To ask for honest opinions of vbac after emcs.

[Rubberyduck]

Crappy first birth, 4days long resulting in failed forceps and ecms. Me and DS then had septicemia so we had a 10day stint in Hosp. I am now expecting no.2. Mw said straight up 'you will want another csection then' we have a consultant appointment in a few weeks to discuss the choices. DH seems keen to have a elective c section as it would be 'easier' to plan around our 2year old obviously worrying we will have a similar long experience. I am concerned about recovering from surgery with 2 little one's.

Experiences please?

I'd forgotten about discharge. I was kept in 4 days after my EMCS. That said I'm sure a lot of it was to do with it being the weekend and the hospital being massively understaffed so unable to process discharge (and as it was they screwed up the prescription I needed afterwards so for 2 days after that I kept having to go back to the maternity ward). Was booted out 24hrs after ELCS, all drugs in hand. ELCS was a far easier recovery than the EMCS too.

I had a massively positive elective section with my second child. Relaxed and calm. Total contrast to my daughters emergency section. We were in hospital for three dats before with a failed induction where my daughter was in distress. My recovery was absolutely fine. If you can fully rest for the first seven days that honestly made such a difference.

I was discharged after 24hrs with the EMCS, VBAC (3rd degree tear repaired under spinal) and the semi-ELCS. They were keener to keep me on the last, but I was desperate to get home. I was not feeling great with the EMCS but they told me they needed my bed.

My experience of ELCS was so, so much better than my EMCS. I know in theory it's the same op but the pain was so much less, recovery time was far less and it was so much better than I'd expected from my first section. I've had several friends/family say the same, too. And I never went into labour before the EMCS so I can only imagine how awful I'd have felt if I'd been in labour for days first!

Another c section was non negotiable for me after I'd looked at all the available statistics. At that point I knew there was a 30%+chance I'd end up having another EMCS if I opted for a VBAC. I wasn't prepared to risk that personally although my midwives were keen on me having a VBAC. I expected to have to argue my case with the consultant but he just said 'That's a perfectly reasonable request' and booked me in.

I genuinely don't ever feel that I've somehow missed out on anything. I'm just relieved I didn't have to go through labour! I have a high pain threshold but no way would I go through that just so I could say I'd done it 'properly' as one relative put it. You've not let your DS down, you saved his and your life! I couldn't tell you which kids in DS's class were born which way, not which were breastfed, or did baby led weaning, or any of the other things we worry about and beat ourselves up over.

My aftercare was appalling though and so I admit I can't bare the thought of 2-4days in hosp after but if it means we are all healthy if course it matters.

I too made it clear I wanted to be discharged the next day, and I was. I suffered 4 days of postnatal ward hell with baby #1 and was desperate not to repeat.

I also decided to avoid scheduling the c section for a Friday because I knew getting discharged on a Saturday would be next to impossible 😅

Meant to say I was discharged after two weeks (!) with my EMCS. It was after 48 hours with my ELCS - it would have been after 24 hours but they wanted to keep an eye on DS for longer due to medication I was on at the time. I couldn't have imagined walking, let alone being discharged 24 hours after the EMCS but it really was so much better second time round.

I had an emcs with my first and I found the recovery quite difficult. Probably not helped by my son being in scbu and therefore a week in hospital. I went for an elective section with my second although I was very concerned about recovering with a baby and very boisterous toddler! I can only say that the recovery from the elective was completely different - I bounced back much quicker and in much less pain. For me it was the best choice and I don't regret it at all. Everyone is different though and I wish you the best whichever you choose!

I kinda wanted a second Csec but my labour started and was finished in 3 hours so I’d consider that as well in your plans.

They forgot about continuous monitoring until the OB came in and asked about it.
All in all, not a bad delivery but if you want another c section - just ask for one.

I had a planned CS for my first (breach) and then had to decide whether to do VBAC or ECS for my second. I opted for elective CS, I do have the occasional tinge of regret that I never had a vaginal birth but then I think of people who have adopted and never got to experience being pregnant. I also had lots of friends who had crappy births or complications and I obviously have no idea how it would have gone had ai chosen the VBAC option. Like you I felt slightly pressured by practical arrangements for DC1 and grand-parents being in the right place at the right time (we had no family close by).
I found recovery fine but you definitely need extra help. I spent so long agonising over the decision but years later I don't really think about it, I've got 2 healthy DC and I'm fine, nothing else really matters.

I had a VBAC. The odds were favourable as I'd been fully dilated and pushing for 2 hours, but DS1 had been back to back and his big knobbly head was rather stuck in my smaller than average pelvis. We were both exhausted after a long labour.

I had the sense of not having finished the job off properly after all that pain and trauma. Added to that I found the recovery tough with various complications that put me in HDU for 36 hours. It was 3 weeks before I could walk down the stairs carrying baby as I needed both hands to stabilise myself. The thought of going through that with a toddler too was not inviting.

So I took the gamble on VBAC for quick revovery... It was a much nicer labour, the hospital part being barely 3 hours from arriving to pushing, and much calmer, but the MW lost track on the monitoring and the big red button was pressed. DS2 emerged through the main exit between a pair of forceps and caused a 3rd degree tear which did not go down well with my SPD. I couldn't drive for a month due to pain and mobility and was still limping with a burning pelvis 3 months later.
I don't regret it. It was the best that I knew at the time and did settle a lot of baggage from the first birth. DS2 had just reached the awkward point of a tough forceps or tough EMCS, and he was one push away from EMCS.

If there ever was a DC3, I'd go ELCS due to my history of big back to back babies and the toll of SPD before I even drag my body into labour ward. I don't fancy gambling on the odds of calmly breathing a baby out of my body without notable injury.

ELCS, in the absence of critical health concerns tends to result in positive experiences compared to a prior EMCS. I've known some lovely heartening VBAC birth stories, including a friend's who had a very similar birth to my first which did give me confidence towards my VBAC.

There are no guarentees at all, but ELCS does tend to give a better experience and recovery than the lottery of VBAC. It's a very personal choice.

@Rubberyduck I know this is an old thread but...just wondered what you went for in the end and how it went? Had a traumatic EMCS after back to back labour and chin presentation and pretty certain going for planned this time but still a element of doubt?

I wasn’t given the choice to try for a natural birth after my first c-section. I was quite young at the time and didn’t know it was a possibility that I could have pushed for. I listened to the medical staff.
That decision mean’t I would never have the chance to try for a VBAC. I ended up with 5 c-sections and wish I had at least tried for a natural delivery the second time. As it could have changed the decisions with later pregnancies.

Vbac post e-c birth. Regret it 100% as ended up with e-c birth again. If it was 3rd I’d say c-section defo.

Women come on here to ask for advice about really delicate and intimate topics and get slammed by insensitive *s like this.
guess who’s actually frankly dangerous

I thought it was brilliant as I could function entirely normally afterwards and I hadn't had to worry whether I'd experience a repeat of the epidural not taking - once they'd started to cut and then separate my stomach muscles.

Hi @Rubberyduck , I am a midwife. I have facilitated plenty of VBACs and plenty of elective Cesarean Sections after a CS.

A lot of people here are trying to tell you that you didn't fail for not giving birth vaginally to your first child. They are missing the point. It is not about whether you "failed" or not, it is about how you feel, and what you need. You are still grieving for an experience in the past that you felt was not what you wanted. This new experience (your second birth) can indeed help you heal, or start the healing process, of that trauma. You are right in trying to plan for the best possible outcome

In my experience as a midwife, what matters in the end is not how you birth your baby, or what happens during the labour and birth. It is not even "just about having a healthy baby and healthy mum". The only thing that matters in the end is that the mother felt listened to and respected, and that her choices were heard and acted upon.

No one can tell you what will be the "best option" for you. But there are things you can do to increase the chances that you will heal emotionally and mentally from your first birth. Whatever you choose, you need to make sure the health professionals who are with you are respectful and they are on board with your choices, even if these change in the middle of labour. Talk to the midwife and obstetric team and explain to them how much you have been affected by the experience of your first birth. Make sure you trust the people in whose hands you will be if things go wrong. Both a repeat CS and a VBAC have risks and benefits for you and the baby. But you are not the person who needs to worry or react to these risks: midwives and obstetricians have been trained to deal with things going wrong during labour and birth of any sorts. They will do their job. YOUR job is to lay out your care, surround yourself by a team (your birth partner(s) that will be your advocates when you're too vulnerable to be assertive with your decisions, to take care of your body the best you can so it is as ready for the birth as it can be, to sort out childcare for your other child, to get things ready for this little human being who is coming.

One thing I find helpful for mums who had a traumatic first emergency cesarean and are considering a VBAC is to plan to have a low threshold for another CS: give it a go, but if things start to go wrong (if the baby is back to back, if there is fetal distress, or simply if you decide you have changed your mind), you will be given a CS as soon as possible. No faffing, no insisting to "keep going for a bit longer". You can agree to an early epidural if that's what you want. Put a plan in place with your team so you can feel confident with the process, and can change your mind if you start regretting it.

Once you feel reassured that you can change your mind, you may find your strength to attempt a vaginal birth increases. I have had plenty of mums very happy with their VBAC. Equally, I have had plenty of them happy to choose an elective CS. And I have had both types regretting their decision. The regret factor was always due to feeling the choice was not truly theirs.

Most of the trauma of birth is not about what happens, which often is inevitable, but the attitude of the people who care for you while it happens.

Whatever you decide, I wish you the best experience possible. please come back and let us know :)

I've never had a VBAC but I had an ELCS and recovery was like a dream. Very fast, even quicker than my sisters straightforward vaginal births. I'd absolutely choose a ELCS for my next delivery. Anecdotally those I know who have had an ELCS as opposed to EMCS have been much quicker to recover.