VBAC - hospital won't let you go past 41 weeks?

[olek]

Hospital seems to be indicating they won't let me go past 41 weeks for a VBAC. Meeting them in two weeks, when I will be 40 weeks to discuss it. Have searched on the web, but can't seem to find anything on it.

My friend just had c-section at UCH (where I will be) and they have said the same thing to her about their policy.

Anyone heard of it? I want to be prepared when i talk to them.

thanks!

My consultant was prepared to let me go up until 42 + 3 for VBAC - I was having a much bigger babe 2nd time round.... BUT at 41+2( with no sign dd2 was even remotely interested in putting in appearance) I decided I would have another c-section for anumber of reasons. Ended up being a day of 42 weeks when I had dd2.

It may depend on your consultant - I saw three different docs at the hospital ( other than my named consultant) who were talking c-section at 38 weeks - one woman - immediately saw that I had already had a c-section and so was checking her calendar for booking the next one to be done at 38 weeks, another wanted me to book 38 weeks as well and the third rambled off all the statistics of complications etc and then wanted to book me for my due date... only named consultant was prepared to discuss and advise re VBAC vs c-section.

Well done honeybunny! Great to hear a vbac success story. Congrats on arrival of ds2. I'm changing hospitals in hope of getting one that will be good at vbacs, and am hiring a doula.

thanks tonton.
at the same time I was giving birth, in the next room there was another VBAC-er. She was succesful as well, though her progress was very very slow, and she got stuck on 9cms. I think the staff was ready to wheel her into the theatre, but she really protested and managed to get a delay, in which she managed to get to 10cms, and start pushing. I think in the end hers came out without any intervention, or stitches. I am quite jealous of that: gosh they hurt!!
Oh another thing I thought of since yesterday. I think writing a clear birthplan is a good thing to do! Mine was very precise, stated that I was aware of all the risks, esp.re. the uterine scar and induction. And that in principle I agreed with the monitoring and the canula, but that I would want labour to be as active as possible. Staff really appreciated it I think, as it was clear from the start where I stood and what I wanted, and that I had really checked out all possibilities (so I knew what I was talking about).

Glad to hear you managed to have a birth you wanted honeybunny. Can't believe you are already back on mumsnet.

I am having my 40 week checkup tommorow. (actually i will be two days short of 40 weeks).

I shall take all your advice and be very positive. Show hospital I am working with them. I will agree to the monitering and canula, as these things don't stop me from having the type of birth i want, yet show the hospital that i take what they say seriousely. I hope I will be able to move around and stay upright. DH wants to bring our huge bean bag in! (our hospital is not that well equipped in that sense).

I have also been listening to a natal hypnotherapy cd - want to start a new thread to see if anyone has experience using them

Anyone heard how scully is doing?

Thanks e/1 for all your encouragement

Hi, still here at 40+5
Had a consultant appt yesterday, 3rd appt, 3rd different consultant, but I was very impressed with the one I saw yesterday. She explained everything and I left feeling very positive and like we were working together, not like after the 2nd appt where I felt I was being told what to do.
Given that the baby is doing all the right things, albeit just taking it's time , they are happy to leave me until next Wed (41+4), at which point she said they would probably break my waters and give me 24hrs to see what happened. She said it would be a shame to have a c-section now, given the baby's position and how good things currently look. She doesn't expect me to make it to next Wed though, & thinks she'll see me over the weekend, as she is working
So I'm very happy baby is doing what it should & is still happy in there and I'm feeling ok to carry on another few days....
Currently having irregular cramping and had a show last night, so things are moving along, slowly.....
Congrats on ds2's arrival & your successful vbac honeybunny. Your feedback and advice are v helpful.

Great to read that things are moving along, Scully! Isn't it great to talk to consultants that leave you room to think about the options, and make up your mind yourself?! Sounds like it was a good experience. I am glad my experiences can be of help to everyone else here on the VBAC topic . Until I got pregnant again I had never really thought about the subject, or heard about it myself either, so a place like MN is ideal to read about other people's stories.

Am I right in remembering that you were considering your options for pain relief?? I used my TENS machine, up until I was 9cms dilated and wheeled into the OR, and only for the last hour or so needed additional gas-and-air. This may have a bit because I thought I was much less far along than I thought, but I felt the TENS offered great pain relief up until then. I have a 4-channel one (BOOTS), and there's different programs for first and second stage labour, but because I thought I was still in first stage, I ended up using that until they discovered I was 9cms. Afterwards I had to switch it off, 'cause I found it difficult to deal with the contractions and switch between programs. The 'VBAC-girl-next-door' was in the bath during most of her second stage, but I think she didn't get as much relief as I did with my TENS (she was swearing and screaming a lot).

I am planning to use the TENS for postnatal muscle toning now too. Anyway, gotta go now, cook dinner.

Glad to hear you are Ok scully, and agree with you, thanks for being so helpful honneybunny.

Met with registrar today, said to come back at 40+4 for monitering and 41+4 where probably be induced that day or next. No talk about being induced by 41 weeks, Yay! they realy do seem to be saying different things.

Just glad they are letting me go on. hopefully baby will be here by 41+4. my waters broke spontaneousely at 41 weeks last time (though no labour). Perhaps if I do reach 41+4 will ask them to push it off to after the weekend when i will be 42+1. But I will worry about it only then.

Registrar did not seem interested to write out my birth plan with me. wasn't sure if thats what happens anyway. Will write notes myself as seems a good idea.

will let you know what happens!

Just to let you know that I delivered dd2 by vbac on Xmas day at 10.19pm
Went from 2cm to 10cm in 5.5hrs and pushed for an hour, with only gas and air. Had an episiotomy which hasn't given me any trouble or much discomfort and basically found the whole thing a really positive birth experience and it went how I wanted it to
Midwives and consultant were all great (it was the same consultant I had seen on the Wed before, who told me I would deliver on the weekend!) and apart from being monitored from about 4cm onwards, I could still be mobile and had everything explained before they did it, which we both really appreciated.
Recovery is much quicker than with a c-section and much easier with having dd1 at home already, wanting her mum up and about.
Good luck Olek, if nothing has happened already

Congrats- glad to hear you got the birth you wanted. VBAC seems to be more and more obtainable these days, which is so good

congrats on the birth of dd2, and your succesful scully! sounds like you had a good one.

Wow, I am so pleased for you. It is wonderful that you managed it. Wishing you all the best

Still hanging in here at 41+1. Nothing happening One doctor said they would do a c-section on thurs if not in labour. Another said would break water and do syntocin but not such a good idea to use it post scar.

I think i will have a compromise and have my waters broken but not syntocin. I want to push them off till at least sun though, when i will be 42 weeks exactly. That is, if the scan and monitering shows baby is happy.

Besides obviousely feeling fustrated, I am quite happy to go beyond 42 weeks rather than c-section. But when mentiioned it to doctor, he told me risk of baby dying suddenly after 42 weeks! I think he said smaill risk. What should i make of that? Cant they check how the placenta is fuctioning on the scan, and i have a small baby, so it wont get too big.

Had a scan on fri which showed babies growth velocity has dropped off slightly compared to the norm, but still growing. They estimate at 2.8kg (6lb 2.5 oz?). Therefore was monitered yesterday and scan and monitering on Tues. Back for antinatal appt on Thurs.

Sorry to bore you all with so many details, just feeling quite fustrated.

I hope things get moving soon.

Hi olek,
About the growth and weight of your baby: I was told they don't usually do ultrasound to guess weight of baby so late in pregnancy, as it is really not accurate (10-15% deviation). This error in the estimate would mean that yours could still be 3.22kg (7lbs)!!

You could check if they could do an ultrasound of the cord, to check the bloodflow through it. This would give you an idea if the placenta is still feeding the baby properly. The risk of baby dying does increase after 42wks, I think it is partly because of the lifespan of the placenta (is supposed to last for a pregnancy of 40wks, and is less and less efficient after that). I do know 2 mums that lost their baby after 42wks (very tragic!! ), so it is a real risk, but I don't know how big a risk it is.

I think monitoring is probably a good idea too, as they can tell a lot from the heart beat. I know you would like to avoid the c-section if at all possible, but do keep listening to your doctors. Although they sometimes give conflicting advise and you may not always agree with them, they do generally want what is best for you. Write a solid birth plan that includes a phrase like: "... please discuss if any changes from the plan with me and/or partner...".
Don't wait for the registrar to write it with you: write it yourself. Let me know if you want to have a look at mine, I could send it to you by email, if you like. I think 'no syntocin' is probably a good idea: I found my contractions very strong without it, and was quite glad I didn't need it: my scar started hurting, which was why I ended up with the episiotomy plus forceps (which I am not sure they used all that much: no marks on ds2's head).

In the meantime, until Tursday, you could try all the home remedies. For me pineapple seems to have done the trick, and funnily enough (maybe coincident??) both for ds1 and ds2 we had a vegetarian spaghetti for dinner the night I popped, and a long walk on the day. I wish you all the luck, and hope things will happen before thursday!

Hunnybunny would be very helpful to see your birthplan. not quite sure how you go about it on mumsnet.

Specific birthplan v good idea - both midwives read mine (shift change) & spoke to me about what I had said for pain relief & monitoring, so I was pleased I had given it some thought when writing it.
If all is ok with baby, I would push for your waters being broken, without the syntocin. You can always have that later, if things aren't happening, can't you?
Had I made it to 41+4, having my waters broken was being considered for me, before a c-section, given the baby's good position.
I didn't find pineapple, curry or rasberry leaf tablets did anything, but the are all worth a try I had acupuncture on the Wed & had on/off contactions until dd2 born on Sunday, so that or reflexology may be worth considering.
Good luck

oh dear...just came back from hospital. My waters had broken between now and fri. do not know when! i am home tonight, back in tommorow. They want to do a c-section on thurs if nothing has happened.

I have decided not to be induced, as although risk is low, consequences are serious. I wish there was a way of monitering infection as i am quite happy to sit in hospital till it comes naturally!

Just skimmed through this thread, olek, but wanted to wish you all the very best. Not very long from now you will be holding your little bundle!

Good luck

Thanks for your suppport.
...can't sleep. Have been searching mumsnet and seen some people do give birth vaginally a few days after waters have broken. Though the hospital and my doula are warning me that 'dry labour' has increased risk of fetal distress and is harder

The main thing to focus on is having a healthy baby. The second priority was tryingto avoid cs...well there is still hope.

Hello everyone - Olek's husband grabbing the opportunity to send a post (id theft? should I get my own username? start "dadsnet"! )! Just to say thanks to everyone who has been contributing to these threads - I know it's really reassuring for olek! Also thank you to mears for those two article links which were very helpful and interesting.

Me again! still here. I started a new thread cause the title doesnt really reflect where it is leading. will hopefully have good news to post soon

Hello everyone - Olek's husband here again to let you know that she deliverde a lovely boy - naturally! on Thursday afternoon!! It was a close one becuase she was scheduled for the op Thursday morning - labour kicked in 2am Wednesday morning!... i'm sure she'll give you all the details when she gets to the comp.

My advice for vbacs? Go to a restaurant! I took her out to eat the Wednesday evening before we were about to go into the hospital to be prepped for the c-section!

Congratulations to you both on the birth of your son!

Oh Olek, I am sooooo happy for you (and for hubby too of course)! Congrats on the birth of your baby son. What kind of restaurant did you go to, just out of curiosity...

sorry its a repeat of another thread but thought mumsnet'ers here might not have seen other thread.

So apologies for not letting you know sooner how it all went. just been in and out of hospital because stitches have opened all up

anyway as you probably know in the nick of time labour started up naturally! have a absolutely darling little boy.

Congratulations! - names? Weight?

doesn't actually have a name yet! weighed at birth 7,10. and they told me he would be 6, and in the last week thought his growth had tailed off!