Does failure to progress with dc1 make vbac less likely and can size of baby contribute to failure to progress??

[ag123]

I am a long long long way off even a 2nd pregnancy but for some reason I can't stop thinking about this. So,birth story for dc1: never ever felt any braxton hicks to begin with, ruptured membranes on the Friday night and never realised as such a small amount of fluid (and had rung triage to check and they thought probably nothing) but went all the way to the Tuesday before going to hospital to double check that nothing was wrong who then told me I would not be going home until my baby was born, so I had gone all that time with no contractions at all even though membranes had ruptured. So was induced with syntocyn. Had full monitoring, got to 4-5cm before having epidural and basically everything I knew from my active birth sessions wasn't going to be great. Started hyperstimulating so they turned off the syntocyn and I progressed to 7cm. Then nothing more so they turned the syntocyn up to full dose and I didn't progress any further at all. The total time was coming up to about 15 hours now, and baby was having decelerations so anyway ended up with emcs. He was 11lbs and the midwives all said that it was definitely due to his size and he just wouldn't have fitted out, but I now think maybe they were just trying to make me feel better. Anyway, I had an extension to the c-s incision which meant I lost 2 litres of blood,ended up with an infection and had to stay in hospital for 6 days and it was the most hellish experience of my life. Sorry that ended up quite long! The thing is, all I keep thinking about now is how much I would want a vbac if I was lucky enough to get pregnant again,but is this really realistic? If not then maybe I can just come to terms with this and move on...

How long ago was this? It sounds as if it was quite recent, and it as obviously a very traumatic experience. I'm really sorry you had togo through this.

The success rate for VBAC does vary depending on the reason for the first cs, and if it was for failure to progress then there is a lower success rate than if it was, for example, because the baby was breech. But if you really want a VBAC, you can still try for one.

One other thing to consider is that, while having an 11 lber for your first baby might well be a reason for failure to deliver vaginally, if you had managed a vaginal birth it is likely to havebeen a difficult delvery with ventouse/forceps/bad tearing. I had an emergency cs for my first and was told afterwards that if my ds had been born vagnally I would have had fourth degree tear. This influenced my decision to gofor elective cs second time around.

Long labours are more likely to be caused by baby's position than size.

This page might help answer some questions, its from the homebirth site, but the advice is general VBAC. It looks pretty good for you from what I can see.

The short answer is, yes, you can plan a VBAC!

The long answer....

I hate the term "failure to progress". Often, it's better labelled "failure to wait". And it's the doctors' failure, not yours.

Do you know why they told you to stay in hospital? It might have been that that was really the best thing to do, or it might have been that you would have been OK to go home (and possibly coped/progressed better there). Was this discussed with you, before saying No and then putting you on a drip? My gut says that your surroundings, your position and your baby's position were probably bigger factors in what happened than the baby's size.

Your surroundings directly impact how much oxytocin you produce. This is why it's great to stay at home as long as you can! This is something you can control.

Being on your back reduces how much room your baby has to come through. It reduces the mobility of your pelvis by about a third! This is something you can control.

If baby isn't in a great position, that can make labour slower and can make it harder for the baby to come out. This is something you can sort-of control, a bit. Look at "spinningbabies" and Optimal Foetal Positioning :)

Sometimes a planned VBAC becomes an RCS, but usually in those cases the family feel more in control and still find it overall a positive experience (even though not the kind of birth they hoped for). One thing is sure: you definitely WON'T get a VBAC next time if you plan an RCS.

Do you have your notes from the hospital? It might be useful to go over them and then maybe discuss them with your midwife or doctor... This might help you to process the experience and build a clearer picture of what your options are for future pregnancies and births. It would also give them some feedback, which is useful for improving maternity care. If you do it now, maybe things will have changed for the better by the time you are having your next baby??

Oh - and about braxton hicks - near the end of my second pregnancy I went to hospital to be monitored because baby's heart rate was a bit fast. (Everything was fine, btw.) Anyway, I am lying there with this belt on for half and hour, feel uncomfortable, hating being on my back and pressing a button each time baby moves. I don't feel a single BH. Before I leave I am shown the print out which has recorded SIX braxton hicks! So, if you can't feel them, they are probably still happening! Your body is amazing, try to trust it!

Search on youtube for "VBAC" - LOTS of encouraging stories on there!

Links - on CPD/baby being too big/pelvis being too small:

birthbliss.wordpress.com/2010/01/12/giving-birth-like-primal-peoples-pygmy-birth/

enjoybirth.com/blog/2009/06/29/big-baby-bull/

Hope this helps!

Thank you for your replies.

Yes it really wasn't long ago at all and I think this interest in whether or not I might be able to have a vbac in the future is probably still me coming to terms with what happened as I slightly feel that I failed as a woman...

The reason I had to stay in hospital was that my membranes had been ruptured for about 3 and a half days without me realising,I had a raised pulse rate and temperature (I think the infection that led to me staying in hospital had already started) and there was mecconium (sp?) in the fluids, so I don't think there was any way I'd have been allowed home or even to not be on full monitoring...

I just can't stop thinking about how if I never manage to deliver vaginally that I won't be fulfilling my whole purpose in life,and I just have this awful feeling that circumstances will always lead to this...I know that might sound silly and sorry to be over-emotional about it-it's just how I feel.

Same story as yours here. A few days before due date My water went during the night so went to hosp to get checked. Never had any BH, did not have any contractions for 3 days do got induced. At 8cm got told I was failing to progress and DS was distressed so emcs.
Felt like a failed women.
16 months later on my due date I started to have mild contractions. I didn't want any kind of inductions or sweep this time around. I had contractions for 6 very looong days and on the evening of the 6th day, suddenly I woke up screaming with pain!! Went to hospital, tried gas & air but didn't like it. I was fully dilated in 2 hours and pushed for another hour before having an episiotomy. Had a scan two weeks before saying that baby would be around 3.2kg (like DS1) but it turned out that DS2 was 4.5kg and too big to get out!!! Hence the episiotomy.

So yes vbac is very possible even with a big baby. It seems to me that having a big baby is a problem at the pushing stage but does not cause "failure to progress".
I'm no expert though.

Hoping for another vbac in a few weeks times!!!
Ps: I had a doula for my vbac and I would really recommend having one!

And to be honest, the episiotomy didn't cause me any pain ( but hemoroids from pushing so long did!)