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Well, I don't know about your particular situation, but I must ask if I may, why would you opt for a cesarean section? I had four and I would never choose one personally as I did not enjoy them at all and had a host of complications both short and long term. The catheter is inserted in your urethra (the opening where your pee comes out) it is done before surgery sometimes or just after your spinal is performed. The spinal is not the same as a spinal tap (this draws spinal fluid OUT). They usually inject a local anesthetic first which feels like a stinging pinching feeling. The spinal also can cause a dull ache, tingling and also pinches. The IV is done pre-op, once you are in your room and prior to going to the OR. The surgery takes anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour. You will be in recovery for another hour or so. I have to say in good conscience though, that if you don't have pressing medical needs I would reconsider major surgery...the recovery can really suck and there are increased risks for both mom and baby with surgical births. Some women do fairly well with c-sections and others do not so I would really get the down and dirty on this type of birth. Good luck.

Hi... well thanks for that.. one of the reasons Im opting for a caesarean is because Im having a very bad pregnancy... I threatened to miscarry for almost 4 months and I still suffer from cramps etc... I cant exercise or walk for long distances or even stand for a long time! I am generally a very fit, sporty and health concious person and I have never experienced the worry and anxiety that Im currently going through. I know its not good for the baby to feel like this ALL the time so out of pure fear of something terrible happening to our baby through complications (complications that my own mother went through with all four pregnancies), Im opting to have a caesarean. I do know its major surgery and I have researched every aspect of it. I am almost identical to my mother when she was my age... there is only 19 yrs between us and she only had her last child (my brother Kevin) 4 yrs ago. I was her first child. I was 10lbs 11 ounces!! she also had a narrow pelvis like me. She haemorraged and spent 2 weeks in hospital after a 33 hr labour! We are very alike.. physically and mentally and I know judging by my bump already that were going to have a BIG baby too. I believe Im strong enough to recover from the surgery as Im young (24) fit and healthy and very determined, BUT not strong enough to go through another 5 months of worrying if the baby is going to be ok. I think I have thought it through enough and I do understand what you girls have gone through was a bad experience but people also have good experiences.. and I'm really confident that I will have a happy story to tell afterwards. xxx thanks again for your advice girls xx

Melly- I've had three c-sections. I had an epidural before the catheter with my first baby, but still felt it, and got the catheter before my spinal (with my 2nd) and before general anesthesia (with my 3rd)...anyway, it was more like pressure than pain for me and once it was in I never felt it again until they were taking it out. I wasn't numbed before my epidural or spinal, but it was a pinch... not too bad. I was lucky because I didn't have any problem with the epi or spinal. It can really go either way, unfortunately there's no way to tell ahead of time. I had IV's put in my hand before surgery... when I was still in the little room that they prepped me in and asked all the pre-surgery ??s in. (Except with my first I had a long labor before the C and got the IV sometime during the labor). with my first it took about 5 minutes to get him out, my second about 35 minutes and I don't know about my third since I was asleep! Fair share of pain afterward... I think I would have said a lot at the time, but seeing what some others have gone through on here I don't think I really had it that bad :-) Also, it was MUCH less pain then what I had during that labor with my first. I also had big babies and while I know that some people do really well delivering big babies, I don't think I would have! Mine were 9 lbs. 5 oz., 8 lbs. 3 oz. (taken 10 days early) and 10 lbs. 6 oz. My mom's only baby over 9 lbs. was my youngest brother and he has learning disabilities, is legally blind in one eye and has poor vision in the other from birth trauma, so I would rather go through the c-section for sure.

...also wanted to add that if I'd had an inkling that my first was going to be so big and would have known that I had scarring of the cervix from a D&C for miscarriage (the reason for my unprogressing labor... could have been found before the labor if my OB at the time would have done routine 20 week u/s's, which they didn't) I also would have had a scheduled c-section!

If they try to give you the catheter before you get the spinal, just ask them to wait. I actually had to request this with both of my c-sections. I was like "Ummm... if I am going to be numb down there in about 5 minutes, can't you just stick that thing in then?" And both times the nurse was like "Oh yeah, that's a good idea!" As far as the spinal, I was terrified but really ended up being shocked at how easy and painless it was. I think that they did give me something to numb the skin, but like I said, I had built it up in my mind to be WAY WAY WAY worse than it actually was.

I'm not trying to make you afraid or ruin your deciscion, but I feel the need to tell my story to anyone who is opting for a C. My Emergency C-section is one of the worst things that has ever happened to me. Granted it's one of the best since I have my beautiful little boy, but it has been awful and still is. My incision site did not heal right from the beginning and I had to lay on the couch without being able to move for about 2 weeks straight. (Pretty depressing when you would like to be up taking care of your new baby. ) The thing finally began to heal but was EXTREMLY sore and painful for quite some time, when just about a week ago my incision opened up AGAIN and I ended up in the ER with a 102 fever and am now on hardcore antibiotics, wondering if this thing will ever close. My c-section was 5 MONTHS AGO and this is still going on. I can't even excersise to lose my baby weight and it's hard to have as much energy as I'd like to have for my son because I feel like c___p all the time. So again, not trying to ruin your decision, but after going through something like this I can't understand why anyone would opt for a C if they didn't need one. A v____al birth may be a little more painful at the moment in time( maybe not even) but would probably have you feeling a lot better in the long run. Sorry for the rant and I know I didn't actually answer any of your questions, but I thought I might give you some more info to think about than they give you in the medical manuals. I would give anything to have been able to go back and have a natural birth, than again I still try to remember that I am completely blessed to have my little boy, no matter how he got here. Good luck in whatever you choose to do.

I went through 20 hours of labor and then needed a csection due to lack of progress. I was fully dilated, but she wasn't moving down my birth ca___l even after four hours of pushing. My csection went really well - only a slight pinch when the needle went in for the epidural (which was nothing for me at that point.) I didn't feel the catheter at all - I don't understand why they would put it in before the epidural as some women have gone through. The actual procedure didn't take very long. Within minutes my daughter was out and screaming with great gusto! Healing was more painful than I thought. I couldn't even lift my daughter out of her ba__sinet until the third day. Walking was painful and slow. I had 12 staples across my abdomen which grossed me out (I hate stuff in me like that). I was taking advil for a week. However, I have heard many women on this forum say their healing was really quick and they were out of bed easily on day 1,so I guess everyone's different! Oh - and I got an IV put in my hand as soon as they got me in. Here in Canada (or at least in my hospital), all laboring women get an IV as soon as they come in. IN case of an emergency, it's ready to go.

mellycate82... I'm here to tel lyou the happy side of csection because mine was awesome!! I also had a planned csection and mine was so easy I would do it again in a minute! As for the cath it is done after your epidural, you will be numb to pain but not touch (so you will feel people touch you but you don't feel pain, i know its sounds strange but you will see) in any event you wont feel them insert that cath at all (at least i didn't) i would say the only part that was uncomfortable for me was the actual epidural but it was very quick. About 12 hours after giving birth you will be able to have (a little from your bed to bathroom) and and go pee on your own, you will have morphine for the first 12hrs and trust me you will feel very little pain, later the will put you on percocets or vicoden and you will have some pain but not bad. The thing is you want to feel some so you don't get false security and do something you shouldn't. I was up at 12hrs and in the shower alone the next morning, at home 2 days after giving birth. Once they take the staples out (just before you leave) its a lot easier to move around. DON'T spend your time worring about this stuff, trust your medical team, and rest up for your baby!! Csections tend to get a bad rap and i wished i had someone to tell me the positive stuff because i worried up until it was all over and wasted a ton of energy doing that!! I was walking with my daughter in her stroller 3 days after giving birth, and i was having s_x 6days later, I didn't bleed after 3 days (thank god because those pads they give you are huge!!), i didn't have any v____al trama what so ever!! My scar is barely noticeable (use merderma once your doctor says its ok to) the main thing i can say is RELAX!! Hope this helps! Let me know if you have more questions

If you want the morphine vjr talked about...ask for it in advance... My hospital gave me nothing until my spinal wore off and I started having pain and asked for pain meds... and by the time you are already in pain, it is harder to get rid of it. But, I had to be up and out of bed and down to NICU to see my daughter within 2-3 hours after delivery, so I was probably overdoing it a little, too. Also, I was (unexpectedly) put under general anesthesia with my son (3rd baby) and when I woke up I was in pain, but wasn't quite awake enough to talk, so I had to just lay there until I was "with it" enough to ask for pain meds... so definitely try to get that lined up ahead of time!! As far as when you get up and walking the first time, this must vary from hosp to hosp and from case to case. I was up 6 hours after my first one (he was born in the middle of the night after a long, hard labor), 2nd one was the one I had to be up within 2-3 hours and my third- I had him at 1:30pm and got out of bed at about 9:00pm... they were trying to make it earlier, but I felt like c___p because 1. they gave me Pitocin AFTER the delivery to shrink my uterus faster (over 10 lb. baby) and 2. because I was still loopy for several hours after the G.A.

sahmof3 you had to ask for pain meds in advance?? I'm sorry that sucks, they had me on a morphine drip with my own "fun" b___ton to adimister it every 10mins so i could stay ahead of the pain (its only doses you at 10min intervials no matter how much you push it) i was also given a drug to shrink my uterus down and that caused some discomfort but not to bad, i actually asked to get off the morphine and go down to just vicodin which surprised the nurses. Mellycat82 as sahmof3 suggested I would just talk to your doctor about pain control at your next visist just to make sure your taken care of, because as sahmof3 said its a lot hard to maange pain after it starts then it is to stay ahead of it, that could make a huge difference in your experiance.

I had one really good C-section and one really bad one. Both of mine were in non-emergent situations at the same hospital, so I am not sure why one was good and one was bad. My first was due to breech presentation, and my second was elective (I am not a good VBAC candidate). With my 2nd one the big problem was that the incision did not close until 7 weeks post partum. After consulting with a plastic surgen I found out it is because they tried to go in through my old scar improperly. I know this will be your first C Mellycat, but if anyone here is thinking about a 2nd C, make sure to talk to your doc about this. I think that what they are supposed to do is to remove a small amount of tissue around the old scar so that they are st_tching skin to skin, instead of skin to scar tissue.

I was dreading my c-section and wished I could have delivered v____ally but I had no choice. My I.V. was the first thing that went on at the same time that another nurse was shaving my pubic area. My catheter went on AFTER I got my spinal block so I was already numb down there and could not feel much when they inserted it. I did feel a little embara__sed though since the entire medical team of about 6 or 7 people were in the operating room when it was done but better to be embara__sed than feel the pain. And yes, there is first an injection to numb the lower back area then the needle that goes deeper (in my case a spinal block) goes in afterwards. The anesthesiologiest also gave me a bit of morphine to manage the pain after the spinal block wore off which was about 2 hours afterwards. I refused the muscle relaxer to try to minimize the effects on my baby. For me the c-section (which I had 3 weeks ago) itself was not so bad and the pain afterwards is tolerable but it does hurt when I try to lie down on my side or when I'm sitting for too long. My worst complaints about teh surgery itself are that I was badly constipated on the 4th day after the surgery and I'm still waiting for bowel movements to become normal again. Another thing is that the first time I got out of bed to walk around I almost fainted but I'm not sure if that's a side effect of recovering from surgery or because I had pre-eclampsia beforehand. Also, because of the c-section my b___stfeeding got off to a slow start so if you plan to b___stfeed keep in mind that your milk supply may come in slower and you may need to supplement with formula if your baby is not giving you enough wet and poopy diapers as he/she is supposed to. Nobody told me this and my baby ended up losing too much weight and getting dehydrated by the 5th day after he was born. I'm sure you have your good reasons for opting for the c-section. Don't worry about it too much. Yes, it's major surgery but for some of us it's really not that bad. Good luck to you.

Hi it me again! Well thanks a million for all the advice, vjr I think you have definately eased a few of my anxieties!!! I honestly feel a lot better now! I have read everyones story here and I think its safe to say that everyone is different and experience different things in different ways.... I hope I can have a story like yours vjr!! Thanks again ladies! xx Karen in Ireland

I would advise you prepare for the emotional effects too, as this is not often covered. After my c section I didn't get skin to skin, I couldn't change my baby's first nappy, couldn't lift him out of his crib to comfort him, couldn't wipe up his dribble, or get him to latch on, without a__sistance from a midwife, because I physically couldn't do it. This still bothers me 4 months on.

mellycat82 Glad i could help, I was in the same boat your were I had tons of questions and was very nervous, I felt my choice was the best for me but i delt with a lot of negitive feed back from women who thought i was insane for wanting a csection, i had my own reasons and i tell you it was 100% the right choice for me and my daughter, as for the skin to skin contact sophandbob spoke of, my daughter was placed on my b___st in the recovery room (about 30mins after she was born) but her dad was holding her right to my face while they closed my up so i could kiss and smell her and she could smell and hear me. All my nurses were very helpful getting her close to me so that i didn't have to move much, she spent the rest of the time in my bed with me unless they had to check her for something but she never left my room not even once. And when we came home I either had her in the playpen with the elevated bed so I didn't have to bend very far (although bending wasn't an issue for me) or i just kept her in the bed with me. I know everyone has different experiances but I think now that csections are done more than v____al births your chances of having a bad experiance are far lower than they use to be. Iwould love to hear how it all goes please keep me posted. Also one last thing if your still really nervous before you give birth they can give you something through your IV to help keep you calm, but they will talk to you about it... I thought i would need it but once i was on the table i was super relaxed all on my onw! Good lock sweety!!

mellycat - i had to have a csection after 15 hours of labor and i am definitely having another one. as long as your doctor and the anesthesiologist do everything right and you follow dr's orders its not so bad. i had the epidural before i knew i had to have a section and they put the catheter in then. they touched me and made sure i couldnt feel anything before they put in the catheter, they have to do that when you have an epi anyways. then for the section they gave me more meds, i was totally totally numb, and 18 minutes from when i went into the operating room my hubby was holding baby. the only thing that sucked is that i was getting ma__sive ma__sive tremors i think from the numbing meds, but i get tremors at the dentist too from novocaine so that probably wont happen to you if you dont tremor at the dentist. the second the baby came the tremors started to ease up and by the time i got to my room they werent bad at all. as for your other questions, the catheter goes in your pee hole, and if done right you wont feel it. i had an IV port put in as soon as i got to the hospital and they put it in my wrist so that i could have use of my hand because you have to be in the hospital for a few days after your section. also, afterwards my dr connected my IV to this b___ton that gave me morphine every time i pushed it. it ewas awesome. getting out of bed the first time is going to SUCK, my dr made me get out of bed 6 hours after the section and took out the catheter and as soon as you pa__s gas theylll let you eat solid foods again. thats about it! but it wasnt all bad. youll be ok. if you think youre gonna need a section follow your instinct because i thought so too and my dr said she didnt think id need one but i was right. mothers know these things.