Having a massive wobble about vbac

[Whereisthesnow]

Having probably not a great day today but feeling very unsure suddenly about my decision to go for a vbac
Background is 33 weeks with dc2. Ds was an emcs for lots of little reasons - failure to progress, back to back, in awkward position which meant I couldn't get to 10cm and would have needed theatre forceps deliver. Anyway felt like huge failure after this, hated the recovery issues, and determined to go for vbac
But now I'm not so sure. Everything I read here suggests elcs are lovely and calm. Plus I'm a very overly organised person and I don't feel like I can cope with uncertainties of normal birth, not in least when will it happen. And having a few problems with dh at the mo, which is a whole other story but if we did go for a vbac I would need lots of emotional support which I don't feel he could give me.
So can anyone tell me their positive vbac stories? Or how an elcs wasn't that great? I think I'm forgetting it's a major op, it's just that ive been through one c section already so it's a known thing to me whereas natural birth is complete unknown

how old is your DC1?

the one thing they tend to worry about is possible rapture of the scar tissue, but they considered your circumstances and the go ahead, so I wouldn't worry about that.

I had VBAC with DS5 as there was absolutely no reason to have an ELSC, could have opt for it if I really wanted to, but I didn't.
they were watching me like a hawk as it was 5th birth and I lost a lot of blood with DS1, but it was fine, 9lb 14 baby, biggest of all our kids!
normal recovery (and you can drive!)

also had normal birth with DD, no stitches, lovely! (imagine that for 6th times round!)

once you had a C-section you are unlikely to be induced, so if your labour doesn't start by itself you might end up with a C-section anyway.

other things - you might be in the high risk labour ward, will need constant monitoring - both fine.

can have gas and air (great stuff!), epidural etc.

water birth and home birth - probably not likely

it is as scary as any birth, with DD I freaked when they said I can push - I said I don't want to, can I have a C-section instead.
I kid you not, I actually folded my arms and shook my head 2-year-old style, would have stomped as well if not on bed!
MW was imm disbelief that I was throwing a hissy fit, I only agreed to push coz I was worried she'd slap me otherwise!

you'll be fine, and you'll be grateful for much quicker recovery!

dc1 was 18 days over, hideous induction, back to back labour, shoulder dystocia, episiotomy and post partum infection. dc2 was 3 cms to delivered in one hour, no stitches, everything fine. It is possible to have a great labour after a bad one. Talk it through with a supportive midwife. you are bound to be anxious after what happened last time. good luck

Thanks. Gothearse I think I fear this birth being like your dc1! But glad to hear second time was straightforward.

Anyone else got any great vbac stories to hearten me? Or elcs not being a breeze?

I'm also Wobbling about my VBAC at the moment! Had a very similar experience to you- baby back to back, head in wrong position and failure to progress past 9.5cm resulting in emcs.
I have pushed so hard for a VBAC as I can't go through the recovery period again, especially with a toddler and a newborn, but now I'm beginning to doubt myself. My consultant has said that I can be induced on my due date if I want to try VBAC and haven't laboured naturally then, and now I'm toying with idea of elcs as I keep hearing much better stories than I do of vbacs. I completely understand how you're feeling!x

I'm a complete idiot here. What does vbac actually stand for? vaginal birth ...

Vaginal Birth after CS, sarah .

I had 2x fabolous VBACs and can go on about them at some length.
My own emCS was was not a horrid experience, but I loved labour and delivery much more.
I did have the advantage of having a 'proven pelvis' as had (induced) SVD with DS1 though.

I think take heart in the fact that nobody is telling you that you should not go for a VBAC. If you end up having a section, can tell yourself you've had a go.

And frankly, how we deliver our babies is such a small part of being a parent, that it may be worthwhile to look at option how can make your peace with how your delivery went the first time round. If you did not feel so bad about it, maybe you would not feel under pressure, even if it is just pressure from yourself, to go for a VBAC??
Be kind to yourself. You still have a few weeks to go, you might feel differently again...

I have booked for a elcs on my due date and agreed to vac if I go in to natural labour before then.
Absolutely terrified of both outcomes if I'm honest.
Sorry that's not a lot of help but just wanted to sympathise.

Thanks glad to hear am not the only wobbler! Think I've got into negative spiral of thoughts about this all, need to start listening to hypnobirthing cd again to get positive images flowing

Think I might need to join you in the cd listening.

Hi whereisthesnow. Totally sympathise with your situation and started a very similar thread (2 in fact - I was panicky!) a few weeks ago.

DS was born 20 months ago by EMCS after a failed induction. He was back to back, I didn't get past 6cm etc etc.. I was keen to aim for VBAC because I am very isolated in terms of family support and physical geography and also because I wanted the fastest possible recovery.

My main concern was that he was 4kg and I was told DC2 was going to be bigger (I am v small framed & everyone & their Uncle kept telling me I would never manage to push a baby out). I did a lot of reading & MN-ing and was pointed towards a VBAC support group on facebook which I found really helpful. Another kind MN-er sent me a hypnobirthing CD & booked so I focused on trying to build my confidence using those. I think a lot of emphasis had been placed on the failed induction and I was feeling like it was me who had failed. I was also starting to appreciate how much my epidural had been a factor in the failure and was starting to pile pressure on myself that the only way I would manage a VBAC was to keep active..so little or minimal pain relief

What swung it for me was a long meeting with my consultant to discuss my fears (another epic saga labour dragging on for days, trying for VBAC only to end up with an EMCS which would take longer to recover from than the ELCS..) & she wrote out a detailed birth plan for me. It was basically a 12 hour trial of labour, with clear instructions for what constituted progress and what to do if things slowed (straight to CS, not for syntocin).

The VBAC part was as you'd expect and I must confess throughout I was frequently hoping they would tell me progress had stalled so I could give up and get a CS. I did manage without an epidural though! In the end, external factors (I became tachycardic and my temperature went sky high, I had no urge to push and then babies heart rate dropped..) meant after an hour of unsuccesful pushing (like amazing I had a bit of a huff as my body was saying No and the MW was screaming Yes!) I was rushed to theatre for a forceps lift out and episiotomy. DD was born 10 hours after my waters broke.

Was it worth it? Every day that passes I say a stronger yes, as the labour memories fade. Even with the stitches and general battering I feel so much better than after DS. Plus, my milk came in on day 3 (as opposed to day 7 after my EMCS) so life has been far calmer. I realise that was epic and probably hasn't helped but please PM me if I can answer anything you feel might help. Am happy to share my Doc's birth plan with you.

Good luck with it!

If you feel dubious about how much support you are likely to get from dp, have you thought about looking into a doula?
Ultimately I went totally private, with The Birth Centre fir my vbac but a doula was one of the options I considered along the way.

Abigboydidit glad to hear it went reasonably well in the end! Need to do my birthplan shortly too. Am starting to think an epidural wasn't great for me as it meant I wasn't mobile so ds didn't get into great position

Have thought of a doula but money is an issue and don't think DH would tolerate anyone else there

without wishing to be the voice of dissent, I found an elcs after an emergency one was like a walk in the park & entirely without the same recovery / pain issues despite having a not quite 2 yr old to wrangle at the same time. If you're aiming for VBAC purely because you think it'll be the same experience as an EMCS, it's not.

Hello, I was in a v similar position to you. I compromised on booking an ELCS for 41 weeks agreeing I would give it a go if I went into labour, but wouldn't be induced if I went over.

Anyway, best laid plans and all that....here is a thread I started showing that sometimes things are taken out of your hands!

[http://www.mumsnet.com/Talk/childbirth/a1644594-WWYD-Im-in-early-labour-but-booked-in-for-ELCS-in-about-3-hours]

It will be 5 weeks tomorrow since I had my little boy. I know you can't predict what kind of natural birth you'll have but, I can honestly say the birth and recovery has been an absolute doddle compared to the EMCS.

I had a horrible induction last time but my CS recovery was actually pretty good I thought, so wasn't too nervous about doing it again.

I think my labour this time was actually quite tough judging by the midwives and health visitors reactions to it. But it was a million times better for me than my awful induction.

As for recovery....I went home a few hours later, was up and about straight away despite episiotomy. Could drive, life dd, basically carry on with normal life immediately.

To think that I still wouldn't be able to drive if I had the ELCS is crazy. Basic things like not being able to lift dd in and out of her cot and high hair would have been terrible in retrospect. Obviously I wouldn't have know any different and would have had to get on with it had I had the section.

So I would say go for it. I did actually get a huge sense of personal satisfaction from having a natural birth. Think it healed the emotional wounds a bit from last time.

They won't let you labour as long if things aren't progressing, so don't worry about being left for hours and hours.

I'm sorry you don't feel you'd have great support from your dh, but to be honest you would need a lot of support afterwards if you had the ELCS. Plus my midwives were absolutely amazing and really were all the support I needed....dh just handed me water when I demanded it!

Good luck with whatever you decide to do, it's a really tough choice but ultimately I hope you have a safe delivery of your new baby.

Sorry....here

Sorry for iPhone typos previously.

I also started this when pregnant.

I have also just seen hour comments re the epidural. I also wondered if lack of mobility last time contributed to my FTP. This time I tried to go as long as I could without an epidural but I couldn't take the pain! But it didn't fully take which was lucky as I could feel my legs enough to get on the birth ball and that really helped. My contractions were much stronger and more regular when I bounced than when I lay down. You might be able to get one of those mobile epidurals. I think mine was unintentional!

Gosh yes, it's hard deciding between a VBAC and ELCS. I was scared because in my first labour I hyper-stimulated after induction and my baby was distressed from the outset - I only got to 1 cm before I was whisked into theatre. So I was a VBAC with the added difficulty of having an untested pelvis. But I really wanted to have a go at the VBAC as I hated the recovery after the CS.

I was concerned about hospital protocols regarding VBACs, particularly the time limits on each stage of labour, and i hired a doula as I wanted someone who could support me if I felt pressured, but the hospital was actually great at letting me have the labour I wanted - mobile monitoring, keeping active etc. They even let me push for well over 2 hours.

I did have an epidural and episiotomy in the end, but the epidural was purely so I could sleep (had been in latent labour for 48 hours so was exhausted) and it wore off before I started pushing so I was able to feel what was going on although weirdly no actual pain. It was an incredible experience and I can bore on about it at length but the main things for me were the much quicker recovery and breast feeding being so much easier without the CS wound to worry about.

I would recommend having a good chat with your consultant (mine was fantastic and really made me feel confident about going ahead) and if you feel you need extra emotional support, perhaps consider hiring a doula. Mine was a huge support when I was feeling very low after two days of contractions with no real progress, and again when I was panicking just before the pushing stage.

Good luck, whatever you decide!

Just seen Sunny's posts - I had a mobile epidural without actually asking for one and it was fab!

Sunny I think I saw your thread at the outset - with lots of people saying push for the c section! Glad to hear it was a good outcome.

I know everyone was saying go for the section! It was actually at one point a case of whether I could get onto the labour ward or theatre first as I was getting desperate for pain relief so didn't really care which way the baby came out! Glad I stuck with it though!

IME the difference between my 'own' labour and my induced labour was mainly down to the syntocinon. Which I needed after the epidural which was lovely in terms of painrelief, but it did just make my labour stall.

Therefore I was adamant I wanted to avoid an epidural if at all possible, even a mobile one tbh.
And, I have to say, it was fine. Inspite of fast labours (4 and 5 hours respectively) the gradually building contractions where very managable in terms of pain. They did stop my in my tracks, mind, and DH had to virtually drag me out of the bath, dry me and dress me as I was incapable, but not distressed IYKWIM.

And the 'urge to push', may arse, that's no bloody urge, it's a big massive Force of Nature - it was fab .

But like I said, my "em"CS was a calm and pleasant experience too, I did not find revocery too bad, but that post-labour high and sense of achievement was not there.