Water birth VBAC

[verytiredmummy1]

I've been told I can have a water birth for my VBAC. Anyone got any experience of this? How did it go? I'm worried about not having continual monitoring x

[ShowOfHands]

I wanted a vbac in water.

I had another emcs.

[ohanami]

I haven't got quite that far yet but my hospital has remote monitoring that you can use in the water - is that an option where you are?

[verytiredmummy1]

No wireless monitoring, so I will have to get out a lot. Not sure if it's worth not having continuous monitoring :(

[untinctured]

It's a tough decision. I had an emcs the first time around after a lengthy time in the water bath so I'm watching this with interest. For the next labour I am split between a water birth and active birth. I loved the water bath bit last time, it was so good for pain relief. However, I do wonder if I had done active birthing I might have had more of a chance of turning my back-to-back baby (although the midwives only realised he was back-to-back after 30+ hours of labour). I do worry about the risk of uterine rupture so I would definitely want continuous monitoring. I'm not sure if my local hospital has the equipment to do this under water though. I'm not planning on being pregnant for another year or so but after having a really traumatic experience the first time I find myself thinking about it constantly.

[Flymetothemoonrealsoon]

untinctured why might not being in the water help the baby turn? I thought water was always a good option for the baby so hair curious!

[Flymetothemoonrealsoon]

*just

[untinctured]

When in labour with a posterior baby the Spinning Babies advice is to do an abdominal lift which you need to be standing up to do.

Other things I have read that may help include rocking from side to side, walking up stairs, kneeling or being on all-fours.

I think being out of the water would give you more opportunity to try different things in labour and see what works.

[Flymetothemoonrealsoon]

Oh that's really interesting. I had a back to back baby too but the midwives didn't offer any of that advice which is a shame. I will remember for next time!

[untinctured]

I've done loads of reading on posterior positioned babies so if it happens next time I will have some strategies in place already. There are some exercises on the spinning babies website that I will do during my pregnancy and I may go to an active birth class to learn about different labour positions.

I am a little sceptical about some of the stuff that is written about posterior positions being caused by slouching etc but I may give optimal foetal positioning a try. In my third trimester I was always conscious not to have my knees higher than my hips when reclining and I did pelvic rotations on the birth ball for 30 minutes a day. I ended up with a posterior baby anyway so I think sometimes it is just bad luck.

I too didn't get any advice from the midwives when they eventually realised the baby was posterior. Although I will be under consultant-led care next time I still think that I should go in armed with knowledge.