Chances of a 3rd Posterior Baby

[Babyannabel]

I have had two children and both were posterior, leading to one birth with forceps and one with ventouse. During both labours the midwives wanted to do a c-section but I begged for one more chance (I'm terrified of c-sections, so squeamish!!). Anyway, these experiences are putting me off having another baby - I know the birth is only a small part of having a baby but the past experiences were quite traumatic with a lot of panicing by the midwives etc. I was wondering if anyone has been through this and what the 3rd was like. Thanks...

All 3 of my babies were OP, and all three births were different. I was lucky in that I didn't need any intervention with the births (although DS2 was one big intervention I suppose as he was induced!)

Obviously I don't know what you did in with your last two, but you could look at the next as a chance to be really proactive to prevent a repeat performance. Do all the positioning exercises to encourage baby to turn, find out how best to manage the labour (birthing positions etc) I think the best way to face something that worries you is to arm yourself with all the info you can find, so you can be calm and controlled even if everyone else is faffing about! I found that my GP and MWs were a bit dismissive of my concerns with OP and the best help and advice I got was through MN, particulary Mears.

The next pregnancy isn't guarenteed to be OP, and an OP birth isn't always long, painful and traumatic.

HTH, good luck in whatever you decide!

All three of my pregnancies were posterior. Won't depress you my obstetric experiences. Good luck.

My first baby was posterior and I had a forceps delivery. 2 and 3 were normal. No. 4 was also posterior ( and also the same weight as No. 1) and yet I was able to deliver him without any intervention and did not need stitches afterwards either. After the terrible time I had with No. 1 (no elective epidurals in the hospital, so not only was it a forceps delivery, and an episiotomy, but all with only pethidine) I would never have believed I could have delivered another baby the same size and also posterior with such comparative ease. When I got to hospital, I think the midwives thought he was only going to be another hour or so - actually it was a bit longer but not that much, and when he was born back to front, they said "Oh that's why he has taken so long" - obviously, there were no clear signs that he was posterior. Also, I did it all with only a hot bath and hot water from the shower attachment sprayed on my stomach during contractions - ie it was not too painful and believe me, I am an absolute baby when it comes to pain!
So my point is, it needn't be the same experience for you third time round. My understanding is that the more babies you have, the better your body gets at pushing them out and No. 3 for you might be a doddle! However, I understand your worries. I spent all nine months of my 2nd, 3rd and 4th pregnancies worrying, after the experience of No. 1. I only went through with it because I have always wanted 4 children.
Perhaps you could speak to your GP before getting pregnant to reassure you about what could be provided for you? Have you moved since having the others? Maybe a different area has a different policy or facilities?

Thank you so much, I really appreciate hearing your experiences and it's nice to hear that you had a much better 4th - it gives me lots of hope!! I will have a word with the GP, I found before that they were not interested in talking about it with me, I was concerned (with good reason eventually!) with my 2nd and was brushed off really. I'll do the research before we start trying this time!!

Good luck!