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I did and it wasn't planned! Out LO arrived just two weeks ago and I finally had a chance to jot down everything I remember to write my birth story. I had planned on natural birth but long story short, after 16 hours of labor with very painful back labor the last 4-5 hours and pushing for 2.5 hours an emergency c-section was needed to get her out. Sometime btwn my appt 3 days earlier and then, baby rotated and was facing posterior (aka sunny-side up or face forward) and head was crooked just enough where she ended up wedged in. When they went in to get her out, she wasn't even that far down after all that pushing!!! When my midwife told me they needed to do c-section, I was a mix of disappointed, nervous, and scared. Dissappointed in myself for not being able to get through with no intervention (I didn't want any drugs being passed to LO), nervous and scared for LO's well being. The hardest thing at that point was that my contractions were one after another and it was impossible to suppress the urge to push. I wasn't longer in my zone to cope with the pain and knew pushing was useless, so I just screamed through them while pushing just enough to get through each one. I had to sit still (HA!) during the spinal but once that was in, I finally had relief from the contractions. Everything is a bit blur after that until DH was by my side again and then when LO was born. The surgeon was great and kept me informed through the whole process, and it was a lot less scary than I thought. I was also going on 40+ hours of no sleep so I was pretty delirious at that point. After LO was born and I got to meet her briefly, they took LO to finish cleaning her off (DH went with her) and doc finished stitching lr up then sent me to recovery. I had to stay in recovery for 2 hours until I regained done feeling in my legs but they brought LO so I could nurse her for the first time. She stayed with me for about 20 minutes then they took her to the nursery while I was bring monitored. I ended up staying at the hospital for 3 nights and DH only had 1 week paternity leave, so he was only home with me for a few days. Luckily my mom lives nearby so she comes by during the days to help out.

Recovery was tough the first week with pain at the incision area but at two weeks post-partum, I feel mostly healed. I'm still bleeding and the incision is still sore at times, but nothing intolerable. In the end, I am thankful that (a) LO is safe and healthy and (b) that the birth center I chose was within a hospital. I chose a birth center so i could labor in water anf have a natural birth, but the location allowed for them to do what needed to be do be done quickly to get LO out safe. Things didn't quite work out how I imagined but the outcome was all worth it. I would do everything the same if I had to choose again.

I had a c-section after 3hrs(!) of pushing because my LO's head was tilted in an awkward position. Setting up the IV and epidural took longer than the c-section itself, which took all of 5 minutes, probably less. The epidural was heaven cause I didn't feel anything, just pressure when they extracted LO. I was hazy while it was going but I was just relieved that LO came out healthy. Honestly, I think while it's happening, the pain (if you feel any) won't even register as you'll be concentrating on your baby. Trust me, you and your body are a lot more resilient than you realize.

As for recovery, I had a lot of pain healing from the separated pelvis I got through all the pushing but very little pain from the actual c-section healing process. They sent me home with drugs that I never took. My scar itches now and then still but that's about it.

Good luck and don't fret about it

@msmamabear - agree on the staples! First sneeze after surgery was horrible too - I felt the staples pulling!!! Once they were removed it was much better. I had back labor too - is it me or was the back labor way worse than the actual contractions?

My mom had 2 c-sections, one planned, one not. I was the scheduled one, and I had some of the complications that come with a preemie. My brother was just BIG, and they had a c-section when she went into labor - no complications for mom or baby. In your shoes, I would try to wait until labor starts, but go with a c-section (IF you're OK with that. I personally would try to give birth naturally, in a hospital, and be very open to the concept of a c-section. But I'm also the type who wants a drug-free homebirth.)

I had a planned c-section (was elective, then I got sent to the hospital immediately on her due date and it became medically necessary, so I wasnt disappointed. I wanted it.). No labor or any contractions, and my recovery was a piece of cake. Ive heard stories where it was really tough on the mom, but they always seem to be a result of long labors with the c-sec at the end. Its really not that bad. If your doctor seems to think you will end up with a section though, and you arent totally 100% into birthing vaginially, Id consider just going straight to the section.

I had an unplanned c-section. My baby was 2 days late and was too big for my pelvis too...after 13 hours of labor she never descended so my doctor said we had to have a c-section to go in and get her to prevent further complications (I spiked a fever during labor and the baby's heart rate was too high, etc).

I already had an epidural (I didn't want one, but the pain was too much and my contractions were one after another) so that made the prep for the c-section quick/easy. I had some issues after they pulled my baby out - my uterus would not "clamp down" and I lost a lot of blood (they were discussing giving me a blood transfusion). So even though I could see my baby right after she came out and we got some family photos...when they were closing me back up I was kind of out of it and it scared my husband to see me thrashing around and not being very responsive. But my OB is a great surgeon and remained super calm and everything worked out great.

I had to spend some time in the recovery room, but my husband and baby were with me the whole time and I got to breastfeed within probably an hour of the c-section and my baby was super healthy and breastfed with no problem - this was my biggest concern with ending up with a c-section.

My doctor was able to stitch me up without staples and I guess I'm really lucky that my recovery was super easy. I was walking around like normal the next morning (my c-section was around 9pm) and felt great. I didn't have any of the recovery problems like my friends who delivered vaginally had.

During my hospital stay (I stayed 4 days), I kind of felt gassy/bloated, which I guess is common due to having a c-section...so they recommended walking around and drinking warm liquids (tea)...that helped relieve the gas that was trapped.

There were some negative things with my recovery, but I don't think they were related to the c-section...I think it had to do with the fever I spiked during labor - both my baby and I had to receive antibiotics through an IV during our stay (saddest thing to see a newborn with an IV in her foot) and I think the antibiotics affected my milk coming in (didn't come in for almost a week so my baby lost too much weight and that was hard).

If my next baby is big (mine was 8lbs 8 ounces) I will choose to have another c-section