NHS “we are fully booked for C sections next week- however you need a C section next week.. we will see what we can do”. Advice?

Oh my goodness. I’m so sorry this is happening to you! The amount of stress and anxiety this must be causing you

Contact PALS x

Contact your midwife similar happened to myself last year my midwife followed it up as an emergency and mine was granted within two days x

@Naomi contact the community midwife you mean?

Yeah or the personal one assigned to you at antenatal clinic 🙂

@Naomi im pretty sure i dont have a personal one. I will talk to the community midwife tomorrow about making it urgent! X

Contacts PALS and complain

What gestation are you? A breech baby doesn't need to be delivered by c-section but obviously if that is your choice then that is great. However, it is totally safe to wait until the following week, even if by any chance you went into labour, that is still safe and they will just take you to theatre as an "unplanned" c-section. Some people even opt to do this as their plan because of the benefits for baby of going into spontaneous labour but they don't quite want to commit to a breech vaginal delivery. Xx

@Saff im 39 weeks. I dont want to have a natural birth for a breech baby as this can have massive effects on babies hips which happened to my mum who then had to have hip replacements since being a child. I dont want an “emergency” section as they tend to knock you out so you dont get to be awake for when baby is born and the father cant be there in the op either, plus the anaesthetic effects the baby more than spinal. Many reasons i dont want it basically. Breech runs in the family X

I know, I wasn't suggesting a vaginal birth. I was just saying that worst case scenario they can't get you in this week and you happened to go into labour before you planned section, they can still take you to theatre for your section. It wouldn't be an emergency and they wouldn't need to put you under general anaesthetic. There would likely be enough time to get a spinal in. Like I said, this is worst case scenario but it is very unlikely that they won't be able to get you booked in before you go into labour.

If it helps, I started contracting two days before my scheduled C-section (my LO was also breech) and they just brought me in as soon as I called. While it was technically an emergency section, it felt to me as a scheduled one almost. There was never any talk of knocking me out at all. They gave me anti sickness medication and did the spinal. My partner was there the whole time, everything was very calm and we have some beautiful pictures of our LO being born. This might differ by hospital but my 'emergency' section definitely didn't feel like an emergency at all!

Adding to this, I started contracting around 4am. Called around 7 am as the contractions were getting regular, and they had me go in. I was monitored for about half an hour and when they were sure that labour was progressing, they started the C-section prep. Baby was born at 11.30. So even though my contractions were progressing fairly quickly (which I was told can happen with breech babies), there was plenty of time. If you do end up going into labour before you have a date, maybe call triage as soon as tou start feeling regular contractions, even if they are still spaced apart. When you tell them that baby is breech and you are due a section, they might bring you in right away. (They won't if you have just had a couple of random contractions though - I had this a few times in the weeks before the real deal).

Breached babies are more at risk of developing hip dysplasia irregardless of how they are born but rather due to their position they have been in in the womb, your baby will have an ultrasound at 6 weeks and a bracefor a while, if needed. If you into labour before your section date, you would be classed as an ‘emergency’ but it wouldn’t be much different to a scheduled section, just at an earlier date, you are thinking of a category I section in which the baby has to come out within minutes due to risk of life. Best to speak to your midwife or GP to get your facts straight

I planned my c section for a breech baby for 40+5 and if I’d gone into labour before that they said call straight away