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Childbirth

Share experiences and get support around labour, birth and recovery.

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Original poster

Home vbac - any experiences?

24 replies

TossedSaladsAndScrambledEggs · 29/12/2013 11:28

I am thinking about trying for dc2 soon.

Dd1 was born by elcs due to breach presentation. I really hated being in hospital, she was a difficult newborn and hard to settle, and I didn't sleep a wink the 3 nights I was there. I hated that dp wasn't there to help as I was so sore from the cs.

I had to go into hospital again overnight recently for a kidney infection and I hated it again, didn't sleep a wink and came out feeling worse than when I went in!

I would love a home birth next time and have been reading stories online but I was wondering if any of you could share yours with me? I want to hear good and bad.

I am well aware of the risks (5th yr medical student) but would like to hear real life stories.

I would just love the first few days of my next dc's life to be relaxed and happy instead of stressful and miserable!

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MolotovCocktail · 29/12/2013 11:37

Hi there, as far as I am aware, it would be unlikely that you could have a VBAC at home. I think that you would need to be monitored due to the (small) risk of uterine rupture.

Fwiw, I've had both VB and ELCS and didn't sleep both times on the post-natal ward! I think that's just NHS hospitals. Whatever mode of delivery you might go for, might it be worth paying for a private room if it's available?

Best of luck to you

ThereIsNoEleventeen · 29/12/2013 11:43

I have a friend who had a vnac at home, it was lovely...she is an 'older' mother too so ticked another box to make it unlikely for her. She used an independent midwife...it might be worth researching using one too? They are expensive but a lot of them seem to work out plans to make paying much easier...

ThereIsNoEleventeen · 29/12/2013 11:45

Sorry, when I say plans to make it much easier to pay I mean an arrangement between the two of you, NOT a payment plan using a credit company.

Original poster

TossedSaladsAndScrambledEggs · 29/12/2013 11:49

Hi Molotov! Thanks for your reply.

Was your vb after your cs?

Both times I have been in hospital I have been in a side room - I was supposed to be moved to a ward after 1 night but dd cried so much at night they didn't - which just increased my sense of isolation and that dd was a nuisance. I had minimal help from the midwives and one even called her a "horrible little child". Turned out later that she had a tongue tie and reflux which was why she was hard to soothe. However I couldn't get up to rock her etc due to scar/catheter etc. I used to dread dp going home!

I just know if I end up in hospital on continuous monitoring i will likely end up having a cs again. Perhaps if I do I will just insist on going home as soon as I can walk/pee, it's not like they help much with feeding anyway!

This is all hypothetical anyway, not even pg yet, but just started to get thinking about it as have been doing placement on obs & gynae recently!

OP posts:

Original poster

TossedSaladsAndScrambledEggs · 29/12/2013 11:51

And thanks to you eleventeen, my dd says eleventeen and twenty-ten instead of 30!

OP posts:

Panzee · 29/12/2013 11:52

If it helps I went home much faster after my second CS.

Original poster

TossedSaladsAndScrambledEggs · 29/12/2013 11:58

Yes definitely think that is the way to go Panzee! I have never understood why they keep you in so long to "establish feeding" after a cs, when vbs can go home the same day?!

OP posts:

Velvetbee · 29/12/2013 12:08

I had a home VBAC.
DC2 was ECS due to placenta praevia.
5 years later DC3 was due and the consultant suggested a 'home from home' room for labour.
The consultant midwife refused and said I had to be in a high dependency room, continuously monitored, given antibiotics etc. there was much tooing and froing of letters while I asked for her reasoning and evidence.
In the end I told her I would book a home birth as I didn't trust that my wishes would be respected in labour, I expected that she would give me the chance to use the 'home from home' room originally suggested by the consultant.
Instead I didn't hear from her again, 2 senior midwives came to my house to discuss the issues.
They were reassured because it was 5 years since the section so my uterus had had a chance to heal, I had birthed DC1 at home so they knew I could do it and I was only about 15 mins from hospital by ambulance if I needed a transfer.

DC3's was a beautiful, peaceful birth (in the bath - which I don't really recommend) and we climbed into our own bed afterwards on a gloriously sunny March morning. Lovely.
Do lots of research and ask would be my advice.
Sorry for the essay.

Original poster

TossedSaladsAndScrambledEggs · 29/12/2013 12:16

Thanks velvet. That's exactly what I would like.

I was so frazzled and unsure of myself by the time I got home that the rest of her newborn days passed in a dark, exhausted blur. I would just love to be at home getting into our own swing straightaway.

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Teatimecakes · 29/12/2013 16:09

I'm in the same boat tossed salads! Currently TTc #2 and desperate for a home birth. It was all planned for ds1 but he turned breech at 39 weeks :( I was deverstated.

I kept in touch with my community mw and she and the rest of the community mw team here are happy for home vbac a after a 2 year healing period. However, as I understand it, the choice of birth location is yours and has nothing to do with being 'allowed' by some consultant or mw.

mercibucket · 29/12/2013 16:26

I had a c section then a vbac 17 months later then a hbac another 2 years later
hbac was great. for the vbac I waited til I was 8cm dilated before going to hospital so really the hbac had more monitoring
you have to be happy with risk imo, and realise that although the chances of things going wrong are small, the risk is there

mayhew · 29/12/2013 16:40

As a community mw, if a woman requested home vbac, this is what i would say….

Our protocols recommend home birth only for low risk women. About half of women planning a first labour at home end up birthing in hospital. This is for many reasons including very slow progress and wanting pain relief. People who have had a previous normal delivery have a 5% chance of similar. This would not be a low-risk labour because of the scar on the uterus. However, the risk of rupture is not huge (0.3%) with a spontaneous labour in a healthy woman. This might be an acceptable risk to you, though it is life threatening when it occurs.

If after this discussion, you still felt a home vbac was what you wanted, then i would arrange a consultation for you with a supervisor of midwives. She would check that you clearly understood what could and could not be easily managed at home. She would then put something in your notes to the effect "client has discussed risks and management of emergencies and plans to birth at home" to save further discussions in labour.

MolotovCocktail · 29/12/2013 18:37

I stand corrected! Some lovely home VBAC experiences here

Salad, I had a vb first, then an ELCS, so no experience of VBAC. I'd always thought that monitoring was necessary, but maybe I think that with reference to my own personal obstetric history.

Hope everything works out for you

Original poster

TossedSaladsAndScrambledEggs · 29/12/2013 18:42

I think monitoring is recommended, nice guidelines say it should be offered, and I guess because of that a lot of hcps will strongly suggest it!

I kind of wish I'd tried for a breech birth in a way, I was low risk in just about every other sense!

OP posts:

hotair · 29/12/2013 18:48

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

MolotovCocktail · 29/12/2013 18:55

Fwiw, Salad, my ELCS was preferable to my VB. I laboured for hours; pushed for 2 hours, needed an episiotomy and ventouse delivery and damaged my tailbone in the process (still get pain almost 5y later).

What I'm trying to say is that it's important not to romanticise VB. There are risks and benefits to all modes of delivery and if you decided to go for a VBAC with a future birth, it ia vital to understand all the risks ans benefits that apply to you.

There's a useful book called 'Cesarean Birth: a positive approach to preparation and recovery' (I think) by Leigh East. There is a section on VBAC. It's impartial and objective; well worth a read.

Original poster

TossedSaladsAndScrambledEggs · 29/12/2013 18:57

I live very close (10 mins) to my hospital so hoping that would work in my favour.

Glad to hear you managed to have an active labour.

I also live very close to the midwife led unit at my community hospital where they have pool etc, so wonder if they'd let me go there as a compromise.

OP posts:

hotair · 29/12/2013 19:13

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Original poster

TossedSaladsAndScrambledEggs · 29/12/2013 19:24

I don't romanticise vbirth as such, I do not regret having a cs for dd, apart from the fact it has limited my options so much!

I am more concerned with the extended stay in hospital and labouring in a hospital as every time I have been in one I have been sick, tired or in pain and they just don't feel like nice environments. I know and I am a medical student! I think I just hate being a "patient", I find it really awkward and hate being "vulnerable" around people I could potentially end up working with, and at home I will be in familiar surroundings and be able to do things my way.

Like for instance, the mws got really snotty as accidentally I had 3 visitors turn up at one time, and despite being in a side room, they wouldn't let them in to see me. I know rules are there for a reason, but I just feel at home I would have a bit more autonomy.

OP posts:

hotair · 29/12/2013 19:42

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Teatimecakes · 29/12/2013 20:04

My hospital stay was also horrendous despite my own room - appalling care and terrible breastfeeding advice. it seems to be a theme with these wards. I'm sure there are some positive experiences but I rarely hear one

fuckwittery · 31/12/2013 00:30

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

aclxxx · 31/12/2013 10:33

Still a long way to go due June, but cannot decide a vbac or cs. Had emcs due to breech presentation 7 years ago.
Obstetrician has given me time to think and decide what I want to do .....

emsyj · 02/01/2014 21:04

Just wondering where you live, OP, as One to One Midwives may be of interest to you. They are contracted to the NHS and their service is free, but they offer continuity of care so you see the same midwife from first appointment through to delivery of your baby and 6 weeks post natal also.

I had a home birth 2y9mo after a crash section and it was great. I was freely offered the option of a home birth by my One to One midwife (presumably because the risk is uterine rupture, and 'continuous monitoring' when in hospital is a misnomer - you may be connected to the monitor, but that doesn't mean that someone is constantly looking at the readout... ). I actually refused the option of a home birth and booked a hospital birth, but when I asked my midwife (who attended me at home in labour - part of the standard care with One to One) to call ahead and ask them to fill a birth pool, they said I had to have continuous monitoring, be on the bed and couldn't have a birth pool. So I just didn't go. I had a very vanilla, quick, comfortable birth with a midwife who I knew and trusted. I think I probably had better and less 'risky' care than if I had been in hospital, because I had a midwife with me who knew me well, knew my history and who was with me the entire time. She checked DD2's heart rate with a hand held doppler frequently.

I'm not sure what geographical areas One to One cover now, but if you google you can check or give them a call.

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