and they have been fine. i healed nicely both times. no infection. i am also in RN school and I am doing my clinicals in OB right now, and I promise you it is safe. Also, it is standard to do a c when your plancent is close to your cervix..it is called placenta previa and you risk loosing alot of blood if you go into labor. so i would have to agree with the c. you do not want to try and deliver that baby v____ally. C sections are not bad. the best thing to do is really educate yourself. maybe even go to a cla__s at your hospital if they offer it. the more you know the less scared you will be and the more prepared. i mean everyone has their horror storied about having a c, but there are also plenty of bad stories about v____al too. women love to top one another...but honey truth is if it were that bad everyone would have one child, ya know. you will be fine. if you have any ?s feel free to ask...Good luck!

Look, lets be honest here, even a "good" cesarean is still a cesarean and you wouldn't be normal if you weren't a little nervous about it. I had a "textbook" cesarean and recovery and I'll be honest, it does hurt but the pain pills work and I can think of other things I wouldn't want worse than this. It's your baby's birthday, think of it that way and good luck to you both!

It's true that a lot of people have unnecessry c-sections, but when you have a true medical reason for it, like placenta previa, it can save your life. Given a choice between a c-section and death, I would definitely choose a c-section. I've had two...you don't end up feeling like you've been "gutted like a dead animal." You're awake during the operation, and your husband or partner is allowed to be present, usually. You feel pressure during the operation, but no pain. The incision is closed with st_tches on the inside, and staples on the outside. You have a catheter in place during the surgery, and usually for a day afterwards. The recovery is painful but you're given medicine for it. For a while, it will hurt when you get out of bed, and when you laugh. It's not as scary as you think.

amanda.A c-section is not so bad,in fact I share what others have said,marcie etc,about prefering it than a natural birth.It really is wonderful,and if you go in with that att_tude it helps.A section is a much calmer affair,you have the date for the operation,when you go to theatre you have your husband by your side,they may even let you have music playing.You don't feel any pain,and are actually awake and "with it"when the baby emerges.It really is great,not tired,or in pain when you give birth,like a v____al.The recovery was not as bad as I thought,ok,you cannot just sit up just like that,but if you take the meds,take things slowly it is fine.The nurses are there to help,and lets be fair,when you just had a baby you appreciate any help,so thats not a bad thing.Cesareans are done so often now,that although they call it major surgery,its not like doing a brain operation say,or an operation where its to get rid of cancer,its an operation to produce your baby.Think how many patients out there who are having operations for cancer,or awaiting liver/heart transplants,this is for a baby,and you will heal,and yes,some mothers like me prefer it than hours of agony at having to push a huge baby out

While I agree a c-section can be a lifesaver and is a better option than a very complicated v____al delivery, I do not agree that because it is done so frequently that means it is safer than any other major surgery. The meaning of major surgery is two-fold: it means you invade internal spaces with a scalpel or other instruments, and whether it is your brain, or not, the risk of fatty emboli breaking off or blood clots forming due to natural defense mechanisms is still there! When people do not advocate c-sections on demand it is for those reasons...v____al trauma is not life threatening and those things related to even "common" surgical procedures are. That said, in your case, if the placenta doesn't move you will have the very real risk of hemmorhage and that is more serious than the other risks for a c-section so you would be wise to consider what your doctor decides. Another thing to consider if your placenta moves, many many women do not suffer hours and hours of agony and have relavtively smooth and uncomplicated v____al deliveries. Charlotte, Marcie and myself were not in that group, but you could be. If you do need a section, take the pain meds, stay ahead of the pain as it is more difficult to catch it than it is to prevent it. Just remember, like Charlotte said, it is a birthday, not too many operations give you a prize like this one!!!!

Amanda-I have had 3 c-sect. and will be going in for my 4th and final one in March. I have had no complications from any of them. Yes, you do have pain afterward, but everyone also has different pain tolerance levels. They do give you meds. that help with the pain and you can still b___stfeed, if that is your plan. Some advice I would give though-1.ask your hospital to insert the catheter after you have your spinal (some prefer to do it before and then you experience discomfort with insertion), 2. ask your hospital and doctor if they have a mirror that is in the operating room-I had an overhead mirror with my 2nd and it was amazing to see my little guy come into the world, plus it helped to keep my mind off the tugging because I was so engrossed in watching the baby being born-it they don't have a mirror overhead, someone once told me they were able to watch theirs by looking at the reflection off the metal of the lights. 3. Plan on having extra help at home at least the 1st week-and take it slow because even though you may feel good after a few days, you can over do it and then you feel worse. 4. I used about 5 pillows in bed at night to keep me propped up-it made it easier to get out of bed when I needed to go to the bathroom or feed the baby-if no extra pillows available, try rolling out of bed as that doesn't put as much strain on your stomach muscles. At the hospital I really worked out my arms by using the bars on the bed to push myself out of the bed.