Very successful VBAC!

[RhubarbCrumbled]

DS2 was born on 6th January 2013 after a really lovely, straightforward VBAC. Thanks to everybody who has offered support and advice over the last few months when I was panicking and worrying about ending with an EMCS again. So, for anyone who's thinking about VBAC, here's my experience.

I had an EMCS 3 years ago with DS1 after a hard 5 day labour (3cm on the Wednesday, DS born the following Monday). I was very worried it was all going to end the same way again and that maybe I should just go for an ELCS this time so that there wouldn't be any trauma. But I was persuaded a VBAC was the way to go. I saw 2 consultants during the pregnancy and both assured me I was very low risk and that the VBAC would be best but to have sweeps at 40 and 41 weeks. Both of these sweeps failed and I got to the point where I demanded a date for the c section as I was getting very wound up with not knowing what was happening and the midwife who did thr 2nd sweep basically told me that it cwas very very unlikely to start naturally before 42 weeks.

However, 2 days later I started to get contractions and less than 24 hours later DS2 was born! There were a couple of iffy moments but the midwife dealt with them wonderfully. Dilation happened as it was meant to. I had to have my waters broken at 8cm and there was the plug and bloody show that hadn't turned up. There was also meconium in thr water but as The baby was being monitored anyway they knew he wasn't distressed at all, it just meant a bit longer in hospital after. The whole birth was done with TENS to 5cm then gas and air. I also came away with only a minor 1st degree tear and no stitches, but that's definitely down to the marvellous midwife we had and her talking me through every step of the way. We had skin to skin almost immediately and he had his first feed within the hour.

I was very sore but nothing as bad as with the EMCS and was at least out of bed and moving around almost immediately. I'm not saying up and about as that's taken at least a week! After monitoring for the meconium we were discharged the following day and home in time for lunch. Which was a result as the hospital food was foul.

So basically, I'd definitely recommend at least considering a VBAC as it can all be so different from the first time.

Lovely story - congratulations!!

That's great to hear - well done
Here's hoping my my dc2 gets a move on... section booked for 25.1

Congratulations! Thank you very much for sharing. I also had a bad time last time ending in EMCS, and I'm (newly!) pregnant and hoping to go for VBAC, but obviously worried. I will be saving this thread so I can come back and read it again nearer the time.

Congratulations and thanks for sharing your positive experience. You should feel very proud of yourself! I had a traumatic emcs last time, I'm 34wks now with dc2 and excited (and a little nervous) about having a HBAC. Even a shorter length labour would be fantastic (37hrs last time). Enjoy your newborn snuggles.

Congratulations on ds2 and the VBAC.

Are you still on a VBAC high?!

Good luck to the other VBAC'ers out there

Congratulations on your DS! This is very heartening news. I had an ELCS due to DS being breech in Nov 2009 and am 28+3 with DC2, planning a VBAC. I am very determined to give it a go, but am getting slightly nervous as I had a scan yesterday which showed the baby as being on the 80th centile at the moment. This scares the shit out of me! I am practising my natal hypnotherapy stuff almost daily in an effort to chill out and trust my body but this kind of story helps my confidence more than anything else so thanks!

Hey pontouf just to say: ignore those size scans! I had a scan at 36 weeks which predicted that DS (my DC1)would be on the 97th centile with a head circumference which was literally off the graph: on the hundred and tenth centile if such a thing were possible!

He was born at 41 weeks in a natural vaginal birth with just hypnobirthing breathig techniques, tens machine and G&A. He was 9lb 3oz - so yes a big boy but not the 11lb monster they had been predicting. I had a slight tear which healed up fine within a week or two and was up on y feet having a shower within an hour of giving birth.

Congratulations! I too had a vbac 3 weeks ago and can't believe how great the recovery has been compared to my emcs. You'll reap the benefits of your efforts now!

Enjoy your new baby.

This is really good to know. I had DC1 in October and ended up having emcs after failure to progress. Waters had broken 3 days earlier and I was completely done in by the time he was delivered and felt really unwell for the first week, I'm sure it made everything even more overwhelming. Would be very nervous of going through it again.