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That is so true, Naomi! We use certain compounds in the spinal anesthetic that keep the pain impulses from reaching the receptors in the spine and brain that were not available to mothers several years ago. Those mothers almost without fail, remember how excruciating the pain was post-op. You are also correct, the surgery itself has not changed much so the damage internally is the same, the patients now just don't feel it quite as much and as the saying goes..."...ignorance is bliss..." until something crops up days, months or years later.

Hi Naomi. I am going to ask my doctor about that tomorrow because my mom had me c-section and she can't believe anyone would ask for one either. She didn't have easy v____al births, but she said she remembers my birth being terrible and the pain would get so bad before they gave her something. She had to have a hysterectomy due to scar tissue from my birth as well so I don't want one either. I know they make women more comfortable nowadays, but like Med Intern said, it doesn't change what the surgery does to your body, just the way you feel it.

I can't believe you posted this tonight! (It is 11:43 pm on the W. Coast USA). My Mom, Aunt and cousin were just talking about this! Both my cousin and I are pg and due in a few weeks (I am one week behind her) and do not have doctors who push or agree to elective c-sections. My Aunt had two v____als and a c-section and she said it was by far the worst birth, and she didn't even labor with my cousin, he was breech. She said they used to come out of recovery already IN PAIN! I am going to my OB next week and if the only difference to my body between then and now is better OR pain meds, I will choose not to do that kind of damage to my body on purpose. My cousin has already had the birth from Heaven with her first and just sits and waits with no worries....

I had an elective ceasarean,and am happy at my decision.Yes,there are more medications around today to deal with the pain.I have known people hace chemotherapy for cancer,far more invasive but they have to have it done.I was told that you will recover from the ceasarean and I believe that to be true.There are a tremendous amount of "c" sections being done,that if it were so bad they would not happen that often.

to Jo, I think her point is, if you have heard how much a v____al hurts and how it burns, and tears and you feel like things are ripping apart and that makes you want to avoid that by choosing a c-section: then perhaps the only reason people think a c-section will be better for them and their bodies is that they don't feel the tearing, cutting, rough handling of internal organs, the st_tching, the bladder blades, the bleeding etc. and if they felt that like some v____al moms do, they would not choose it as the "lesser of two evils" or do so thinking they are somehow doing less damage to themselves. In other words, if you felt the actual birth process during v____al, you could feel what was being done to you and your body...if you felt what was being done to your body during or right after a c-section you would also realize what has been done to your body and you might not be so quick to think it is the better alternative if choice alone is involved.

I agree, if you actually felt even HALF of what a c-section entails during and for the first 24 (more hours) after, very few of these women would say the "easy" surgery was the best alternative without real medical need. I too have listened to how women who had c-sections several years ago react when they hear some women are choosing them for first births or thinking they are "better". In some cases they are the best alternative, in most cases from a medical standpoint: "...first, DO no harm...", they are not. I know labor and vag delivery can be rough, for about 24 hours, and without nearly as much pain med. Even if you swear you dont' take any pain pills after a few days, you still needed more heavy duty stuff and you certainly had more in your body via OR IV for the first 24 hours. So I don't think it is just about the day of birth. One needs to think about what has been done to their body, whether they felt it or not the actual event. There is not one woman in my office who had to have a c-section who says she was glad thats the way her birth turned out, not one.

As a woman, psychologist, and an expectant mother, I was a bit troubled to hear you say that any mother who had to have a c-section was troubled about the way their birth turned out. Now I may not be an MD, but doesn't a vagiinal birth and a c-section yield the same results? A baby? What woman (especially after nine long months) wouldn't be happy with the birth of their baby. Sure they may not have been able to choose the method the baby came out, but in the end the result is the same. For some women, being able to "plan their pain" really helps their perception of their pain. Some like the control of being able plan their baby's birthday and knowing what lies ahead helps them work through their pain. Not knowing what the future holds (as in labor and delivery) can actually increase a woman's perception of pain making it worse. Not all women are the same. We shouldn't be ridiculed as women if we consider a c-section as birth option (because in every birth it could be an option). I think the most important thing that we need to keep in mind over this controversial topic is what is best for our baby. Healthy baby, healthy mom is the MAIN goal.

I agree with you, a healthy baby and mother is the main goal. What the women I know meant was after the fact of a healthy baby they did not care at all for the pain of recovery, the damage done to their bodies, the negative changes to their menstrual cycles, lingering pain from scar tissue, etc. I think it is a given that all women want the outcome to be healthy babies and mothers and these women feel that the babies made it out okay, it was THEY who did not.

I must have got lucky then-or maybe just a better doc-becuase I ended up with an emergency c and I have no lasting effects, (other than a scar) and I will be having a planned one this time. I think it went real well for going so quickly. Yeah, there was pain afterwards but then again I don't know anyone who has said that there wasn't. Come on, its surgery-its probably gonna hurt, yeah know? Same with a v____al birth. My mom has had all three of us be sections, my cousin just had to have a section, and they have no complaints. Maybe we were all just lucky.

KEEP IN MIND NOT ALL C'S ARE ELECTIVE SOME OF US HAVE NO CHOICE.....

My first c section was due to a breech presentation. I elected for a second three years later. I'm not sure how that second is considered in the medical realm (whether it is a true elective procedure since I had one previously????)??? Anyway, I will again have a section in June with #3. I have no way of knowing how this one will turn out, but I loved my birthing experiences. I would not trade them for the world. My dr was a wonderful man who made my surgeries easy. I took pain pills one day after coming home each time and each time delivered on a Tuesday morning and was home Thursday afteroon. My husband was able to be present during the birth and I was awake and able to love the baby afterwards before they took her for her clean up. My care afterwards was top notch. I was up walking that Tuesday night with the nurse. Wed. I was walking all over with my husband, taking a shower by myself, etc. I have nothing to compare my experiences to but for me I would not trade them. I know each woman's experience is different, but I did want to write out my positive experience with my section. Thanks!

I am not anti c-section!!!!! I know some are not elective and I don't think a schedule one for a second c is the same as CHOOSING one for a first birth. My post doesn't just question the pain thing, with the new meds, the recovery is tolerable, I am concerned about the internal damage that is now masked so well by the meds administered during the surgery that last for up to 24 hours. My mom is a tough woman who has battled a mastectomy and chemo/radiation (for 20 weeks) and if she thinks the pain 22 years ago was excruciating, I believe her. I am certainly glad that the recoveries are better and that many women do not have after-effects, just like I am for v____al moms who do the same. I just hope for a v____al because even the most uneventful cesarean causes permanent damage to the body and the uterus whereas not all v____al deliveries do (which is good, since I hope for one)

I understand completely what you are trying to say, Naomi, and I applaud you for thinking deeper than just the day of delivery. I know there are many instances where a c-section is a life-saver or a life-preserver, but I also know what it is like to suffer from post c problems too. I think you are wise to attempt a v____al delivery first, you may just end up with a fabulous, uncomplicated delivery. You might end up with a c...but again, I agree with you not opting for surgery before you even need it.

OH, Naomi, I completely agree with you. Had my child not been breech I would have never comtemplated a c section as my mode of birth. I just wanted to add my story to an interesting interchange. I just thought it was interesting for someone to say that all the women in an office had awful section birthing experinces. I just wanted to add my story. I also found it interesting that of all the women I know I had the easiest time with my experience whether they were sections or v____als. My SIL has to have v____al reconstruction after she is finished with child rearing due to her v____al trama (along with fourth degree tear). My best friend and other SIL had third degree tears and same bf had bruised tailbone. Another SIL had so much pain from her section she couldn't stand it and her staples actually tore on her underwear. Its unbelievable how well or how bad it can go either way. I just wanted to add my story. NO offense to anyone intended.

LADIES...I have changed my mind...where may I return this baby for a refund????? LOL. I appreciate your comments, Cabbie, I think there are pros and cons to both. I guess I need to face the fact that at 22 weeks, this baby has got to come out one way or the other when its time. Aggghhhhhh....

This is such an accurate post!!!! Ladies, can you imagine what it would be like to have your c-sections with one spinal, it wears off in recovery, there is NO morphine drip, no patient pump b___ton, and you could feel your pain starting in as your started to feel your body wake up? Then it was 4 hours later before any pain injection. The pain injections were given for one day and lasted about 3 hours, so for the last hour (or more if nurses were busy) you were completely without pain relief until it was "time" for another. Then, they weaned you right away to pain pills, those were weaker, and of course, the arbitrary 4 hour minimum was established again, they wore off in 2 hours, so you had to wait 2 more hours, and then (if lucky) got your pain pill and had to wait another 30-40 minutes for it to get in your blood stream. So when you hear some women say c-sections hurt and they wouldn't choose one, perhaps you should understand that there are those of us who really FELT them for what they are, and realize how much was actually done to our bodies. Thanks for a new topic and an interesting chance to express myself.