Mumsnet members get a 10% discount from Boden (including free returns and free delivery), The White Company, sweaty Betty, Luxury Family Hotels, JoJo Maman Bebe, Siblu, Blooming Marvellous, GLTC, Bump to 3 (the official online shop for Grobags) and more. Click here for more info Join mumsnet here.
Hi there,
I am 38 weeks today and planning a VBAC after my el CS for breech.
I haven't spent much time on the ante natal threads because I couldn't keep up with them! But now I am on mat leave and due date is approaching I would love to chat to anyone else hoping for a VBAC in the near future.
Is there anyone else out there, or another thread I can join? (Am just heading to docs to check baby position but will log in again later!)
I'm a VBACer and a new Doula. There are a few of us Doulas on MN, including some that are also VBACers so we would definitely check in on this thread and offer support and encouragement.
Research normal birth, make a sound birth preferences list, have confidence in yourself and know that you CAN do it!
Hello, am back from docs and happily the babe is head down- just got to keep it there now!
Hi Betsyboop and diplodocus, good to meet other hopefuls since most of the people in RL seem to think I am a bit mad. Thanks for the support, madness, can I ask for any more details of your VBACs? (e.g. do you have views on why one ended with lots of intervention and other was easy?)
Hi Klaw, I have been lurking for a long time on various VBAC threads and have greedily consumed all the info put up here by you, lulumama and others- thank you, it has been really inspirational.
A bit more about my plans.... I have hired a doula which is giving both me and DH a big confidence boost. I plan to stay at home until active labour is well-established then transfer to hospital. I am under consultant care and have been pleasantly surprised by their reaction to my wishes for management e.g. they have agreed to intermittent monitoring. I know this is a bit of a gamble and it's possible I may end up wishing I'd taken the CS but with an active toddler I feel it's something I've got to try!
Good news Pendulum, keep baby there now with Optimal Foetal Positioning!
Sounds like you are doing the best thing to plan your VBAC and I'm sure that you will have an empowered birth even if circumstances change things along the way.
As for your question to Madness, I'd also be interested. My VBAC was 'assisted' with forceps and I believe that if I'd not had the constant monitoring from the outset and had had a Doula things could have been a lot more positive.
Hello,
Can I please join? I'm just over 38 weeks, and hoping for a VBAC. I had a scan yesterday and teh baby has moved from back to back to the proper front position, and the cord is no longer round its neck, so everything is going wonderfully to plan. I'm planning a very calm, hypno birth, not sure if it will work out as my Dr and the hospital is very big into their machines and monitoring and CS's. But we shall see!
Packing my hospital bag this week, so busy sneaking in more chocolates.. I too couldnt keep up with the Sept anenatal thread, so a new one should be easier to follow. Has anyone decided on names? I STILL havent..
Hi Luxmum! Great to hear from someone as near to D-Day as I am My due date is 21 Sept but to be honest it can't come too soon for me, I am really heavy and uncomfortable!
How does the hypnobirthing work, I know there are CDs and books out there but how do you practise it in the hospital?
Names have been the easy bit for us, we don't know if it's a boy or girl but have chosen Iris and Alexander. I love both and am fairly sure this will be our last child so will be sad about whichever we don't get to use! What do you have on your shortlist?
My big sis had a VBAC. She was so determined to do it it was untrue! She ended up having a very quick labour and nearly gave birth with her sunglasses still on her head!
Hello can i join in...im due 6 oct and after sccan at 34 weeks that showed placenta moved (was covering cervix at 20 wks) and baby head down was told i can vbac if i want to.
I agreed to go for vbac but am actually still undecided...i feel like im constantly mulling over pros and cons of VBAC vs elec c/s but no nearer reaching a decision. Doesnt exactly help that thhose pesky hormones mean i can barely decide what to have for dinner never mind an actual important decision!!!
I think its the fact of trying to decide between two unknowns...i.e just cos my (emergency cs) recovery was ok last time doesnt mean it will be this time...plus i will have a 22 month old to deal with as well. But a normal birth could end up as a full instrument jobby...i think this is my worst fear about VBAC.
Sorry ladies to waffle on but maybe you can all help.
For now i am down as going for a VBAC although i have an appointment for 41 weeks at hospital to book a c/s if i go that far overdue.
Can I join? Very early days for me only 16 weeks but I have just booked with a group of NHS home birth midwives so I am heading for an HBAC.
I feel quite empowered by this decision and hope that this keeps me out of the endless spiral of intervention that a lot of VBACers seem to have forced on them.
I am sure all you ladies have a birth plan and know what you want to happen. Good luck! I shall watch this thread with interest to see how you get on. I like pendulum am interested in hearing the details of peoples VBAC's.
Pendulum thats great you don't have to be continously monitored. Don't worry if people think you are mad. You can always tell them I am having an HBAC and then you will seem positvely rational
if i may, i recommend Ina May's guide to childbirth and Spiritual midwifery ( ignore the midwife bits if you want!) to everyone!
they are marvellous books for reminding women that their bodies are built for this, and routine intervention is not always necessary
in my experience, a positive and determined mindset and also being educated about birth is really helpful...as is having the information to make informed decisions, say, to refuse CFM or to request a HBAC
I refused intermittent monitoring with DS3 (my 2nd VBAC) - instead they checked with a dopple (just like the one your midwife uses) every hour or so - I was advised that if you go for "intermittent" CFM (is that what I mean???? you know the one that they strap onto your body and leaves you practically immobile for that period) that I'd be unlikely to get mobile again as once you're lying down in the midst of labour it's pretty damn difficult to get back up again.
I simply went in there in labour with DS3 - gave them my notes (with my carefully prepared birth plan at the top - which included no monitoring except by handheld device ) and apart from the "statutory" warnings about risks they let me get on with it - it was AWESOME - DS3 now 14 weeks old and I'm still buzzing
Congratulations on the birth of DS3 QoQ, it is when I hear people talk enthusiastically about their births in the way you just did that I get excited about doing this!
Just to clarify, I have specified that I want the monitoring done with a sonicaid, which I think is the handheld thing. Agree that once on a bed I am unlikely to get off again! However, I can't pretend I am not nervous about the small risk of rupture (especially when I read the occasional stories on here by people who experienced it) and, if there is any whiff of trouble, I will agree to CFM.
Can I ask if any of the ladies who had successful VBACs had epidurals? It seems to me that it is important to be aware of any scar pain, which would seem to rule one out, but the hospital's protocol is that they are safe for VBAC (perhaps because they inevitably involve CFM?) I am going to try my hardest to avoid one but a close friend told me yesterday to "get it in quick unless you REALLY love pain" (gulp)- as someone who has never experienced labour, that makes me a teeny bit nervous....
firstly, it will most likely confine you to a bed, also you will need CFM and a drip so that makes mobility very difficult
can mask scar pain, and pain that does not stop between ctx, which can indicate scar rupture
it relaxes the pelvic floor, which can stop baby;s head rotating correctly for the birth, necessitating forceps / ventouse with episiotomy
also, i managed my VBAC with gas and air and a smidge of pethidine, it was too quick for anything else
get in a mindset about the pain, that it will hurt, but you can cope ! make sure your DH / birth partners understand what is normal in birth and that grunting, groaning, shouting, screaming are normal, as is calmness, and deep breathing. it is what works for you !
DD was still breech at 37wks - had a successful ECV - only for her to turn breech again 2 days later....
booked for an elC/S at 39+3. Went in for pre-op clinic at 39+0 - was sure baby had turned day before, but was informed it was "impossible" for such a big baby (they were expecting 9.5+lbs after growth scan) to turn so late, until the m/w palpated me & then sent me for a scan to check & I was right
therefore c/s cancelled & much wanted natural labour back on
waters went at 39+4, however DDs head had not engaged at all. Went in to get checked out (dueto risk of cord prolapse) & BP was 177/110 (had been creeping up for a few weeks before this) so I ended staying
DD also starting to show signs of distress, so given option of either immediate c/s or syntocinon drip to start contractions. After 6hrs on drip although I had been contracting beautifully DDs head had still not come down & my cervix had done nothing Reluctantly agreed to an emC/S
With hindsight (wonderful isn't it) being strapped to the bed with drip, CFM & BP cuff can only have hindered my attempt at labour - DDs head was hardly likely to move down without gravity to assist....so I was probably doomed before I started....
no. 2 is due 30/10
This time I'm hoping and praying for a ceph baby who engages at 36wks So far so good as at last m/w check on Monday gone baby was oblique but ceph (at about 5 o'clock) so m/w was hopefully he/she should settle fully ceph in the next few days (was breech at last check & I was starting to think "here we go again")
I've also enlisted a doula & made a start on my birth plan - main points on it are keeping mobile, no epidural (infact hopefully no chemical pain relief - hoping to manage with TENS), no CFM, no induction/augmentation. I've also got the VBAC hypnotheraphy CDs, only time will tell if they help.
well that's about it, sorry this has turned into a book....
Hi, can I join too? Am going for a hospital vbac - edd 2nd October!
First delivery was a failed induction, followed by a failed assisted delivery - very long and traumatic at 4 days start to end, and a very long story, which I'll spare you ... ds is 5 on 4th October, and it took a long time for me to get over it ... hence the large gap! (well, that and 2 MCs last year)
I have been a bolshy and difficult so and so, and have been booked to deliver in the midwife-led unit - and have got a star by my name to use the pool!
I have spd and coccydinia too - and, tbh, they have helped me in my battle to be accepted as a booking for the mlu, as I've been having regualr hydrotherapy, and have found it really effective for pain relief from the spd!
Can I join too ladies? I am like thehairybabysmum in that I am still undecided. In fact I HAD decided on an elective section but am uncertain again (see my other thread [[ http://www.mumsnet.com/Talk/1365/383812]] which explains my last delivery briefly and also why I have started to prevaricate!).
I would appreciate being able to talk to other women who are going through similar things in the hope that it might help me to make up my mind... I am due on 9th Oct.
I have a consultant appointment on Tues when I'm supposed to have made my decision although I don't think this is set in stone.
Hi. I am 36 weeks and found out yesterday that my baby is now head down so I can try for a VBAC if I choose. The hospital have asked me to make my mind up by next week and I am thinking of booking in for a c-section at 41 weeks and trying for a VBAC if anything happens before then. This website has been a Godsend and I spent 4 hours last night reading the various links and posts. I am quite excited by the idea of a VBAC but also scared....Have just bought the Ina May Gaskin book so hoping for some inspiration there.
Thanks for all the advice so far.
Betsy - you're due the same day as me! My baby didn't engage either, even after 36 hours of labour, though at least I was able to remain upright / walk about during that time. Was going to be augmented but DD got distressed, hence to CS. Turned out to be partial brow, OP and cord around neck. Hoping for a rather more co-operative baby next time!
Betsy - you're due the same day as me! My baby didn't engage either, even after 36 hours of labour, though at least I was able to remain upright / walk about during that time. Was going to be augmented but DD got distressed, hence to CS. Turned out to be partial brow, OP and cord around neck. MWs were very good and feel I was given a good run for my money - don't have any bad feelings about the experience really, and think they made the right decision at the right time. Hoping for a rather more co-operative baby next time!
Glitterbaby - I had also been thinking of the section at 41 weeks idea today. Before when I was thinking I would have an elective section I always thought I would keep an open mind if I went into labour before my section date and see how I felt when I got into hospital.
Hello again, great to hear from so many people! Makes me feel less "out there" IYKWIM- I know plenty of other people about to have babies, but none of them are in the same boat.
ejt, can't believe they are letting you go to the mlu- you must indeed be bolshy, and also quite courageous I would think given your previous delivery.
Alicet, I hope that chatting here will help you to make up your mind one way or the other. I spent most of this PG convinced I would take the elective section but, like you, came back to the idea of VBAC primarily because of concern about my DD. She is 3.6, very aware that something big is going to happen, and at a sensitive stage. I don't want to be fending her off physically or unable to help her climb onto a chair, for example.
Having said that, although the decision was initially a practical one I am now feeling really inspired and excited by the many positive birth stories I have read. I am lucky because I don't have a previous traumatic birth experience to overcome- I am only scared of the unknown, not of repeating the known, if that makes sense!
Lulumama, thanks for confirming what I suspected about the epidural. Maybe I will just have to hook up the TENS machine to the hospital generator instead!
Yes pendulum the bit about being scared of the unknown rather than repeating the known is exactly me too. My previous birth wasn't traumatic - although it wasn't what I had planned I was kept really well informed and felt involved throughout. I also felt I was coping well with the pain of the first stage and only asked for an epidural at 8cm as it was pretty obvious by then that he was going to need some sort of intervention to get him out and I didn't want that without an epidural. If I ended up with the same experience I think I would be fine about it. And I think that's whats difficult in trying to make the decision really.
But at the end of the day ds1 has to be my priority really and while I can make choices that will ease things for him I feel a bit as though I should do if you see what I mean...
And ejt isn't all that bolshy - just a very well informed and educated lady. Although anyone trying to stand in her way of the MLU would be very brave!!!! (I know her from the due Oct thread....)
I have been a bit of a pain in the arse to get what I want though ... I threatened to stay at home to start with (had no intention of doing so, but...) but, as I know in my heart that it was the interventions that led to the c section last time (and have had it confirmed by one of the midwives), then I really feel that the only way for me to do this is to eschew all intervention if possible - and that includes cefm ... they'll still be monitoring me, but every 10 - 15 minutes, and tbh, how many of the MWs are going to be checking the damn machine at every second?
also have to add that the mlu where I'm booked is not the nearest to where I live (25 minute drive rather than 5 minute drive!) ... I have compromised on going to the mlu which has an obstetric unit just upstairs ... just a lift ride away!
Can I join too please?? I am 38+5, edd 15/9. I had a "semi-elective" CS due to pre-eclampsia at 32 wks last time. I am very keen on a VBAC as I don't want to be out of action for long with my 4.5 yr old twins who have just started school. Also have a possibly weird desire to experience labour.
I have taken on independent midwives as I believe this gives me the best possible chance, particularly as the consultant at my hospital has a policy of doing constant fetal monitoring for all VBACS. I am hoping to avoid this by having the independent midwives monitoring me closely t/o labour at home and at their birth centre.
My main issue now is that this baby appears to be OP, although it does seem to move around. I am doing lots of "optimal fetal positioning" stuff but from what I understand some babies just do not want to move. This worries me a bit, but I will just have to see what the labour is like.
Can I just interrupt. I had an emergency c-section and then a vbac a few years later. I hired a doula and she was great. I'm the world's worst bore on the subject of doulas by the way. But anyway, I wanted to wish you all good luck and good births and lovely babies. It will sound a bit soupy but a vbac can be a very positive experience. Almost (gulp) healing. Now I will go away before I start to sound like Oprah Winfrey. Good luck everyone.
NKF - you go ahead and sound like Oprah ... thanks for sharing your experience! It makes people like me (who has the wobbles every now and again) feel that it is something worth fighting for!
I second the Oprah-esque 'healing' feeling with VBAC. DS was elective c/s as he was breech, we had unsuccessful ECV, and elected for cs. Suffered PND from about 5 mths - 11mths, once i came out of c/s/drug/shock/loss of control fog, and really pined for the labour I didn't have.
Fantastic VBAC 2.4yrs later, lots of walking and acupressure during labour, and a very supportive mw and a friend as doula. DD born after very short active labour phase, and a few good sucks on the g&a.
I felt like the birthing goddess of the world (still do, 6mths later ). All issues re elective cs completely gone out the window!
I don't recall ANY discussions or worries about my scar, after over two years it just wasn't an issue for anyone. Either that or mw just got on with her self and did the watching and worrying for me!
GO for it VBACers - you are born to do this!
{{stops short of jumping on Oprah's couch and punching the air}}
Yes, thanks from me too- the moral support is v valuable as the day draws nearer! Must say though , I am getting impatient now and keen to get things underway- theses last few days feel like a kind of limbo for me, DH and DD.
Can I ask the successful VBACers how long you stayed labouring at home? My midwife (v attached to hospital protocol) has advised me to go in at the first contraction (presumably for CEFM which the consultant has agreed not to give me!). My doula on the other hand advises me to stay at home as long as possible, probably until I am around 5-6 cm dilated(this is her standard VBAC procedure if the woman agrees). Her view is that arriving in hospital before active labour is really well-established risks slowing everything down and increases the risk of intervention.
I do like the idea of being at home as long as possible, but the hospital is 25 miles away and I am slightly nervous about the fact that there will be nobody medically qualified with me. Would be interested to hear anyone's views.
I stayed at home until the contractions were 3 minutes apart, presuming i would be in established labour by then
hadn;t banked on OP baby. and when i got to hospital i was not dilated !!! anyhoo, was encouraged to get off the bed, stop using gas and air, and move and rock with teh contractions, which i did, for one hour, and she turned.... after that it was all systems go!
the longer you are at home, relaxed, mobile, upright, able to listen to and work with your body, the more chance of less intervention and a succesful VBAC
i would doubt you would even be admitted to labour ward, if you are not in active labour, so you might well end up on ante natal, with your partner and doula possibly being sent away . and no pain relief !!
if you do not wish to have CFM, and you are making an informed decision, then stay at home.. if the doula suspects things are not going well... and there will be signs of it, if so, then she will either encourage you to go to hospital or get a MW out to check you over
keep the positive success stories coming, it really does help.
I'm very determined to go for VBAC, but still a little bit nervous IYKWIM, but I guess that is normal for any looming labour, not just because I'm VBAC
Hi, I'm not a VBACer or a doula, I just wanted to show support for you ladies. I've had two natural births and they have been the most wonderful experiences of my life. Good luck to all of you.
Pendulum-you asked earlier about hypnobirthing at the hospital. It's easy. I just picked a spot on the wall and focused on it. I slept through most of my labor and delivery with ds1 (literally I would close my eyes and only open them for pushing and then fall back asleep).
I can't remember how long I stayed at home. I'm useless with details like that. I did have continual fetal monitoring but it was very unintrusive. Labour was about eight hours (I think) but the birth bit was pretty quick. I honestly can't remember very well. What I recall is my lovely doula holding my hand and my husband's excitement and the friendly midwives and my baby lying between my legs, all sweet and peaceful. And, wonder of wonders, hopping off the bed and walking to the ward. I had no idea unti then it was possible to have a baby and not feel like death.
Hello everyone, sorry ive not had chance to be on for ages. Lots of lovely positive stories here which is good.
Im still undecided but officailly still down for a VBAC...off to see m/wife at 12.30 for 36 wk check so going to have a chat with her and see what i think then.
I think my downer about it this last week is due to me slipping and falling last monday which did no favours for my SPD (which up until then i had been managing reasonable well). I have been v. sore as a result and i think this has had me worried about the natural birth and SPD as my experience in labour last time was that the keeping your legs close together doesnt really fit with giving birth. Plus it is just so awkward and painful to move around that i dont think i could manage a v. 'active' birth anyway. Last time i could only lie on the bed on my left side in a sitting position.
Anyway enough waffling will chat to m/w and hopefully feel better about it all then.
Just wanted to add my positive vbac stories.
Dd 1 was an emergency section at 33wks because of pre eclampsia. I was determined to have a vbac and i had nothing but support from everyone. I went 3wks overdue and was induced with ds1,ds2 but went into spontaeneous labour.Dd2 was natural as well at 39wks. I had to be continually monitored with the boys but partly because they were so late. With dd2 i asked to be intermittentaly checked and i had a very quick,mobile labour and a v v quick delivery.
Meant to say - because of the reasons mentioned by lulamama i didn't want to get to hospital too early. Dd2 i was 7cms and dd2 i got there at 6cms. I do think staying at home and mobile really helped me relatively quick and easy births.
HI there, I am 36 weeks and am going for a VBAC after a CS with DD who was breech.
I am seeing the consultanmt tomorrow armed with all my info, so wish me luck and I shall elt you know what he says....he has already made is clear he wants me to have CFM, is dead against me having a homebirth and that I wil not be allowed to labour in water so should be fun!
all the not allowed stuff is crapola ! you can make an informed and educated decision to have a home waterbirth without CFM , if that is what you want and you understand the risks ...
contact AIMS if necessary
it is your birth, your body, and you don;t have to labour how your consultant tells you to
water is actually really good for VBAC as supports the uterus
Unfortunately I will receive no support from anyone for a homebirth as my bitch MW frightened DH and MIL with tales of uterine rupture, and I will not be allowed in the birth centre (it is the ward next to 'normal' labour ward in the hospital which is where the pools are...so I really have not a lot of choice, which is why the one thing I can have a voice over (CFM) I am not budging on!
And there are NO doula's free on my due date near me!!!! It's so unfair!
I have accepted this TBH but am planning to stay at home as long as possible thanks to everyone's stories on here, and I have a lovely deep enamel bath that I may set up camp in for the duration as well!
hi there chirpygirl, good luck for tomorrow...what your cons is saying is not necessarily the uniform view of all obstetric consultants, for example see my earlier post about what mine has agreed to....have since had nice letter where she agrees that I can have intermittent monitoring with sonicaid, can labour in water etc... do you have a choice of hospitals or of consultants within the hospital if he sticks to his guns?
without wishing to hijack, can anyone with experience of labour advise me whether pre-labour/ the early stages can feel like tummy upset? I have been having griping cramps that come and go all day, had loose bowels this morning (sorry if anyone is eating!)and it seems to be intensifying. Not quite the period-style pain I am expecting labour to produce but is there any chance things are kicking off?
Thanks pendulum, in fairness to my consultant he is the nicest one on the staff (I met them all last time, he was the only one who would attempt an ECV) and he has already said that CFM and an active birth are not mutually exclusive but also said we would discuss in more detail tomorrow, so not sure if he was fobbing me off or serious!.
Funnily enough I have had the same as you, I called labour ward and said that if I wasn't pregnant I would think I had eaten something that disagreed with me, is that what is feels like?
They said to take some paracetemol and have a warm bath, if it stopped then fine but if I still felt bad after a couple of hours to possibly go in and be checked. HTH!
Pendulum, it sounds like a posibility.... check out my usual favourite Early labour link.
Definitely, if you have a nice bath or better still a good shower so that you keep OFP in mind, and then get an early night you should find that it either tails off or else it progresses, either way you'll get some rest.
for those of you who want to labour as long as possible at home but a homebirth is not a comfortable option:
You could always 'plan' a HB so that you get a mw out to check you in earlyish labour and so be sure that all is well. Then you can use your right to transfer in when the time is right for you (as with any Homebirther). Obviously don't let on to the mw that you don't really want a HB. It's a bit cheeky but hey, you have to look out for no 1, don't you?
I can't see how a mum can get reassurance of monitoring baby intermittantly in labour while not rushing to the hospital because she doesn't want to enter the 'system' she knows might put her VBAC at risk. And we all know that a planned HBAC is safer than an unplanned one, while minimising risks the hospital setting imposes
The Medical profession is great at Risk Management but not so great at normal birth. This way you play them at their own game, in a sense!
lulumama, I havent checked with them, shall give them a call tomorrow.
I am in South Wales though, and previous searching only found one doula in Cardiff, who another MNer has nicked as she is due 4 days before me!
If I don't manage to find one I am happy that I know what I want and DH, however disapproving, will also stick up for my wishes (as evidenced when he shouted at the MW for attempting to give vit K to DD after she was born as I had said nothing was to go into her until I had BF her!)
I am in South Wales too and planning a VBAC. Any chance you are in Swansea? I think I also spoke to the one Cardiff but as I am due on 12 December and she doesn't work at Christmas I was out of luck as well.
I am due to see consultant on 17th of Sept and would love to know how you got on especially if you in Singleton!!!
I had a 10lb baby last time in difficult (but apparently not impossible position) but after 11 hours and only getting to 5cm with no real progress from midnight to 11am I gave into the interventions they offered and then I was on the emcs rollercoaster. I feel my midwife not to bothered/interested in my case and keeps saying "oh you will be fine sweetie". I could scream.
Well, went quite well I think. Had to take DD with me so couldn't concentrate very well but this is what happened
The consultant was not available so saw one of his residents (I think) and a medical student, they confirmed she is in teh position I thought she was in (head down, back out and on my left, all good so far) and that I wanted a VBAC.
I was then told that they woudl like me to go in when contractions are 10 minutes apart (hah, fat fecking chance) for monitoring, I explained I had spoken to consultant (Mr L) and he said I wouldn't be restricted and got fobbed off with 'we shall see at the time'.
I asked about ambulatory/wireless monitoring and was told they could have it if they could find it (!)
However, it gotI asked why I wasn't allowed in the birth centre and was told that they had a VBACer in there before and as she was aware of the risks but made a huge fuss they let her go in.
I asked about labouring in water and was told they couldn't as they need to monitor the fetus and couldn't do that in water, I argued that they could if they used other monitoring methods and was then told CFM is best and sometimes only way to spot uterine rupture (!)
Anyway, I then rememerbered something I read on ehre a while ago and asked exactly how many uterine ruptures he had seen, and he told me 2 in the last 6 months, but one was while they were performing a 37 week ECS, he cut open the stomach and the uterus had already ruptured and he could see straight through to the baby....and they were both fine afterwards, but it was almost unheard off.
To which I replied, well, it can't be that dangerous, if no-one spotted it and they were both okay...and Singleton (yup, I am there) is main maternity hospital for miles so they have thousands of births so it can't be that common.
So end result was I will go for a sweep at 40 weeks and be booked for CS then for 12 days later so there is a slot for me. I will then have a sweep at 41 and if nothing then the CS as booked, which is not what we discussed but what he wrote in my notes...
There was no writing my birth plan, which is what was supposed to happen, and I have just found out my midwife is leaving my surgery this weekend so I have to write my birth plan with someone I have never met at 38 weeks.
I have waffled a bit, but it was very funny as at the end I saw his handwriting and said 'hang on, you are the guy that delivered DD! I had such a clear memory of him being a huge black guy (think Danny Glover) that I hadn't recognised him, seeing as he is shorter than me, and indian....how much morphine must they have given me!
Whereabouts in Swansea are you bumpy? I help run a playgroup in Brynmill on Wednesday's if you fancy coming as we have a couple of mums there who went/are going for VBAC's
I was thinking about it more last night and have decided not to try and get a doula. I do have serious trust issues and I don't think 4 weeks is long enough for me to get to know someone well enough to have them there and be my spokesperson as it were. With medical staff it is different as I will never see them again but I wouldn't even really want my mum with me...
had a chat with DH last night when I got home and it looks as if he has been reading up this time so he knows what is happening and what I want, I just haven't mentioned uterine rupture to him much so he doesn't panic!
I am in the uplands and plan to start going to the Brynmill group as soon as I am on maternity leave (29 Sept) but I am actually around tomorrow - when does it start again? Is is the one in the hall next to the police station on Gwydr Crescent
We always planned to go with my son but from memory the times didn't suit us with naps etc but as he is a bit older might work now. Can you remind me of times?
I ahve midwifes appointment at 2:30. DS usually sleeps from 1-3 but DH is at home with him.
I thought about the doula thing as I said in first message and I too would feel a bit weird about esentially a complete stranger but I was feeling desperste at the time. Anyway she isn't available at Xmas.
I have spoken to supervisor of midwives from Singleton to go through notes form last time and my memory serve me pretty well but I did learn from her that no-one (as far as she knows) has ever come to Singleton with a doula. Maybe Swansea isn't ready for it
LOL at swansea not being ready for doula's! Singleton isn't ready for argumentative mothers to be from what I gathered today!
I go to the one on St albans road in the community centre, I think you mean the pantergwder-something-cant-spell-it one! We are 10-12 and they are too but we stay open over hols.
Word of warning though and then I promise to stop hijacking, Singleton carpark is now pay and display, so you have to decide how long you are going to be BEFORE finding out if they are running late!
I had a VBAC in April. You can do it! Sending positive vibes!
My first child was born in April 2005 by emergency C.
My consultant nearly fell off his chair when I said I wanted a VBAC for my second child.
I slapped on the TENS machine at the first sign of a niggle and I swear that helped the pain massively. I heard that having an epidural can increase chances of C-section so wanted to avoid an epidural.
They wanted to continously monitor me at the hospital in case of rupture of the old scar. Rupture is extremely rare and you would feel it for sure without a monitor! I said they could monitor me intermittently as I feared that I would have to lie down. Intermittent monitoring was fine.
The hospital staff can't make you do anything you don't want to. Remember you can choose what you want for the birth of your baby.
Move around alot. Stay upright. Use gas and air. Most of all, be positive and believeinyourbody and that youcandoit. Have faith in your body. Sounds naff and new age but it's true.
Ladies I posted on here a few days ago when I was trying to decide between vbac and elective section. Well I've decided to go for the section - no better reason after agonising through all thepros and cons than that it feels like the right decision for me (which I guess is probably the best reason there is!) May go for vbac if I go into labour early - will see how the land lies when I go into hospital....
Anyway just wanted to say very good luck to all of you and will be keeping my fingers crossed that you all get the births you want x
I'm still keep going back to the idea of a water birth.
I wanted one first time around but wasn't "allowed" due to high BP (and was naive enough to believe this "allowed" nonsense!)
I have asked this time (BP behaving so far) but again been told it's not "allowed" this time as I'm VBAC.
I'm not 100% definite I want one, but think it could help as I have SPD & also want to try & labour without chemical pain relief. I'm just not sure I have the energy for a "fight" to get it.
I have a consultant appt booked for 36wks (currently 33wks) to discuss "mode of delivery"
What's the best way to broach this
1. Wait until consultant appt
2. Speak to supervisor of midwives (it's my community m/w that told me not allowed)
3. Any other suggestions?
anyone got any good links on the safety of waterbirth for VBAC? (I'm going to refuse CFM unless the intermittent monitoring suggests there is a problem, so that takes away one of their reasons for refusing)
Hiya all … am now at 37 weeks ... the countdown has begun!
Chirpy – nice to see you – not so nice to see the treatment you had at the hospital … I went last week, and the consultant wasn’t there, so I went back yesterday and saw the man himself.
Vicky Buckley isn’t doula-ing at the moment – she’s had to stop because of a family crisis – the doula who was going to be with me last year, when I lost my babies, has agreed to take me on as a one-off, but there’s no others (around Cardiff at least) that I know of at the moment.
I’d suggest insisting that you see the consultant and that he writes in your notes about the telemetry … as I’ve heard from others, the staff are hardly likely to go against something you have agreed with the consultant!
BetsyBoop – I’d suggest you ask to be referred (quickly ) to the consultant midwife for your trust – they have a role to promote “normality” … this is how I got all the concessions I’ve managed too!
Well, now for my news (drum roll please!!)
I had a very positive afternoon yesterday – I had been to see the consultant last week, but he wasn’t there due to bereavement. When I spoke to the registrar, she was unable to make a decision, so I said I’d go back again today …
So, went back to see the consultant today, had to wait quite a while as he started clinic late as he was doing an amnio. Anyway, when I got in, he asked me what the plan was - I told him that I was aiming to deliver in the water in the MLU, due to the pelvic pain (I have SPD), and the fact that I get such good pain relief from hydro. He then asked me whose ear I had been bending about this (his exact words!), but when I told him I'd been referred to JS(the consultant midwife), and through her had
seen DB (the senior midwife in MLU), his whole attitude relaxed!
He has written in my notes: "wants water for 1st and 2nd stages, at UHW, has seen DB liaised with JS), above plan agreed", and in the green bit (the intra-partum management plan), he's written: "aiming for SVD in MLU - waterbirth. Has seen DB regarding this"
He's also written "low threshold for lscs if transfer to CLU required" - I told him I didn't want to be fiddling around with drips and the like if things didn't go to plan ... he could see my point!
He wants to see me in 3 weeks to see how I'm getting on - hopefully I won't need that appointment, as that's my EDD!
I'm pretty happy with how it went - I know I didn't really need his approval, but I feel better that he knows what I intend doing and why.
He joked as I left that if I delivered on a Friday, that I should get them to beep him, so he could come down and see me - then he said "that's if they let me in through the door!"
So, all is on track for me to have a hospital water vbac ... something I never thought could be possible!
So, the moral of the story is to keep insisting calmly and firmly that this is what you intend to do … get yourself referred to a consultant midwife … and play havoc if people start patronising you!
Betsy - I have a reference for vbac and waterbirth ... in fact I used it when speaking to the senior midwife in the MLU - but I cn't find where I found it www-wise
The reference is :
MIDIRS Midwifery digest 14:1 2004
"labour and birth - Is the use of water in labour an option for women following a previous LSCS?"
Sorry, not read all the posts but can I just mention that we have several telemetry machines in our labour ward (made by philips) and all the transducers are waterproof and suitable for use in a birthing pool. So it it possible to have continuous monitoring and still labour and birth in the pool.
Cant recall ever seeing a VBACer in the L/W pool or even in the birth centre though, so well done for your acheivement and powers of persuasion, EJT .
Thanks for that info Mintpurple ...it makes me a bit that telemetry machines aren't a first choice rather than something that only comes out if somebody makes a fuss!
Hopefully, vbac in water will become more common ...
winkywola- thanks so much for your positive message. I think you are so right, there is nothing new age or lentil weavery about me normally but I think the best way to approach this is to believe in the power of your own body. Congrats on your great story!
alicet- good news that you have reached a decision, perhaps the hardest part is behind you now! As you say each of us has to make the decision that's right in our individual circumstances. Wishing you a great birth experience.
ejt, you sound rightly chuffed with yourself for bringing the hospital round to your view. Re water, just for the sake of comparison my consultant has said a water labour is "a possibility" provided that the intermittent monitoring does not reveal anything worrying and that I satisfy the standard criteria for use of the pool (including there actually being one available, which I gather is often the main problem...!)
She does however want me to have a cannula in my arm to make it easier to administer anaesthetic in an emergency situation, especially if I am in the pool because of the extra minutes involved in hauling a labouring woman out in a hurry. I think that sounds reasonable.
I'm now 39 weeks and getting rather impatient... have been feeling a bit sick with dodgy tum and twinges for a few days now, but no discernible pattern or strengthening.... guess the whole system is just limbering up. Having had my el cs at 39+3 last time I can't imagine going on for several more weeks.. please send me punctual baby vibes!
managed to find that MIDRIS article online - more by luck than anything else, as it was via a convoluted route I came across it while looking at other stuff
so should be fun! 
