Positive VBAC stories!

[DomesticG0ddess]

I know it has been done before, but any newcomers want to share their story with me? I am 39+5 and trying to be positive about going for a VBAC - the waiting is not helping! I just need to hear that it was worth doing! (as opposed to a ELCS, I know it's worth it in terms of getting a baby!).

Mine was v positive...good luck for an amazing birth.

Birth story:

My history:

DD1 2004 Hossy water birth

DS1 2006 Home water birth

DD2 2008 ELCS after planned vaginal breech birth - but waters went and birth hadn't started 4 days later so I opted for the section.

Baby 4 - my birth story from 16 weeks ago:

Tuesday night my waters broke. No reason, they just went - as has been the start with all 4 of my births.

But then nothing. For 2 days despite my best efforts.

6:10pm Thursday night I had a bit of an upset tummy and then I felt a tiny niggle.

Then 6:12, 6:16, 6:19, 6:22, 6:23, 6:27, 6:29, 6:31, 6:33. Oh regular niggles!!!!!

Hhhhhmmm called Paul upstairs told him we needed to monitor things to see whether this was a false alarm or was going to progress into labour, and that we should get the kids oout of the house so he could be there for me. More waters flooding everywhere now.

6:35 Called mum to come and get the kids as I was a bit shocked incase things were actually happening and happening so quickly. They weren't contractions, but they were tightenings, and every minute or two seemed - well - quite close.

Mum was out at a pub for dinner a few villages 30 mins away WTF? Ok, called best mate who arrived 3mins later and herded them off.

6:45 Maybe I should let a mw know? Should I/shouldn't I? Has only being going on a few minutes and could be due to the upset tummy - but then I do labour quickly and if it does turn into labour and they have a job getting hold of the mw on call, I could be in a sticky situation? I weigh it up and I call delivery suite.

What an easy call that was. Took my name,and that it was a home birth, and the name of my named mw, asked how often I was contracting, her voice changed when I said every minute or two and said she would contact my mw to call me straight back. She did to say she was on the way.

Niggles were now early contractions and all across under the bump. I was taking my own temp and babys heart rate every 15 mins (had been doing this anyway since waters went on Tuesday) and we were good.

I moved downstairs and put contraction master on:

Start Time End Time Duration Frequency
Stopped Stopped Stopped Stopped
7:02:59 PM 7:04:01 PM 1:1 1 m, 47 s
7:01:12 PM 7:02:07 PM 0:54 2 m, 38 s
6:58:34 PM 7:00:11 PM 1:36 1 m, 56 s
6:56:38 PM 6:57:36 PM 0:57 1 m, 52 s
6:54:46 PM 6:55:44 PM 0:58 1 m, 43 s
6:53:02 PM 6:53:52 PM 0:48 1 m, 33 s
6:51:29 PM 6:52:24 PM 0:53 7 m, 46 s
6:43:44 PM 6:44:12 PM 0:26 2 m, 7 s
6:41:37 PM 6:42:29 PM 0:51 2 m, 54 s
6:38:43 PM 6:39:29 PM 0:44 1 m, 50 s
6:36:53 PM 6:38:40 PM 1:45 1 m, 9 s

7:03 Mw arrived, I bring her up to speed with what has happened so far, she brought her things in and got set up. She is happy with mine and babys vitals and I decline an internal. Paul infaltes the pool.

Tens went on at 7:15 as we were game on now and niggles were becoming established contractions. Pool starts to fill. OMG how slowly?????

7:30 Mum arrives with my aunty to join the birth party. Boy this labour is going some now, have to concentrate and stop talking during contractions.

7:35 I want to get in the pool now but the pool is filling too slowly. Mw rings 2nd mw, and student. I ask for gas and air now as I can't get in the pool yet.

Mum and aunt start bringing bowls and kettles from all the bathrooms in the house aswell as the hose already filling the pool. I need to get in but can't. Oh well, I am so glad that I'm finally in labour that I just don't care lol. Really, ME, not care about my pool - how's that for a turn up!!

Anyway pool ready at 7:45 and I get in. No stopping this time, still cracking on. Didn't even have time to strip naked, so bra stayed on (I realise later).

8:00 Paul asks what I want to do about the children - I tell him four is definitely enough. I then tell him I would like them back (it was my plan to have them in the house for labour and birth if they wished, but I had wanted them gone earlier).

8:02 He calls my best friend and she brings them straight home. Kids are amazing and watch the last 10 mins of my labour, coming to talk to me in between contractions for a few seconds. My 3 yr old gets his goggles on ready :-D

Mum has been handed the camera by this point and is filming. I feel a head moving down. The gas and air stops working, oh great talk about good timing!!! I tell the mw who is about to change the cylinder, but then I tell her no - come back the head is coming.

8:12 So I am now 100% sober and alert and now I have to deliver what I can feel is a HUGE head, with no pain relief. Oh well, there is clearly no going back so best get on with it.

8:16pm Head is out, a body, a BABY :-D

I reach down and catch my baby, turn over and lift it to the surface.

The children are in awe and immediately are reaching into the water stroking the baby. I lift the baby up high so that they can do their "job" at the birth and they look and announce that they have a brother.

All is right with the world. The children reach in to feel his hands, hair and anything else they can reach lol. All three of them are delighted with the new addition and are desperate for a cuddle.

8:20 Student mw turns up.

We enjoy some more family time and the DD1 aged 5 and DS1 aged 3 ask a million questions about the cord, vernix, and above all can they cuddle him NOW? lol. We have been in the pool about 20 mins and the cord has stopped pulsating so I tell them that yes they can cut the cord and take him for a cuddle while I climb out of the pool. They cut the cord with the help of the mw, and are delighted to do so.

8:45 Placenta slips out and dops on the floor as I lift my leg out of the pool.

Job done.

2nd mw arrives about 5 mins later. Kids are intrigued by te placenta and want to touch it. Louise the mw tells them all about it and does the checks on it with them helping lmao!

Bit more family time then my mum invites the older two for a sleepover and Paul and I chat with the mws and DD2 (20 months) plays with baby (Her favorite game was licking his toes which she found completely hilarious???) and eats most of the mw's biscuits.

By 11ish everyone is gone and we are alone, elated, and shattered. What a night.

Oh forgot to say he weighed 10lbs 13oz. Head circumference of 37.5cm and a length of 58.5cm.

Obviously all births (including VBAC's) are different, but this was mine, hope this helps x

Slightly shorter story than Mungogerry's:

First labour was 42 hours with malpositioned baby, 4 hours of pushing before EMCS, followed by complications, me sent to High Dependency and baby off to SCBU.

Second labour - we planned a hospital VBAC with an independent midwife as birthing assistant. After the first baby, OH had planned as though for a siege, with enough snacks in the hospital bag to last us both a week! When I called my IM to tell her I thought labour might be about to start as I felt a bit queasy and it was coming in waves, she arrived an hour later at my house to tell me there was not time to get to the hospital, and my baby was born in my bedroom a little while later.

My IM was worried I might feel she let me down by not getting me to the hospital to give birth, but when she arrived and told me that the baby was on his way out I was very happy, as my fear was that he wouldn't come out - like his older sister! Once I knew he was on his way I was happy to carry on at home.

After the length of my first labour, and the unpleasant recovery I had, I was hopeful that anything at all might be better. As it was, although miles away from what I had planned, labour no.2 was fabulous, and I had to be almost peeled of the ceiling with euphoria afterwards.

Good luck with yours.

hi
ds birth was 21 hrs, meconium present in waters so i was induced, epidural failed but i progressed reasonably. pushing for 4hrs and forceps used once. we had 1 very stuck baby that resulted in emcs. possitive vbac story to follow, hopefully asap as im 39 weeks also. will follow this thread with much interest. wow mungogerry that was amazing thanks for sharing the details.

here is my VBAC story

I'm currently pg with number 3 and intend to have another waterbirth at home.

Keep the faith in you and your body

Mine was a very positive and lovely experience.

Am so glad I tried. Warned myself not to feel bad if i had another Em c-sec, but we did it!

Congrats and best of luck, by the way. Making me feel broody just thinking of a new born, so will stop!

Great story Mungo.

I love the bit about the goggles!

DS will be about 2.5 when baby number 3 is due and we are wondering whether we want him there for the birth.

I'm worried that if he's being loud and kicks off it will stall my labour. How did you find having your dc there?

Hi there

I just got home from hospital after a successful vbac. Previous forceps delivery 2000 and emcs for transverse arrest 2006. I found recovery post csection difficult - complicated by anaemia and a wound infection. This time was determined to have a normal delivery for 2 main reasons - recovery time and because of my age (40) I may want another child quite soon and felt that it would be too risky to try for another pregnancy too soon after another csection. Medical staff at my booking hospital advised trial of labour and to see how things went. As it happens, spontaneous onset of labour around 9am one morning, arrived at hospital at 11:30am, was 6cms dilated, straight to labour ward, baby delivered just before 1pm. Unfortunately suffered a tear to perineum but it is healing well. Am so happy that I managed to achieve a successful vbac and feel so well. Go for it! Good luck.

These stories are brilliant, DomG0ddess! It won't be long for you now. Wishing you the birth you want.

Thanks everyone for sharing your stories. Mungogerry, that sounds amazing and I can't believe all your children were there, your 3 yr old with the goggles just cracks me up.

back in the box and ILTMIMI, it sounds like you both had brilliant experiences too, I just can't imagine having the baby at home.

Congrats mimcomum! I would just love to be able to get out of bed and feel well after, but the main thing would be to be able to hold my baby after the birth, I could barely do this with DS as was shaking and puking from the drugs.

Yes, not long now, but nothing happening as yet!

Iliketomoveit - it was fine.

DD was home with my first home birth - she was 27 months. She came and stroked my head and lay her head down to me now and again but then went off to play again. She wasn't phased at all. We had my mum there to be in charge of her, so DH could be my birth partner rather than "daddy".

Mum would have taken DD to the park if she became a hinderance, or upset.

For this birth my 3 children were aged 5 years 11 months, 3 years 9 months and one year 9 months.

I had planned to let them come and go during the birth at will. However labour started at dinner/bath/bed-time and labour started quickly. So I just got a very very strong feeling that I wanted them gone so I could have DH to myself to set up the room - I knew we needed to do it quickly. So thats what happened. They came back just before the birth.

Could you have someone to be there for him and play it by ear whether he stays dependeing on his response at the time?

Before hand mine had watched NCT videos of birth, and watched the videoes of themselves being born. We also played games of making the noises and doing the faces mummies do to help get baby out - so that none of these scaed them during the actual birth.

TBH they don't seem interested or worried by labour under about 2/3, but they are very interested in the baby when it arrives. Over that they are mega excited and have bags of Q's - well my children anyway.

Good luck, it was beautiful to have them there and for them to greet their brother x

Thanks for that Mungo, it has given me food for thought :-)

Reading everyones stories is very reassuring.

I had a EMCS 9 months ago and although I'm not planning another baby until 2012 I've been worrying about the birth! I never even considered the possibility of a CS when pregnant. It seemed like something that happens to someone else. I was induced when 15 days late, in labour 2 days and sitting at 9cms for hours. Baby was facing the wrong way and her heartbeat was fluctating so was taken for EMCS.

She was 10lb8oz so while I'm glad I didn't have to push her out, I really don't want another section. I feel I missed out on something/ had something taken away from the experience. Took a whle to fell like she was my baby, which I blame on the trauma of it all.

Love reading positive VBAC stories, esp HBACs, hoping for an HBAC (HWBAC maybe) with DC3, due April.

DS1 HB, long & slow but fine.

DS2 undiagnosed breech, planned HB to emc-s.

ILikeToMoveIt - must chat more about H(W)BAC as read your story for DC2. Did you encounter much resistance from hospital/docs/MWs?
I am going to be firm and having had DS1 at home think i have more 'ammo' but still worried about the battle that may be ahead.

mummything - I felt very much like you after my emcs and I can't tell you how healing the VBAC was, it laid a lot of ghosts to rest.

Hi JKS , am happy to chat anytime, here or on the April 11 thread. I had an Ind MW for ds2 and I have an IM for this baby too as I know the NHS HCP's would be complete arses about my choice to VBAC, nevermind doing it at home.

I am happy to help compile some ammo with you, as no doubt you will have a battle ahead of you. I'll also be around to stroke your hair and pat your hand when you have a wobble about vbac'ing - as long as you reciprocate

Deal

Not looked into IMs properly but think they may be out of price range, aren't they quite pricey?

Though if my community MWs turn out to be useless & unsupportive I may consider persuading DH :)

They are expensive, around where I am they are about £3k (more in London I believe). That is for all my ante-natal care (done at home at a time that suits me), the birth and for 28 days post-partum. The only thing I have had to do via the NHS is the scans.

We are lucky enough to be able to afford it and it's the best 3k we ever spent. I did um and ah about using a IM again this time because of the expense, but dh insisted we use one. You can also pay a lot of them in instalments which makes it much more managable. Also the earlier you employ them the more value you get as the price is often the same whether you employ them at 8 weeks or 38 weeks.

As well as wanting to avoid the battles with the HCP's (our local hospital lives in the dark ages) there are lots of issues surrounding ds1 that make being in hospitals very difficult for both of us.

Fingers crossed you have great community MW's. If we did round here I would defo use them, but sadly they are heavily influenced by the HCP's at the hospital.

I second getting and IM. Mine was £k, but would be £3300 now. Worth every penny! She made what could have been battles with the hospital into civilised chats, gave me pre-birth classes aimed at my situation rather than the one size fits all that NHS and NCT classes do, and most importantly she was the one who calmly and competently turned my planned hospital water VBAC into a very short notice home birth. Had I been an NHS patient I would most likely have given birth in an ambulance!

£3k!

My second child was an ECS because he was a footling breech. I have had three successful VBACS since then with no intervention

So glad you have this thread going - I only learned the term VBAC today when I blithely visited two birth centres and was told I wouldn't be allowed to give birth in either of them! Duh! I'm only 9 weeks but want to decide on a hospital and had no idea this would be an issue, particularly if the birth centre is actually within a fully functioning hospital.
Anyway, I really want a vaginal birth this time and think my main problem is going to be lack of confidence because things went wrong last time, so it's lovely to read other success stories and hopefully get advice.

I had a vba3c a few weeks ago after a five year emotional journey. Met a lot of opposition and found it really tough to keep going at times. Was very emotional at the end of my pregnancy and was terrified something would go wrong. Had a wonderful IM and we had hoped to stay at home. Very quick birth - only 4 hours - was fully dilated in one hour and the rest of the time I was pushing (good job I had stayed at home as I would never have been given this time in hospital). As it was we transferred as there were a few dips in the heartbeat. But my gorgeous son was born within half an hour of arriving. Although I needed an episiotomy and a tiny kiwi ventouse I don't mind at all. I had no pain relief whatsoever and I felt everything!!! Having a vbac afte 3 sections meant so much - I was celebrating whilst pushing and the midwife had to tell me to stop the celebrations until baby was out .

It has been very healing but......I also realise now that my other births were not so bad. I kind of realise now that it really is the end result that matters - not how baby was born. But it was important for me to learn that as I was convinced that I would take my regret of never having a vaginal birth to my grave. So....for anyone out there who has just had a caeserean but had hoped for a vbac - I want to tell you that a vbac is not as much an issue as we make it. It should definitely not leave you feeling like you have missed out on something in life. Despite feeling euphoric about getting a vba3c I now realise that the day your little one is born is only one day and only a small part of the huge jigsaw of your precious little one's life.

Some lovely stories here!

ceropegia - You 'aren't allowed'? That is nonsense. They can make recommendations, you can look at the evidence and the risks and YOU make the decision. You may have to get a bit stroppy, but if you want to birth at a birth centre within a fully functioning hospital - just keep asking (like a broken record).

The main risk is that your scar will rupture - this sounds more dramatic than it actually usually is. Some scars do rip open in spectacular fashion but this is very, very rare. More likely is a slow 'unzipping', and this is still rare. Normal hospital protcol is to give you continual monitoring (which they usually don't provide at a birth centre) and stick a canula in as soon as you get to hospital (just in case all your veins collapse - see very, very rare problem above).

I think it would be fair to say that the jury is still out on whether continual monitoring during labour is of any benefit in any situation (and it often restricts your movement, so can be a hindrance). For my first VBAC I did have some monitoring, but the MWs steered me away from delivery suite until I was just about ready to push and then they strapped on a monitor that was remote so I could move around (and basically ignored it). For my second VBAC I didn't have any monitoring, but the MW took my pulse regularly as increase in pulse is a good early indicator if you are bleeding internally (ie your scar is beginning to unzip).

If you are being monitored it is not possible to labour or birth in water. If you weigh up all the risks and benefits of going to the birth centre and decide that it is the best place for you to go, then do the broken record thing.

Here is some useful information. And also here

Good luck!

From my first birth experience, I know the hospital I go to is so risk averse that there is no chance of me getting to do all those lovely things (eg home birth, water birth, no EFM.. time to labour/push) unless I go against their wishes or do it without the midwives really. I have had my first VBAC appointment and whilst she was extremely supportive of a VBAC, she did tell me all the 'rules' (or guidance), which, from her tone and my experience, I know they are NOT to be broken.

Great stories though. I will keep reading and keep hoping.

i've recently had a Cat 1 EMCS with DS1. Already thinking about when to try for DC2 and also about the birth.

Was meant to have had a home birth, but they reckon that my cervix wasn't completely out of the way - that the lip of it was in the way? baby's heart rate dipped with every contraction. when the midwife finally accepted i was in labour and came out to me, i was either fully dialated or 9cm (2 midwives couldn't agree with each other!) Our other issue was that they both came with empty gas/air tanks, one had a full tank, and an empty one, the other had an empty one and a half empty one. Not sure whether things would have gone differently if the pain relief was as planned as i got very anxious over this (and angry!) Transferred to hospital because of the heart rate dipping and after 2 hours of getting nowhere as he was bashing against me with each contraction, which was swelling his head and distressing him, i ended up under GA for CS.

I was under the impression from the hospital and midwives that i would not be allowed to attempt a home birth ever again, nor use a birthing centre as they want to do monitoring throughout the next birth.

Just wondering where i would stand on this as it seems other areas allow home birth's after CS from the postings on this thread?

Also re the CS wound, has anyone had theirs rip open in a subsequent labour? any idea how long after CS birth before it is strong enough to withstand another pregnancy/birth?

Just trying to work out if i would want a VBAC or an ELCS next time, as whilst i coped fine with the contractions using a tens machine, and the gas/air was doing the trick when i was pushing (in vain) i could not cope with the pain caused by the monitoring belt when i got to the hospital, it felt like i was being stabbed and not keen to repeat that part of the experience....