4 ms·

"A lot of 30+ women decide they don't want to piss their pants and have painful intercourse for the rest of their lives." Not specifically only for those reaso

"A lot of 30+ women decide they don't want to piss their pants and have painful intercourse for the rest of their lives." Not specifically only for those reasons, my wife always wanted a c-section birth due to the risks with vaginal birth and recovery times.

vladgur 8y ago
I would imagine the recovery times for c-section are longer
- KaiserPro 8y ago
  Depends. If you have a tear (1/4 chance) it can take longer to heal, but it's not as debilitating in the short term. It doesn't affect your ability to get out of bed, as much. However a bad tear will have long lasting impact on your life. Incontinence, infection, painful sex, amongst a whole host of other problems. C-section has a higher risk of infection, There is significant muscle damage to, which limits your ability to lift and sit up. In terms of pain (emergency c-section compared to a 4b tear, the wife says the c-section was easier to recover from. )
- DoreenMichele 8y ago
  Possibly not always true. Women are fairly frequently given episiotomies. This is intended to prevent vaginal tearing, which is far more harmful than a clean cut and much harder to repair and much more likely to leave a bad scar. Scars in the genitals can be pretty unpleasant. Scar tissue in female genitals tends to not want to cooperate with that whole sex thing. Furthermore, sutures in the genitals make it impossible to comfortably or safely sit. They can become infected or tear open when you are using the toilet. You are typically given a stool softener to try to reduce the odds of tearing your sutures post partum. Taking care of sutures in the outer genitals is inherently challenging. You can't see them without help of a mirror and they are difficult to reach for purposes of tending to them. I imagine sutures across the lower abdomen are, in many cases, a piece of cake compared to that.
  - marmaduke 8y ago
    Is an epidural assumed in all this discussion? The mothers I know who didn’t have the epidural didn’t have these nightmare symptoms, while those who did or had a C section were worse off. (I’m assuming competent medical staff and follow up, but I realize that’s a difficult one in the US and elsewhere)
    - acjohnson55 8y ago
      What would an epidural have to do with tearing and episiotomies?
      - sambe 8y ago
        Higher rate of complications during birth, more interventions (instruments), which in turn are associated with tearing/episiotomy. The implication that this never happens without an epidural is wrong of course.
        acjohnson55 8y ago
        Gotcha, makes sense when I think about it. But it's tough to say MN a given case whether complications wouldn't have occurred without the epidural. Sigh, it's a tough call.
    - DoreenMichele 8y ago
      I have had two vaginal deliveries. They both involved an episiotomy. I have never had an epidural. Both deliveries were completely drug free. Episiotomy: A surgical cut to the vaginal tissue to prevent tearing. Epidural: Spinal pain block. Totally unrelated procedures.
      - v_lisivka 8y ago
        What you think about artificial womb? Would you prefer to make forced birth one month earlier, when baby is small, and then raise it in artificial womb for month or two? https://gizmodo.com/for-the-second-time-researchers-have-used-an-artificia-1797979486 https://gizmodo.com/for-the-second-time-researchers-have-use...
- Tuna-Fish 8y ago
  You would imagine wrong. Smoothly cut, cleaned and expertly closed up wounds heal a lot faster than ripped tissue that doesn't even get properly cleaned because it's in there somewhere.
  - sambe 8y ago
    Don’t be so sure. I can’t find good research comparing the two, but it seems generally held that CS recovery times are longer. I see NICE quoted as saying no risk difference between the two methods but longer recovery times for CS (https://www.theguardian.com/politics/reality-check-with-polly-curtis/2011/nov/23/health https://www.theguardian.com/politics/reality-check-with-poll...).

vladgur 8y ago

I would imagine the recovery times for c-section are longer

KaiserPro 8y ago
Depends. If you have a tear (1/4 chance) it can take longer to heal, but it's not as debilitating in the short term. It doesn't affect your ability to get out of bed, as much. However a bad tear will have long lasting impact on your life. Incontinence, infection, painful sex, amongst a whole host of other problems. C-section has a higher risk of infection, There is significant muscle damage to, which limits your ability to lift and sit up. In terms of pain (emergency c-section compared to a 4b tear, the wife says the c-section was easier to recover from. )
DoreenMichele 8y ago
Possibly not always true. Women are fairly frequently given episiotomies. This is intended to prevent vaginal tearing, which is far more harmful than a clean cut and much harder to repair and much more likely to leave a bad scar. Scars in the genitals can be pretty unpleasant. Scar tissue in female genitals tends to not want to cooperate with that whole sex thing. Furthermore, sutures in the genitals make it impossible to comfortably or safely sit. They can become infected or tear open when you are using the toilet. You are typically given a stool softener to try to reduce the odds of tearing your sutures post partum. Taking care of sutures in the outer genitals is inherently challenging. You can't see them without help of a mirror and they are difficult to reach for purposes of tending to them. I imagine sutures across the lower abdomen are, in many cases, a piece of cake compared to that.
- marmaduke 8y ago
  Is an epidural assumed in all this discussion? The mothers I know who didn’t have the epidural didn’t have these nightmare symptoms, while those who did or had a C section were worse off. (I’m assuming competent medical staff and follow up, but I realize that’s a difficult one in the US and elsewhere)
  - acjohnson55 8y ago
    What would an epidural have to do with tearing and episiotomies?
    - sambe 8y ago
      Higher rate of complications during birth, more interventions (instruments), which in turn are associated with tearing/episiotomy. The implication that this never happens without an epidural is wrong of course.
      - acjohnson55 8y ago
        Gotcha, makes sense when I think about it. But it's tough to say MN a given case whether complications wouldn't have occurred without the epidural. Sigh, it's a tough call.
  - DoreenMichele 8y ago
    I have had two vaginal deliveries. They both involved an episiotomy. I have never had an epidural. Both deliveries were completely drug free. Episiotomy: A surgical cut to the vaginal tissue to prevent tearing. Epidural: Spinal pain block. Totally unrelated procedures.
    - v_lisivka 8y ago
      What you think about artificial womb? Would you prefer to make forced birth one month earlier, when baby is small, and then raise it in artificial womb for month or two? https://gizmodo.com/for-the-second-time-researchers-have-used-an-artificia-1797979486 https://gizmodo.com/for-the-second-time-researchers-have-use...
Tuna-Fish 8y ago
You would imagine wrong. Smoothly cut, cleaned and expertly closed up wounds heal a lot faster than ripped tissue that doesn't even get properly cleaned because it's in there somewhere.
- sambe 8y ago
  Don’t be so sure. I can’t find good research comparing the two, but it seems generally held that CS recovery times are longer. I see NICE quoted as saying no risk difference between the two methods but longer recovery times for CS (https://www.theguardian.com/politics/reality-check-with-polly-curtis/2011/nov/23/health https://www.theguardian.com/politics/reality-check-with-poll...).