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Painful Cesarean

Wow! I thought that I was the only one that had a painful cesarean. On April 22, 2003 I went in to have my baby. I pushed for 2 hours with no result so they asked me if I wanted a c-section. I said yes as the pain was so extreme. As they were preping me for the surgery, The doctor kept asking me if I could feel him prick my legs with an instument. I kept telling him yes. He asked me about 5 times and I continued to say yes. Then they proceeded to cut into me. I screamed so hard that I could feel it. I then went into shock so the put me under. My husband says I stopped breathing so they had to bring me out of it. I was still in tremendous pain. I continued to have breathing problems. Its funny because the doctor never apologized for what happened.

Misti

incuction and cesear

My pregnancy lasted for 42 weeks: first pregnancy at 36 years.

I was induced on the 24/01/06 at 12:30pm and the pains started at 20:00pm. by 22hrs i was 6cm dilated and i couldn't dilate further than that. I was in labor for the whole night and the following day at about 12:30 it was decided that i should have an epidural cesear.

My bundle of joy was born at 14:30 the 25/01/06. To cut the long story short, if only i knew that i would suffer from 2 different kinds of pains(induction & cesear), i would have opted for a cesarean right from the beginning.

phindile

Pain during C-section too

I was just reading Dena's post about feeling pain during the C-section like I had with my twins this past December. I, however, didn't have any sort of "test" of feeling beforehand.. I was just thrown into the surgery basically, and all the while I was screaming I could feel it, they kept telling me I was just feeling pressure. I know the difference! I could tell when they were separating the bladder, and it hurt so bad. They ended up knocking me out almost immediately after the babies came out, and like Dena, I didn't get to bond with either baby. I don't even remember seeing the last one at all. OH well.. too late now, but the pain thing does happen, and I remember thinking Oh my Gosh, how can I deal with this... I sort of told myself to just hang in there it will be over soon.

Lori

Painful Cesarean

I do not tell this story to frighten anyone, but to encourage women to speak up if ever in doubt.

I was in labor with my first child for 26 hours. During this time, I was given three epidurals. Three anesthesiologists. Three needles. The first was given early on, and only took on one side. Another epidural was administered after a few hours. This seemed to work better, though I still had pain.

Late in the evening, after 24 hours or so, and I had only gotten to 8cm, a decision was made to proceed with a cesarean at 3am. At this point, I had a great deal of sensation, so a third epidural was administered in preparation for the c-section. I immediately stated my concern that I could still feel a lot. I was assured that prior to the surgery, I would not feel anything more than tugging and pulling during the procedure. I was wheeled into the operating room, scared and exhausted. Prior to the c-section, the anesthesiologist dabbed my shoulder with a wet swab and then dabbed my abdomen. I should feel coolness on the shoulder, but merely a wet sensation on my abdomen. On one side of my abdomen, this was true. On the other, I immediately exlaimed that it felt cool. Several of the team exchanged glances and the anesthesiologist assured me that some temperature variation was normal.

My husband and the anesthesia nurse talked to me to distract me from the procedure, but as soon as the incision was started, I cried out that I could feel it! It was not just a dull sensation. It was horrible pain. I truly cannot describe the magnitude of the pain. As they were pulling my son from me, I literally felt as if a wild animal was pulling apart my torso. They did not put me under, as that could affect the baby.

As soon as he was extracted, I was pumped full of drugs and the pain was gone. I woke to my son and husband several hours later, feeling tramautized and robbed of the birth experience and immediate bonding with my son. Perhaps the worst part of all was the attitude of the hospital personnel, which seemed to be that nothing out of the ordinary had occured. I felt mostly dismissed. I was fine. My baby was fine. End of story.

In the larger picture, I do agree with this, but I am still shocked with the whole ordeal. I am now pregnant with my second child and trying to consider how to proceed with delivery. I would prefer to have a VBAC, but am terrified that I cannot be adequately anesthetized for another c-section, if one becomes necessary. Has anyone heard of anyone experiencing pain during c-section, as I did? For those of you about to undergo a c-section, if you have doubts about the effectiveness of your anesthesia, speak up and DEMAND to be recognized.

Dena

Young Mother and Big Baby

When I was 19 I became pregnant. I had just come home from the military and had no job and was barely making rent on my apartment. I was not prepared for the news that I was going to be a mom.

The first half of my pregnancy went perfectly. Then at 27 weeks I experienced my first bout of preterm labor. Again at 33 and 35 weeks I had contractions. By the time I made my due date I was 3 cm dilated but there was no sign of the baby. I was scheduled to be induced four days later. The night I was to begin my induction I went in and the nurse hooked up a fetal monitor and found I was having contractions. I decided to go home and wait it out. The next day I wasn't feeling anything so I went in anyway. The nurse checked and I was 5 cm!!! I couldn't believe it.

After two hours of walking the halls I wasn't progressing so we started pitocin and when that didn't help the doctor broke my water. That did the trick and I was in hard labor for the next hour until I got my epidural. As soon as I could relax, things progressed rapidly. I went to 7 cm and then 9 cm and then fully dilated in an hour and a half. I did a few practice pushes for the nurse and she realized my daughter was coming fast. The doctor barely made it in time. She was born at 5:53 PM weighing 8lbs. 10 oz. and 20 inches long.

As soon as my epidural wore off I was up and moving around with no problems except for some pain from my episiotomy. We went home two days later and she is now a happy, healthy 11 month old. She's already walking, talking, and feeding herself and I'm going back to school to become an engineer.

sara