Consultation re ELCS or VBAC - what to ask?

[oscarwilde]

Have an appointment next week to discuss options for delivery of DC2. First DC was a CS after Failure to Progress. Stuck at 6/7cms for 24 hrs. Have a horrid suspicion that they will be pretty low on info as to actually why this is the case when I meet them. I didn't have any sort of review after DC1.
Open to a VBAC in principle but CS is obviously a known quantity. Dreading both options really - post surgery recovery or possible forceps/ventouse/tearing or just a simple repeat of a two active day labour and then a CS.
Rather than open a discussion about the de/merits of both options as I have been researching this heavily; I wondered if anyone had useful suggestions / must have questions when meeting to discuss.

Your situation was different to mine, but I was given information at my consultation that I wasn't expecting and helped me make my mind up - I was told that as ds1 was really high, did not descend, got stuck BUT was only 7lb, that it would likely happen again and was possibly due to the shape of my pelvis as he was a small baby so it probably wasn't his size. So maybe ask about whether the position/size of baby was a reason for the failure to progress/EMCS? Were you induced (I was, I'm sure it was a factor), were you bedbound (again, I'm sure these all contributed to my CS). I went for an ELCS, it was the stuck-but-small that made my mind up. I was the same as you - the LAST THING I wanted was a drawn-out labour with interventions followed by a CS, which was my first experience. Good Luck.

Having said that, I don't think they let you labour for long with a VBAC? I may be wrong but I think the stress on the scar is too dangerous to be contracting for too long?

Are you going to the same hospital as last time? Going through the actual notes from previous labour really helped - initially we only had a letter from the previous hospital which didn't give the full picture. This changed my decision. For me, it was reassuring to know I would be closely monitored, limit to labour length etc. I also knew if things were going wrong could ask for section.

Ended up with epidural/ forceps/ episiotomy - much easier recovery than emcs and so glad I avoided cs, but I know
friends who have found cs recovery easier.