Elective C-section vs. Vaginal - Considerations? [on]
I'm giving birth in July, and I am considering an elective C-section. The idea of giving birth has always given me anxiety, so I have always assumed that I would ask for an elective c-section but now I am not so sure. I put together a list compared the differences between natural birth vs. C-section. One item I am cautious of in these statistics is many of them include emergency & unplanned c-sections, which generally have worse outcomes compared to planned. Is there anything I am missing/that I should consider?
(note: one of the major factors I was concerned about was an increased risk of hemorrhage and infection, but when comparing planned vaginal vs. planned c, this article did not find any significant differences in any maternal outcome: https://www.jogc.com/article/S1701-2163(16)34982-9/pdf).
| Natural | |
|---|---|
| Effect | Reference |
| Shorter recovery time | |
| 6% chance at 3rd/4th degree tear | https://www.rcog.org.uk/for-the-public/perineal-tears-and-episiotomies-in-childbirth/third-and-fourth-degree-tears-oasi/ |
| Increased risk of long term incontinence +8% (abs) vs. C-section | https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5009182/ |
| Longer-term dyspareunia effects (compared to c-section) | https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8415658/ |
| Episiotomy rate - 20% | https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3076481/ |
| C-section | |
| Planned/controlled/predictable | |
| Longer recovery time/hospital stay | |
| Delayed lactation onset | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22456657/ |
| Increased likelihood for type 2 diabetes and obesity (+3.4% abs) | https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5779640/ |
| Increased odds of subfertility (+12% abs) | https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5779640/ |
| Increased likelihood for miscarriage (+1.2%) | https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5779640/ |