Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Childbirth

Share experiences and get support around labour, birth and recovery.

Flip

1 2 3

Original poster

VBA2C

59 replies

carlypen · 21/10/2005 09:13

anyone had any experience of this good or bad i would love to hear it. thinking about it for baby number 3 and so far have been surprised by support of gp and midwife

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

Lulu68 · 21/10/2005 14:32

Yep, I had one last year and it was Grrrrrreat! lucky you that you have support from them both, mine was an uphill battle but I am so glad I won!

I would say though that I was lucky with a quick labour, I'm not sure how happy I would have been if I had had a long one (mine was around 1 hour!)

Good luck with it, I'm going for an HBA2C this time...........

Redhelen · 21/10/2005 18:38

Had 2 sections now - tried very hard to deliver baby 2 naturally only to be wheeled into theatre just I was about to push- something wrong with scar. Good luck - I think I'd book an elective section if I went for a third - just think a natural expereince is not going to happen for me!! Would have loved the experience though!

Laura032004 · 21/10/2005 18:43

There is a yahoo group which specifically discusses VBAC if you are interested. I hope that you get what you want

treacle2 · 19/02/2006 11:06

HI,
I have had 2 emergency CS and am 7 months pregnant with #3. Not living in England, but would like to know of advice people have been given about trying to go VBA2C. Am going to see a new doctor on Tuesday, but would like to hear other people's advice/experiences first

fruitful · 19/02/2006 14:36

scroll down to VBAC Resources and click on the link to VBA2C . Lots of research here.

treacle2 · 20/02/2006 09:30

thank you - found that site really useful

treacle2 · 22/02/2006 10:59

Has anyone had or does anyone know of anyone who has had VBAC go wrong?

uwila · 22/02/2006 11:25

What do you mean by "go wrong"? For me, repeating the emergency section would be VBAC gone wrong. But if you are happy to end up in emergency section then I suppose your chances of things going well are pretty good.

uwila · 22/02/2006 11:26

Where are you treacle? Is VBAC encouraged where you are?

TuttiFrutti · 22/02/2006 12:44

Yes, a friend of mine had a horrible VBAC experience 6 weeks ago. Her first was an elective Caesarean for placenta previa.

She went through first stage labour with only gas and air as they recommended no epidurals for VBACs, and it took about 10 hours (not bad for a first labour) but it all went wrong at the pushing stage. She had a third degree tear and had to have an epidural after the birth and be wheeled into theatre to be stitched up! She is still incontinent and has a lot of pain "down there". She says she wishes she had gone for another C-section.

CarolinaMoon · 22/02/2006 13:07

Tuttifrutti, that is horrible for your friend . But it can happen in any vaginal birth can't it?

I guess you somehow expect a vbac would be a good vaginal birth rather than a traumatic one iyswim, but I spose that's the risk you take.

Treacle2 do you mean wrong as in the scar rupturing?

fruitful · 22/02/2006 16:22

Well I was planning a VBAC with ds, until they diagnosed placenta praevia at 32 weeks. Has ds 2 weeks later (by csec obviously, emergency when I started bleeding and went into labour). But when they opened me up they said the lower half of my womb was paper-thin and the scar had started to split (just at one end and not all the way through). The consultant said it was a good job the pregnancy hadn't lasted any longer.

Will be starting my own thread about paper-thin wombs and scar dehiscence at some point...

As far as scar rupture goes, it is very rare, although that is no consolation if it happens. I guess it is rarer than complications of repeat csec though? There is research that shows that it is worth scanning your scar. If the lower segment of your womb is quite thick, you almost certainly won't rupture. If it isn't thick, then you don't know any more than before the scan - you might be ok or you might not.

uwila · 22/02/2006 16:37

Oh yeah... and I bet the NHS is going to start offering that scan, right????

My experience of the NHS is that they put very little effort into preventative measures. So my preventative measure is plan a nice calm section.

TuttiFrutti · 22/02/2006 17:28

Carolinamoon, yes I agree, that could have happened in any vaginal birth.

VBACs have 2 major disadvantages compared with normal vaginal births: 1) you can't be induced, at least not the full works with a syntocinon drip although hospital practice varies on the other procedures and 2) you are recommended not to have an epidural, so that if the scar starts to rupture you could feel it happening. Of course these aren't disadvantages at all you go into labour naturally and have a quick and trouble-free birth. But if you encounter problems, a VBAC can be more restrictive in the options available to you.

fruitful · 22/02/2006 17:48

Uwila - I guess I'll find out! Not that I'll be having a vbac, but I'll need to know when its safe to have the cs. The consultant who delivered ds said if I got pg again, she'd want to do a cs at 34 weeks, which I wouldn't be happy with really. But I don't want to push it too long if there is a prob with my scar. I'd like a nice calm cs too. Getting ahead of myself though, not pg yet.

I should think if you waved the research paper at the right consultant they would scan you anyway - they always wanted to give me far more scans than I wanted.

CarolinaMoon · 22/02/2006 18:20

Tutti, I suppose you need an open enough mind that you'd be ok having another cs if labour wasn't panning out well.

I'm not even pg yet, but this does play on my mind, having had a cs for failure to progress last time (my first).

I think if it was going that way again, I'd rather have the cs right away than hours and hours of synto drip and full (non-mobile) epidural like last time - in a way the "restrictions" make it easier not to have too much messing about with interventions in labour.

treacle2 · 23/02/2006 06:34

Hi again, I live in the Middle East (Qatar) and delivered my other 2 daughters here - both emergency CS; the first because she couldn't come out and was getting distressed, the 2nd because it was only discovered when I was in labour and about 6cms dilated that her feet were coming out, so the surgeon wheeled me straight to the theatre. I would like to give birth naturally but do NOT want to end up with emerg. CS again. Just trying to figure out the odds and weighing up pros and cons as the 2 schools of thought seem to be absolutely no reason not to go for it and all doctors are wrong, or you're foolish to try VBAC. I do like the suggestion of getting the scar scanned, maybe I'll try that and it will help me with my decision....... VBAC or planned (calm?!) section.....

Joseyjo · 23/02/2006 09:24

this is a fascinating thread. i have had 1 emergency and 1 planned section and have just written to my consultant to ask her if another pregnancy would be safe or whether it carries a much higher risk to me and baby. i am not considering it just yet (ds2 is only 5 months!!) but i would like to know my options for the future. my ecs was horrid and very early as ds1 very ill and sadly didn't survive, which left me with a very small scar that stretched (but fortunatley didn't rupture) badly with ds2. dh is very nervous of me getting pg again but i dn't want ds2 to be an only child.... any advice?

gomez · 23/02/2006 09:34

Tuttifrutti - I attempted a VBAC with my second daughter and had both a syntocin drip and an epidural. I was 10 days over and was desperate to not have another section (DD1 was an elective for breech presentation) - as my cervix was favourable I had a syntocin drip to augment labour, no pesseries however. I requested and received an epidural at about 5/6 cms with no issues at all. However I then had to fight to not be strapped to a monitor permanently.

I was disappointed to not manage a VBAC and will be trying for a VBA2C - hopefully with more success!

Guard · 23/02/2006 09:35

Treacle2 - good on you for considering it. I had a VBAC (only one though) and had a home birth, fantastic experience, so different to 1st time round. Things that made a difference to me were a booklet published by AIMS (Association of Independent Midwives) on VBAC with loads of inspirational VBAC stories - some after 3 C sections, talking to some midwives (really talking to them about concerns etc etc) and having my sister in law to be there for the birth (incredibly supportive to have another woman there just for you). The statistic I liked the best was "you are more likely to be examined by a bogus doctor than for the scar to rupture...". Key is a good midwife you feel confident in... Try:
www.vbac.org.uk/
and
www.independentmidwives.org.uk/

mummygow · 23/02/2006 09:44

My first labour was 18 hours then an ec, my second baby I was determined to have vbac and my consultant was happy to allow me until I developd hpolydromnosis and I was booked in for an elective section - but the night before I went into labour and after establishing that everything was progressing normally they aloowed me to labour for 9 hours (epidural after 5). They then told me that the same thing was happening as in my first - although dilated to nearly 10cm both my babies heads never came into the pelvis so they have told me that next time they would not allow me to try vbac - very sad

I hope you do get the birth experience that you really want!!

Hope you get the

TuttiFrutti · 23/02/2006 09:48

Gomez, it just goes to show how hospital practice varies, doesn't it?! I was told by my consultant after last birth that a syntocinon drip would be out of the question and an epidural would be "not recommended" for someone who'd had a C-section before. Hey ho.

uwila · 23/02/2006 10:11

I don't understand this bit about no epidural for a VBAC. Why is this? If I wanted to have a VBAC, which I most certainly never will, and they told me I had to go without an epidural. I'd say "Right then, when shall we do the section."

So, why aren't you supposed to have an epidural?

jupp · 23/02/2006 11:19

Was planning VBAC with second child after a C-section for breech the first time around. But then second child was breech as well. During second C-section the surgeon said that the scar was paper-thin and implied that I had been lucky to have had a C-section. He said that in a third pregnancy I should get a C-section at the latest at 38 weeks.

When I was plamnning the VBAC birth I asked at the hospital whether one could determine the risk from scanning the scar, but they said that one could not -- fruitful, I would be interested in more info on the scan you mentioned? Is there a research paper or a website?

CarolinaMoon · 23/02/2006 11:22

Uwila, it's so that you can feel any unusual pains that might be a precursor to the scar rupturing - I've read that lots of people who've had a scar rupture report one-sided pain before it happens.

Apparently that's a better indicator than maternal pulse, so it doesn't make much sense for hospitals to insist on continuous monitoring and then give you an epidural.

Joseyjo, how that your ds1 didn't survive. I hope your consultant can reassure you about getting pg again.

Flip

1 2 3

Swipe left for the next trending thread