Statistics

There are six of us in our NCT group, and, since the national caesarean rate in the UK is just over 20%, I suppose that statistically one of us had to fall into this category. So far, those of us who have already had our babies have had a pretty easy time - no epidurals, and barely any pain relief at all for two of us (more due to speed than desire in my case, I freely admit!).

I feel dreadful though for the girl who had to go down the c-section route, since it sounds as if she had a nightmarish time. The poor thing had her c-section after spending two days and three nights in labour (and therefore awake - which would give you the world's worst case of jetlag) and failing, despite the use of a variety of drugs, to dilate beyond 5cm. That really is the worst of all possible worlds - hours of painful labour, topped off with major abdominal surgery and the subsequent recovery period. I always quite liked the idea of a planned c-section (would be lovely to know the date in advance!) but the recovery sounds horrible and lengthy - not at all what you need with a newborn to deal with.

There's still two more girls to go (and goodness me, seeing them today reminded me just how pleased I am not to be pregnant any more - I even got into some pre-pregnancy jeans today, which was a major cause for celebration!), so fingers crossed that all goes well with them.