Am scared of making wrong decision with vbac

[mower]

I know this topic has been done before, but wanted opinions on my personal circumstances.

Had an emergency c section nearly a year ago, due to failure to progress, baby in back to back position.

Fell pregnant again really quickly, currently 33 weeks pregnant so there is a year and six weeks between ds being born and due date of this baby.

Saw consultant at 8 weeks and mutually agreed that vbac would be best gave me 60% chance. Going back to consultant in a few weeks to review decision.

Midwife has said that will probably do a growth scan and predicts this baby being well over 9 lbs. This scares me as scar feels sore from time to time already and I don't know if I have the confidence in my body due to last time to have a vbac, but I desperately want one. Makes me feel so sad to think I wont be able to pick up ds who isn't walking yet after c section. And feel better about breast feeding if I go full term.

Does anyone have any advice for me.

Thank you

It's really common to get pain in your scar when you're pregnant, there's a theory that's it's due to surgical adhesions breaking down. For what it's worth, I had pain in my scar all the way through my last pregnancy and still had a vba2c of a 10lb 13oz baby with no problems at all.

You might also like to do some optimal fetal positioning to try and get the baby in the best position to be born. Have a look at this website

I'd also really recommend Ina May's Guide to Childbirth, which I found really empowering and helped me trust my body.

Good luck!

Mower my first two were sections and during the second preg my scar felt like it was burning and tearing, it was sore, but it was fine. I think it is to do with how inflexible scar tissue can be.
It's not worth setting too much store by any esimated sizings of an unborn baby. They are notoriously inaccurate.
If it's of any comfort to you my history is: 2 seections followed by three perfectly d and weigh about 7 1/2 stone when not preg. My last baby was well over 9 lb and I had no trouble delivering her at all.

Thanks daisymoo, how long a gap was there between your c section and vbac, this is what I am worried about as mine will only be just over one year.

Sorry, something got deleted there!! I'll try again.
2 sections, three perfectly easy and problem free vbacs. I weigh 7 1/2 stone not preg and my last baby was well over 9lb and I delivered her with no probs.

I'm nearly 34 weeks pregnant and have a 19 month old scar after an emergency CS last year. I've opted for a planned CS as I want to make sure that my next child is born safely and alive (one of my twins died during labour last year.)

A VBAC is never going to be a 'natural' birth as a lot of monitoring will be required, so I don't think that I'll be missing out on a 'natural' birth next time.

Bubble I refused constant monitoring with all my vbacs. They used a hand held thingy andIi was able to move around freely.
I can fully understand your need for a section though. I'm really sorry for what has happened

If you've had problem-free VBACS in the past..I don't think you need to worry...No matter the 'age' of your scar.

succesful VBAC 14 months ago, monitored constantly but didn;t find that affected my labour - pethidine made me too dizzy to stand anyway! my consultant said 50 - 50 chance if yours says 60 % i'd go for it! bearing in mind how close the pregnancies are, they're good odds!

Hi Mower, there was almost 2 1/2 years between my second c-section and my vba2c. However, there was only 14 months between my second and third babies (both c-section) and I was strongly encouraged to try vbac anyway, although I had an elective cesarean for various reasons.

I think there has been some concern about an increased risk of uterine rupture where there is a small gap between pregnancies, although I think most seem to think that by 3 months post-section the scar is as healed as it's going to get. There's a yahoo group devoted to vbacs here (hope it's OK to post that) with some really knowledgeable people on.

I would go for vbac Mower, I have tried twicw, and unfortunately failed, but I like you wanted to have a natural birth, and desperately wanted to be mobile to look after other children.

There is really little research on gaps between pregnancies, but the risk of complications is so low, I really wouldn't worry. It is normal for your scar to hurt sometimes. Statistically, you have a much higher chance of vbac than 60%.

If you arrange and discuss Vbac rather than elect for a c/s you can always change your mind, if your baby is in he same presentation as last time when you are at your due date, you can have another think.

Best of luck x

Mower,

Have you investigated you options? I would recommend reading up as much as you can so you can make informed choices for this birth. A good place to start is www.caesarean.org.uk and vbac.org.uk

With the right support you have a 75-80% chance of acheiving your VBAC, which is just the same as a first birth. Your doctors statistics of 60% may unfortunately be more of a reflection on their hospital policies (often set up to 'help' women fail!) than on the VBAC-ers themselves!

I am also suspicious of the next appointment and the growth scan to be honest! Growth scans are notoriously inaccurate and your MW must be psychic if she can guess the weight correctly at this stage! What nonsense!

IF you decide to go to your next appointment at the hospital I would be very clear about what you want. They will no doubt want to discuss issues such as CEFM (which has not been shown to increase positive outcomes for babies, when compared to intermittent monitoring, but HAS been shown to increase the CS rate! something to think about), a 'trial of scar' (a horrible term thought up by someone who never had a scarred uterus imho!), time limits for each stage of labour (unnecessary if mother and baby are doing well, and completely counter-productive to a labouring woman's progress and mental well being), etc.

If you want to pursue a VBAC you will have to be forthright, but I can tell you there is nothing like it . (I had a 19month gap between my CS and VBAC)

Remember this is your body, your baby, and YOU get to choose! It's not for the hospital to allow you to do anything!

Good luck and I hope that helps,

Maria xxx

You seem to have the support of your consultant and your midwife, both of whom have confidence in your body to succeed in vbac, I think it is you that is worrying here and I'd have guessed that a big part of a successful vbac is the state of mind of the mum.
Have you thought about hiring doula/independent MW to support you through labour just to give you more confidence?

At the end of the day you can always have a section if things don't go to plan but at least you'd know you'd given it a try. I wouldn't worry too much about the weight of the baby - really really inaccurate to estimate - my MW told me my baby wouldn't be over 7lbs (she was nearly 9)
Good luck with whatever you decide.

I wish you the best however it goes. If it's of any comfort, I had an emergency c-section (DS1 had cord wrapped twice around his neck) followed 12 months 3 weeks later by VBAC for DS2. The midwife felt that as i had fully dilated the first time that it was definately worth going for. It was fine and i had another natural birth 15 months later with my DD.

I agree with minky, the stats you get always depend on what your cons has read and chosen to believe. A major part of vbacs failing is that once you are in hospital you are monitored continuously, this usually means that you are flat on your back on a bed. These are far from ideal positions to get the baby out and allow you to cope with the pain. Panic decisions are made by women in labour who are leaned on, however gently, by their doctor.
I had a section with twins at 29 weeks, i was pregnant with my dd by the time they were one. I decided, to give myself the best possible labour and outcome, for me and my dd, i would have a homebirth. I laboured all day and coped with the pain fine. DD however got stuck while i was pushing her out, it meant a dash to hosp but by the time we arrived she had righted her position and came out fine (huge head). I went on to have 2 more ds, both of which i had at home no problems at all.
You just have to believe in yourself and your body. Im sure we will be reading a very succesful vbac birth story in a few months time. Good luck

Thanks for all your support. Think that I have to be very confident in my body that I can do it, and at this point in time I feel I still have a way to go to feel confident, probably issues from first labour still in my head.

But I really, really want to labour again, mad as it may sound, so think I will go for vbac knowing that I always have the option to change mind if I am worried about scar when I am actually in labour.

I just want to do what is safest for me and my baby, and I really don't know the answer to this so will be lead by consultant.

Good to know that others have had vbacs after just a year or so.

Thank you so much for your support.

ps. I think this baby is big aswell. Ds was 9lbs and I feel alot bigger this time round.

My situation was different in that there was 3.5 years between my emergency c-section & the planned one I had with dd. All I wanted to say was that I had the planned section at 41 weeks (I waited until then to see if I could go VBAC but didn't want to risk it any longer)- so no worries about not going full term! Also, even after 2 sectoins I stilled healed really quickly so, with care, could still be close to by ds (not lifting though)and in the end it made no difference to me emotionally. I had wanted to do VBAC but in the end, all that counted was having 2 gorgeus kids.

Good luck, whatever you decide.

Boudicat, how long could you not lift your other baby for after c section?

Dh will be off work for the first two weeks with me but after that I will be on my own and ds will need lifting as not sure if he will be walking by then and def wont be walking well enough to get up the stairs for his nap on his own.

My other worry is breast milk taking longer to kick in. Loved bf ds and would be devestated if could not bf this baby too.

I second the suggestion that you read Ina May's guide to Childbirth - many of my mums find it is very good to give you more confidence.

I am sure what ever delivery you have you will be able to breastfeed... that should not be your 1st concern.

Have you considered a doula ? She might help you get the confidence you need and can make sure your wishes are respected....

Yes, doulas are fab. Without mine I would not have succeeded in having successful vbacs I'm sure. It just makes a world of difference knowing you have that solid support, someone who is really there for YOU and is looking out for YOU. Do look in to getting one, worth every penny.