VBAC or ELCS - what's your experience of electing for a CS once in labour if you change your mind?

[justme27]

Hi all,

Been reading the other posts on this carefully as I had my VBAC appt for dc2 at 26 weeks this week. I was swaying towards an ELCS but after the appointment am considering a VBAC but have one specific question for you all....

With DC1, it took 48 hours to get to 3cm (contractions every 3-4 mins) then I had epidural and it took another 12 hours for me to get to only 7cm at which point they offered me a CS given my exhaustion and the risk of DC1 getting distressed.

The midwife was great and relatively unbiased. She told me that I would be in straight away this time and if labour wasn't progressing, they would suggest a CS instead of letting me labour with my previous scar.

My worry is that they will just say that now to get me to agree to a VBAC and then at the time, if I feel it's going the same way and ask for a CS, they won't be able to / or won't do it and I'll have effectively lost my chance.

The midwife did also tell me that my consultant (Miss Hanna at QE Woolwich) is generally 'against' repeat cs and I therefore know that when I have my 'decision' meeting with her at 36 weeks, I need to be certain either way.

Anyone have any experience of what choice you really have if you opt for a VBAC?

Thanks all :-)

Sorry Justme, I don't have any direct experience of this. All I'll say is that you need to be autonomously informed about te decision you make - not swayed by a consultant with bias. I'd recommend reading Cesarean Birth: a positive approach to preparation and recovery by Leigh East (available on amazon) as there is a pro/con list of VBAC and repeat CS. Remember that, although planned CS carried risks, with EMCS those risks are increased, and it comes with it's own set of risks. If you labour and then decide on CS, you'll technically be an EMCS.

Whatever you decide, I wish you all the very best.

Thanks Lunarlyte for your input.

I have ordered that book actually and plan to read it. I guess my concern re the consultant is simply that the next meeting wouldn't really be an opportunity for me to discuss the pros and cons confident in the knowledge that they'd recommend the best for me - if that makes sense - and even the midwife indicated that I needed to be willing to stand firm if I decided I wanted an ELCS.

I agree re the knowing where I am with an ELCS rather than seeing how it goes and ending up with an EMCS.

Such a tough one - anyone got a crystal ball??

I had the opposite for DC3, I was scheduled for an ElCS but went into labour 2 days before.

It took me 20odd hours to convince myself it wasn't false labour, then a few hours to convince the midwives that it wasn't just a UTI (my scar hurt and for some reason this threw the MW) and wait for my enormous roast dinner to digest a bit and then wait for the CS crew to be free. I was coping quite well but when they finally wheeled me through to theatre I was very ready. They were just putting in the epidural (spinal?) when the MW asked if I felt like pushing which I did. At that point the epidural kicked in and I didn't mind what they did so we got him out vaginally with forceps and episiotomy (actually quite comical at the time pretending to push and it miraculously actually working.)
On the down side, my recovery was slower than with my previous CSecs which ad been a doddle. With my 2nd CS I was carrying a toddler about within a week, With my VBA2C I could hardly sit down for 3wks, let alone drive, would rather have had my perineum intact TBH. There is a slight feeling of smugness for having coped more than I thought I would but not worth it imo!

Forgot to add I had debated VBAC as I was perfectly good candidate for it but decided as it was my 3rd to opt for CSec purely for the convenience of planning.

DD1 was VB and DD2 was ELCS. I preferred the ELCS, but then, my VB wasn't straightforward. If I were to have another DC, I would go for repeat CS. But I'm thinking that because of what I've researched and because of my experience with each. You have do do what's right for you.

Fwiw, Silk I'm with you on loving having an intact perineum!!

Hi all,

Sorry for the delay - don't get on here as much as I'd like (only 6 weeks at work left and then I can be here all the time!!)

Your comments are really helpful. Silk, I guess if that happened, I'd put it down to fate!

I think for various reasons, I'm definitely leaning towards an ELCS. I read through the NICE guidelines and it made me realise that whilst they bang on about the risks of a planned section, they don't actually talk you through or even really discuss all the things that could happen with a normal or even VBAC!

Thanks again everyone.