My C-Section Story
Like many mums-to-be, my first c-section wasn't in my birth plan. In fact, I'd actually
watched a series of hypnobirthing videos in the run up to having my first baby and I felt super positive about the whole thing. I was going to breathe this baby out. I just needed to stay focused. Well, COVID had other plans...
16 December 2021. I was 42 weeks pregnant and being called into hospital for an induction. Beyond the antenatal classes I'd already forgotten and the aforementioned hypnobirthing videos, I genuinely didn't have a fucking clue what was ahead of me. Does anyone?
I was instantly hooked up to the monitor and told I was already in labour. Oh...great. This isn't bad. I'm already in labour. Cool. Within 20 minutes my contractions were back to back. Every 5 minutes when I sat down and every minute when I stood up, and I perched on the edge of the bed and asked for the menu of pain relief options. Was there a pain relief menu? Where were the midwives? A midwife eventually appeared, scoffed at me and offered me paracetamol. Paracetamol... seriously? Where's the good stuff?
25 hours later, still stuck in triage and only 3cm dilated, I was told I needed an
emergency c-section. This baby wasn't moving and his heart rate was dropping. Being wheeled into theatre following an epidural and a couple of pethidine injections I was, indeed, pretty high and my time in surgery felt like the most comfortable part of the whole ordeal. I look fondly back on the first ever photo of Luca, being carried by surgeon Ruth as she held him up to the shining light.
My experience, though, went seriously downhill following that moment. As soon as he was born my husband was told to leave and I was left on the post-maternity ward to fend for myself. It was 40 hours of hell before my husband demanded I was discharged. I felt stiff as a board. I'd been made to walk as soon as the anaesthetic had drained out of my legs. I stood in the shower at home and cried from not having slept for nearly 3 days. I looked like I'd been run over by an ambulance.
And yet... I chose another c-section. Here's why.
The Thing About C-Section Scars
Here's the bit I really wish someone had told me at discharge, somewhere between
trying to keep my newborn alive and the haze of not having slept for three days.
A c-section goes through multiple layers of tissue. For some women, the way it heals causes problems that only show up years down the line, often when you're trying for another baby and quietly losing your mind about why it's not happening.
In my case, I was told by my NHS obstetrician that my c-section scar had a niche at one end, basically a small indentation in the scar tissue, which was making implantation difficult. That was probably the reason I couldn't get pregnant. I also had mild adenomyosis, which wasn't helping.
What is adenomyosis? The uterine lining grows into the muscular wall of the womb instead of shedding normally, causing heavy, painful periods and sometimes fertility problems. It's underdiagnosed, under-discussed, and more common than you'd think.
Scar tissue can interfere with how the uterus functions, affecting implantation,
disrupting the uterine lining and thinning the wall. Nobody joined those dots for me at any point. Most women go on to have multiple pregnancies with no issues whatsoever, but it is important to know the risks upfront when you're deciding whether to have a c-section.
What About Your Baby?
It's the question nobody really wants to ask out loud but most people are quietly thinking. The honest answer is that it depends and the research doesn't give a clean verdict either way.
Babies born vaginally are exposed to hormones during labour that help prepare them for birth and may reduce the chance of breathing difficulties. There are also links between vaginal birth and lower rates of conditions like asthma, Type 1 diabetes and allergies in childhood. C-section babies also acquire a different set of microbes at birth, which is thought to affect microbiome development and immune regulation in early life.
But a lot of this research doesn't separate planned c-sections from emergency ones, or account for the reasons the c-section was needed in the first place. In my case, my daughter was born three weeks early because of placenta praevia. A vaginal birth wasn't a safe option.
And for planned c-sections, the gap is closing. Skin-to-skin contact in theatre is now encouraged at most NHS hospitals and delayed cord clamping, where the cord is left intact for at least a minute to allow extra blood to flow to the baby, is standard practice.
There's also the gentle caesarean technique, first developed at Queen Charlotte's and Chelsea Hospital in London, which aims to make the birth feel as close to a natural delivery as possible. You can ask for this. It's worth knowing it exists. If a c-section is medically indicated, the decision is largely made for you. But if you're choosing one, it's worth asking your obstetrician what can be done to give your baby the best possible start regardless of how they arrive.
Why More Women Are Choosing C-Sections
I'm not alone in this. For the first time ever, more babies in England are now born by c-section than by vaginal birth. The latest NHS figures for 2024-25 show 45% of births were c-sections, versus 44% spontaneous vaginal births.
A decade ago that figure was 26.5%. So what's going on? The official line points to rising maternal age, obesity rates, more complex pregnancies. All true. But there's something else, something the NHS won't put in a press release. More and more women are choosing c-sections not because they want surgery, but
because they don't trust they'll be looked after if they don't.
"I didn't choose a second c-section because I was afraid of labour. I chose it because I didn't trust that if something went wrong, I'd be looked after. There's a difference."
That was me. I'd already been mistreated by midwives on a ward after major surgery. I wasn't doing that again.
The NHS Numbers Nobody Talks About
Do I blame the midwives? Honestly, yes, a bit. But I also recognise they're doing an
extremely difficult job in a system that doesn't support them.
The NHS now carries a £60.3 billion provision for future clinical negligence liabilities - one of the largest provisions on the government’s books, behind nuclear decommissioning.
In 2024/25, maternity accounted for 42% of all clinical negligence payments: £1.3 billion. And almost half of the maternity services inspected in the CQC’s national review were rated inadequate or requiring improvement.
When women say they don't feel safe, the data agrees with them. So when the c-section rate keeps climbing, maybe the question isn't why women are making that choice, it's why they feel they have to.
Knowing Your Rights
Going into my second pregnancy, I didn't know you could request a c-section without a medical reason. It's called a maternal request caesarean and it's a legal right. Your hospital has to take your reasons seriously and if an obstetrician refuses, they're obliged to refer you to one who won't. In practice, most NHS Trusts make it a battle. Research found the majority made the process slow, inconsistent or just plain difficult. Only 26% were following NICE guidance properly.
If you want one: raise it at your booking appointment, not at 36 weeks. Ask to be
referred to a Birth Options Clinic or to see a consultant directly. Put your reasons in
writing. If you're refused, go to the Head of Midwifery or the Clinical Director. And if you need backup, Birthrights (birthrights.org.uk) have a free advice line.
NICE (the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) NICE sets the clinical guidelines the NHS must follow. On maternal request caesareans, their guidance is unambiguous: your reasons must be taken seriously.
The Second Time Around
My second c-section was completely different, and I say that as someone whose baby ended up in neonatal care and then had to be readmitted to hospital for phototherapy for jaundice. She was born three weeks early because of placenta praevia. It wasn't straightforward, and it was still 1,000 times better than the first time.
The difference was that I knew what was coming. I'd chosen this, I'd prepared for it, and I walked in feeling confident rather than terrified. I wasn't reacting to decisions being made around me. I was ahead of them. Nobody was bullying me into anything I didn't want. And when it came to recovery, I knew I needed to take the time to actually heal. The first time, nobody made me feel like I was allowed to.
A planned c-section and an emergency one are genuinely different experiences, not just physically but mentally and if you're considering one, that's worth knowing. Recovery is still recovery. Six weeks off driving. Lift nothing heavier than the baby. A scar that feels weird for months. If you've got other kids, sort your support before you give birth. Not on day three when you're running on empty. Ask about scar physio. Ask about postnatal mental health support. Not just if you're really struggling. Always. Both times, I probably should have.
Podcast We get into all of this on Not Safe For Kids. Check it out. Search "Not Safe For Kids" on YouTube, apple Podcasts or wherever you listen.
What I Know Now
My first c-section saved Luca's life. I'm certain of that. My second one was a choice, one I would have made, placenta praevia or not. I don't regret either. But the system failed me in the gap between them, in not telling me what could happen to my uterus post c-section.
If you're trying to figure out what's right for you: get the information, know what you're entitled to and make the call. Nobody else has to live in your body.
Share Your Story
C-sections: planned, emergency, chosen, complicated. They are one of the most
common things that happen to women and one of the least talked about honestly. If you've been through one, we'd love to hear about it.