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Hie Maggie, I had my first baby via c-section in Sept (2004). I must say I was kind of relieved when my Dr. said the baby was too big (4.2 kgs) to pa__s down the birth ca___l. My pain threshold is ridiculously low. The c-section was painful during the first few hours atfer the op. But I tried to get out of bed and walk around soon and often, and I think it actually helped. I have 3 friends who've given birth v____ally and all have torn badly and have had to have st_tches down there anyway. It's been a little over a year now and I am fine, just that when it gets cold the scar does get a little sore, but it's not too bad. Good luck, I don't regret what happened to me, I think it was God's way of getting me thru coz there's no way I was gonna do the pushing thing and live to tell the tale!!! I actually HOPE and pray my next baby will be via c-section as well!!!

Rather than worry about the pain thing, neither way is fun. Why don't you worry more about long-term damage. With v____als, you may have to have some v____al/bladder repair down the road. With c's you may have to have bladder, rectal, abdominal, hernia repairs and/or you may end up with a hysterectomy due to too much scar tissue. Short term it may seem like it favors an elective c/s rather than a day long labor,(but not for the pain as some say, they HURT for quite awhile!) but in the long run one must think about: will I want more kids and if I do can I guarantee I will always have health insurance or the cash to pay for a surgical birth and possible complications from them. Just some things to consider. Really really do your research before you have an unnecessary c-section. There are many risks some similar to the risks of v____al births, and some most people never even consider and many doctors fail to discuss. See the forum on here about the infections, I think it says "...fluid draining...infections" or something like that. I realise some women had some pretty gruesome damage from v____al births, I think one unfortunately had to have a colostomy, but I notice that no one died. Well in my family someone did die, not from a v____al delivery, but from a c-section, she wasn't progressing as fast as the idiot doctor thought she should (only in labor 7 hours for God's sake!) so he persuaded her to have a c-section...I might note this was a Friday afternoon and there was a lawsuit involved after because there was no medical cause. I wouldn't have a c/s without a pressing medical need. It just isn't worth it. If someone is so bent on having surgery, have a v____al tightening or whatever repair after your kids, you might not even need it. My family member was 26 years old...not worth it in my opinion either pain-wise or risk-wise.

Oh my goodness Maggie I really hope the women on this forum have not scared you to pieces. I know after reading a lot of these womens responses I would not want to give birth in anyway at all. I think at the end of the day you have to go with what feels right in your heart after you do your own research. Researching doc_mented facts instead of just hearing someone elses opinion is the best route to go, I believe. I hope this forum is not your only research. You must remember that no one, though, can prepare you for what you will go through when you are experiencing childbirth. It is something that is out of your control. So, when you make a decision make sure that it is something you feel totally confident about and try not to have any regrets afterwards. For the record, I had an emergency c-section (son was 9lbs 9oz) and felt like mince meat afterwards. I do not know if it was because of the surgery or if was due to amount of time that I was in labor (22 hrs). I personally hope that my next child can be born v____ally but if I go for an ultrasound and they think that the baby is big I am going to opt for a c-section. I prefer to have another c instead of going through hours of labor an having an emergency one again. Good luck in your decision making and do not let anyone make you feel like less of a woman because of whatever decision you make.

Yes, I regret it. Very much. I was told one thing and got a different experience completely. I was told it was less painful because of no labor. That's ok, I got the pain afterwards when I also had a little newborn to take care of. I was lied to by my friends, my doctor, by other posters on the other forum. I just got my catheter out this week and my incision finally only looks like I got nearly killed now, guess you can be too small for a c-section too! I was told I had room down below, but I listened to other people who said a regular birth was so terrible so my doctor agreed to do a scheduled c. I might be able to stand up straight when my baby girl is 2 months old, but it's been 3 weeks and I feel awful. My sister-in-law had her baby normal last week and she's out shopping, going to show off the baby and feeling great. Never again.

Having had a c-section with my first birth (which was a BREEZE with the ibuprofen they gave me) due to her breech presentation and being pregnant again, I'm opting for a planned c-section. I've heard horrible things about not being able to climb stairs with a c-section, etc., but the fact of the matter is that I was climbing stairs almost immediately. The worst part was laying in bed trying to recover from my labor experience for days while at the same time caring for a newborn. Labor was horrendous, the worst pain imaginable, and I will happily bypa__s that part for an epidural and a c-section this time around. I have one friend who was given an episiotomy against her will, another who experienced really bad v____al tearing during birth. I'd rather have the incision just above my pubic hair than have my v____a cut or torn, thanks! Seriously, if you're going to have to have st_tches, I'd rather have them ANYWHERE but on my v____a. It hurt me to even imagine trying to walk like that!

I think the previous post was confusing recovering from labor with what it is to recover from surgery, because that is what she described...the exhaustion, the soreness, the lack of endurance...to let you know, I have known many who vag-birthed and many who c-section-birthed and every time the vag-birth mothers where up and about faster than the c-section moms and on less heavy duty pain meds. I had c/s's and I know for a fact that just about every women gets something stronger than ibuprofen for post surgical pain. Maybe she really didn't need anything stronger, but it is bordering on the unbelievable don't you think, for anyone who has been cut open to only need an Advil...at least not for the first 48 hours anyhow plus they put pain meds in your IV before you even leave the operating room. Most women feel quite a bit of discomfort, many a LOT of pain so the ones who think they were a breeze are unusual and lUCKY and I am glad for them, but not everyone gets that "great" experience and it has nothing to do with pain tolerance. I had 3rd degree burns on my whole lower arm and I could stand that long healing process and the debridement that goes with the therapy and I still thought C/s were very painful. Good luck on what you decide, but I wouldn't get an elective for no good reason.

I agree with Kimberly. Kensbev's posting did sound a bit fishy. When she said that she climbed stairs immediately afterwards, when did that happen. Did she do that in the hospital? Or did she do that once she was released 3-4 days later. And guess what?,, Not being able to climb stairs and hurting when you climb are two different things. I was able to climb stairs after I left the hospital but it hurt like hell. Also, considering that after a c-section you are not allowed to get up for a good amount of hours, how did she care for her newborn. I doubt she was able to get up and pick the baby up and walk holding right after having surgery. I mean, I know everyone has a different level of pain tolerance but, give me a break. I am not trying to put on form of birth against the other one at all. However, when I smell BS I have to call it.

I had my second baby a couple of months ago. It was a planned c-section, done at 11:30 am. By 10 pm I was out of bed and walking the halls (dragging the IV stand and catheter, but walking). By 6 am I felt good enough to have them bring me the baby from the nursery and keep her with me all the time. I had seen her, held her, fed her, etc. before that but had sent her back to the nursery so I could sleep. I think no matter how you give birth it's going to hurt. I wouldn't have chosen a c-section, but if you have to have it, the horror stories some people tell are an extreme, and the stories about people having no pain are the opposite extreme. It's not as bad as some people say, but it's not painless either.

Kensbev sounds a lot like Scarlett...

Give Kensbev a break y'all! I know several woman who have had both a c-section and v-birth and they actually preferred the c-section. It just depends with individual experiences I suppose. We all agree neither is a walk in the park. But don't make it sound so scarey!!

And I know people who have had both and only hated their c-sections...there is no one right way, period. Some c/s are easy and some v____als are easy. Both involve damage of some sort to something on your body. My auntie had no children at all and she pees herself when she laughs or lifts heavy things. My mama had 6 of us v____ally and still has a very healthy intimate life....I had a c-section and it knocked me on my rear for several months. There is no EASY way.

i liked having a c-section

I didn't like my c-sections. I had to leave my uterus, ovaries and my natural hormonal state at the hospital because of c-section damage. Try v____al, you can always get the c-section if you can't handle it. I handled labor just fine even though it was called "hyper-active labor" and was over 37 hours long. If my baby didn't have a 14 inch head even though he was only 7.5 pounds, I would have continued on...labor was better than my c-sections.

after my c section can my baby stay in the room with me

yep, as soon as you are up to it. Just make sure to have the nurses take the baby to the nursery for a few hours before you go home...you will need the uninterrupted nap to recover from your c-section (whether you feel pain or not, YOUR BODY does have a lot of work to do). Good luck, but don't let 'em cut you if you don't need it!

I had a cesarean and it was great,as for walking up the stairs,I walked up the stairs when I came home from hospital,you are a little sore thats all,as oppossed to being in pain before you have the baby,you get it afterwards.However,with the pain medication you take,the pain is a breeze in comparra__sion to labour.