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You are not the naive and ignorant one, your husband is! Yes the urban myth that you are all stretched out and old and flabby after a birth....ahhhh well tell him to get informed. Also check out all the horrible stories in this section about how women suffer for various reasons after a c-section. It is a MAJOR operation and done so casually. Plus there are risks to the child. Personally, giving birth is the most intense and precious experience you can have....why pass it up. Fortunately you said he supports a natural birth. PLEASE do all the reading you can on natural birth, how your body produces certain hormones to allow you to have this experience, the benefits to your child, etc. In addition after a c-section your child is taken from you for some time, you can not hold your child and go about things after the operation....

Ahhh ha! I was hoping for an answer like this. I have read up on both and your answer confirmed what I have learned. Thank you lunamoo :-)

Hi! I had a emergency c sec with my 1st (was a 30 hr labour....my baby was misbehaving hehe). The C section scar is a horizontal cut just below your pubic hair line so you dont see it, or if your really light down there, or shave, you wont really see it anyway as they cut along the natural crease lines of your body and its not a big cut and heals up nicely. I only had mine 10 mths ago and i cant even see the cut mark . I am hoping to have a natural birth for my 2nd (im 6 wks pregnant). The muscles down there do tighten up afterwards ive been informed by many of my friends who have first hand knowledge. There is so much pain relief available so you can be as wussy as you want! Plus, when recovering from the c-section, you have to spend about 1 hour in recovery where your husband and baby will be bonding, but you wont be there with them. The affects of a c section are pretty painful. The shakes and stomach pain is unbearable as the epidural is wearing off, and its pretty intense pain until the morphine kicks in in the recovery room. Not to mention you are tied to drips and catheters while on pain releif for following 12-24 hrs so you cant get out of bed and pick up your baby yourself. You also cant lie on your side for a few weeks, you will be sore enough to need constant pain releif medication for at least a week, not to mention you cant lift heavy weights, and some doctors dont allow driving for 6 weeks. That being the case, with natural, you need to keep up those exercises to avoid peeing problems after childbirth), and you might be a little more scared of sex after birth id say...but all in all, it seems a lot smoother sailing to opt natural so thats my vote if im able this time :) Hope this has helped.

I had ascheduled C/S with my first baby- he was breech and I didn't really have any other choice. I was seeing midwives for my whole pregnancy and was going to have a natural delivery at a birth center. I was pretty devastated about needing surgery to get my baby out. It was really weird not being part of the birth. I didn't really have my hands free, wasn't able to see or hold the baby right away, and was left staring at the ceiling while they stitched up the hole in my gut and my hubby was bonding with the baby. It was painful to recover from, too, although I had a much easier time than most women I have heard about, about two or three weeks on percocet. When I am ready for the next one, I will definately attempt to have a vaginal delivery. Read up on methods to strengthen you pelvic floor, like kegels as well as ways to minimize any tearing or damage, like slowed pushing and massage. My recommendation would be a vaginal delivery, but ultimately, of course, the diecsion is yours! Good luck either way...

I agree with Chrissyleigh - I had an emergency C section due to undiagnosed breech and found it very traumatic for many reasons - the biggest one being I couldn't be the first to hold her. I am pg with 2nd baby now and pray every night for a natural birth. You were built to do it - at least give mother nature a try. As for stretching out - tough to your husband if it does happen but you're designed to stretch and then spring back! I think he sounds very naive and selfish for even suggesting it! Yes I have a scar which I really don't like - I sometimes look at it and remember I was robbed of a real unique expereince. I've been told that if I have another c section then anymore babies cannot be a natural delivery. Honestly, do your research and, although don't pass it up if you need a csection, don't be scared of doing what you're made for. It's gonna hurt either way!

If I'd had the choice, I would have gone for natural childbirth. Just the act of going through your birth canal is generally healthier for your baby as the contractions naturally stimulate breathing and heartrate. I had twins and the first one presented breech, so I wasn't given an option.

If you are able, I think natural is the way to go. I had a pretty hard recovery. After the surgery, I was left alone for over an hour while my husband and family members were able to bond and cuddle my babies. This may sound selfish, but I was so jealous that I didn't get to hold them first. I still kind of am, to be honest. After carrying them for months and the pain of the procedure itself, I wanted to be the first to hold them as a reward i guess for my hard work. Plus, I was lonely and worried about whether something was wrong with them and no one came into recovery for what seemed forever. It took me almost 2 months for my incision to fully heal and it hurt almost the while time. not severe pain the whole time, but a dull constant ache. My hips stretched even though I didn't give birth vaginally. They are still not back to where they were pre-pregnancy. That could be from having twins, though, i don't really know. I think the worst parts though were after the surgery i was very nauseous and couldn't stop vomiting. My best friend literally had to forcibly push on my incision because it hurt so badly if there wasn't enough pressure when you cough or vomit or laugh. and getting up and walking as well as using the bathroom hurt very badly for the first couple weeks.

don't take a c-section lightly. it is considered MAJOR SURGERY.

I have had three different birth experiences. The first was a natural vaginal delivery (loved it!). Second was emergency C-section with breech baby (hated the recovery) and the third was a successful VBAC (yay! also loved it).
As for the scar, yes, it does fade and the scar itself isn't so noticeable (it has been over 3 years now) but the way the skin/muscles were put back together makes kind of a funny pinching in parts and the whole area is not as smooth as I would like.
My natural birth experiences were MUCH better than the C-section experience, which should be obvious why I decided to go with a VBAC rather than endure another C-section. The recovery after the surgery was slow and painful, and especially hard since I had another young child to care for (which won't matter if this is your first, but think about the second baby or even third if you need to have repeat C-sections). My recovery from the natural, vaginal births was very quick and easy. Yes, your hips spread when you birth the baby vaginally, but you know, when I lost my pregnancy weight after my first birth, I ended up being a size 4 even though I had been a size 6 before having kids. So I was actually smaller. I am only about 12 weeks postpartum with this third, so we'll see what size I get down to when I lose all the pregnancy weight, but I am shrinking!
And the stretching of the vaginal area heals and is minimal afterward, so don't let that be a deciding factor.
If I could give you some advice, I'd say at least try the vaginal birth. You never know--you may end up needing a C-section anyway, but there's much less risk doing a vaginal delivery before having a C-section, if you end up deciding later you want to have both experiences.

Ali6996, I to debated whether or not to have a vaginal or a csection delivery with my first baby. I really wanted to have a csection towards the end because I was afraid that she was to big for me,(i'm on the small size too) but my husband was afraid of the surgery so he wanted me to have a vaginal birth. So I did what my husband and doctors suggested and tried to go vaginally. I suffered a third degree tear and a broken tail bone. I had a lot of stitches so I actually was tighter afterwards so sex was terribly painful and still is six months later. I also had to see a colorectal specialist because the tear ran through the my bottom and I had some incontinence issues. After the delivery I couldnt get out of bed on my own for nearly 2 weeks because it would pull on my stitches. My tail bone still hurts. I also get vaginal pains quite often. The colorectal specialist says I should have a csection next time. I also spent the first 8 weeks very angry and upset with my husband because I blamed him because I did what he wanted and not what I wanted. I am still not fully recoverd. Also I have a scar down there inside and out and that bothers me a lot even though no one sees it. My husband feels it, its very rigid inside now. I have friends who have had multiple csections and they were fully recovered a lot quicker than me with a lot less complications. My advice to you is for you to do what you want and not what anyone else wants. Then if something does happen it will have been your decision. I still have issues with my husband because he didnt support me in what i wanted. If I had had a csection I feel that Iwouldnt have these problems.Every person is differnt you have to decide whats best for you.