Want a water birth but have been told Im not allowed - help

[Mistiek]

Hello all this is my first time on a chat site - wish I had stumbled on this site earlier.

I get so frustrated with the dam system here and the consultants. I have had on and off unexplained bleeding through out my pregnancy so have had to see a consultant a few times already. As I never see the same consultant I am constantly asked what my plans are for the birth as I have had a previous c-sec. They have been trying to force me to have a VBAC from day one and nalthough I have decided to keep my C-sec date on the 29 March I have told my midwife that if baby arrives earlier on her own I would like to try for a VBAC.

Now at 31 weeks I am considering VBAC only to be told I can not have the water birth I so longed for and cant be as active as I want to be due to constant monitoring.

This crap that how you labour and birth is a womens own choice does not seem to be that way if you stick with the NHS! It does seem that the consultants have the last say!

I would like to look at possibly going private to have a water birth now, can anyone tell how I can find out the info I need? sorry for the long message...

you can be monitored intermittently in the pool using a Sonicaid.

But they can use a handheld doppler or pinnard in the water. Not the same as a CTG, but it's not true to say that you can't be monitored.

(I keep cross posting with you Daisy moo )

btw, I don't have the research to hand, but iirc the stats re scar rupture relate to the "old style" C section cut, i.e. from navel to pubes, rather than the bikini line cut, which most women will have.
(mears can correct me there....)

if you do want to be active in labour - and GOOD FOR YOU that is the right way to make he most of your chances for a straighforward birth - then you can ask to be intermittently monitored, whether or not you are in the pool.
you can get "mobile" CTG monitors, so you cna move around.
or the mw can keep monitoring you from time to time.

Oh okay re monitoring

I guess then that's the argument you should use Mistiek

You could try contacting private places but, like I said, as far as I know, they're even more risk-averse than the NHS

The 0.3-0.5% risk of rupture does relate to the transverse incision in the lower uterine segment. The risk from a vertical incision is significantly higher and is usually considered a contraindication to VBAC unless it was a low vertical incision.

I would definitely think about getting a doula or an independent mw, to help you negotiate your way around the system

ok thanks daisymoo
(are you a mw?~)

Not at the moment....

?
in training?
in retirement?
do you doule

hi mistiek - i am in a similar position to you, although at 38+4 i have a little less room for manouevre

in your position i would insist on a meeting with your consultant (not some SHO, not some snr reg) and talk through your wishes in detail. if they are not prepared to listen, or do not feel that they can provide you with the care you want, switch to another consultant. or another hospital if need be.

fwiw, having been distraught at the idea of CEFM at the beginning of my pregnancy, i am now far less worried about it per se. i've seen the machines and the leads are long enough to permit mobility and after frank discussion with the consultant it is clear on my notes that should i wish the monitor to be removed, my choice is an informed one.

a water birth has never really been on my agenda. but if you can get them to agree to intermittent monitoring that is one less obstacle.

good luck

Sorry, should have been more specific, trying to type with a norty toddler on my lap! Have doula-ed a bit, but midwifery is what I really want to do and I'm waiting to hear whether I've got a place to train in September. I've got a special interest in VBACs after having a VBA2C 15 months ago.

Yes VBAC is contraindicated in old fashioned longitudinal uetrine scar (classical incision).

Yes the NICE guidelines recommend continuous electronic fetal monitoring as you will possible see an abnormal tracing if the scar ruptures.

HOWEVER, for a woman who does not have an epidural, she will feel specific pain should the scar rupture. Her pulse will increase and there may be bleeding. A CTG is not the only sign of scar rupture.

A woman who labours in a birthing pool has one-to-one midwifery care and as such a midwife will spot any deviations from normal. The fetal heart (FH) should be listened to for one full minute after a contraction, every 15 minutes in the first stage and every 5 minutes in the second stage. If there is a problem with the baby's heart rate it wll be picked up listening intermittenmtly with a doptone or pinard.
I myself have looked after previous C/S women in the pool. I have no problems with it at all.

good luck with that (sorry for hijack)
I had a VBAC at the end of 2005 but it required MUCH negotiation and I (thank god) a very supportive mw and consultant (although the consultant needed a fair bit of firm handling and I had to change from the first one, who was pants.
unfortunately, in order to get a good birth experience on the NHS, ime you have to be pretty forthright and assertive, which is very difficult for a woman in labour to do.
IF I could change one thing, I would have a doula next time.

god I can't believe I just typed "next time"

I should definitely go to bed

Well done you harpischord! I had a lovely doula friend for mine, she was great. There are some really great pro-VBAC consultants around here, it was the registrars who needed the firm handling in my case Next time hmm?! If I could just do the labour bit and not have to actually look after the baby for 18 years I'd do it again too

(Sorry for the hijack, smack hands etc)

I heard of someone who just had a HVBA5C
FIVE
nuff respect

Crikey!

HVBA5C !!! respect indeed !

a doula can cut the odds of c.s and an instrumental delivery drastically , MistieK, so it is certainly worth looking into in your situation.....

Good morning Lulumama - are you a midwife?
You seem to know alot...

no !! i am a trainee doula, but VBAC is my thing. after having one myself , it was such an amazing experience, and so positive...that i wanted to try to do soemthing to support other women..it is so hard when you have to fight to give birth the way you know is best for you..

all births have risks, and it is knowing them and making an informed choice

sadly,constant monitoring, being stuck motionless on a bed, with a canula stuck in your hand and the clock ticking over your head,is not a good way to labour...

you need to feel safe,secure and supported to labour well.....

stick to your guns.....you deserve a good experience..you are not making crazy demands..

Thanks Lulumama its nice to know that I am not the only one who feels this way.

My first labour was ok till everything went wrong. Everything was going great. I got to the hospital while in very little pain but was already 3cm dialated. I got to 10cm on gas & air alone. But the poor MW could not tell if my waters had gone or not as I had some water at home (which we later realsied was my hind waters). She then told me I was fully dialated and could push when I needed to. After much pushing and nothing happening the senior midwife came in and said that there was still a lip of cervix over the babies head. By this time I was besides myself and just to tired so opted for an epidural. this slowed everything down so sentocin was given and I could feel the contractions through the epidural. after another few hours like this nothing had changed so the registra decided a C-sec was needed. Its not what I wanted but I was too tired to care anymore and just wanted the baby out.

I landed up staying in hospital for 4 days, was told I could not get up until drip was finished! this was wrong infor given by teh MW - again, and so I did not get up for almost a whole day - then when the shifts changed got moaned at for not getting up! I landed up going home to find a day later I had a massive infection which took 4 weeks and loads of atibiotics to clear up. In the mean time I battled to breast feed and all the meds were making my sons sick so I stop the breast milk (one more thing for the MW & HV to moan at me about) and then once I was off the meds My son would not latch and my breast milk was still making him sick.

So I have not had a good 1st time round. I really wanted a water birth then but the pool was not availabe. I just cant help wondering if the midwife had noticed that my waters had not broken and noticed that a lip of the cervix was still there I would not have pushed too early - the lip would not have swelled and I would not have needed a c-sec and would not be going though all this crap right now!

sorry - about the long message but need to have a vent as almost had an argument with DH yesterday as he just does not understand how I feel and why I am so scared this time round...

mistie.... (hug) i know where you are coming from, i really do.....have you tried talking to someone about the birth...say, the birth trauma association , to speak to someone who has been through similar...

a lot of people take the attitude that , well, the baby is ok, why does it matter how he/she got there? well, it does matter...and birth can have a massively profound impact upon a woman,

the good thing is, you know you can cope with the pain ,you know that your body can do what it should....some bad decisions were made, not by you...and there is no reason you shouldn't go for a VBAC.......your second labour is often quicker than the first, and you know you coped last time!

we had a thread here recently, other mums talking about their experiences of birth that had left them anxious, depressed and feeling low..it is ok to feel angry, disappointed , let down after a bad birth experience...

and you can gather lots of knowledge now , to make sure that you do everything you can to get a better birth experience.

there are no guarantees, but having a clear idea in your mind of how you want it to be is a good starting point, IMO

x

After all I had been through I still felt fine about the whole thing and never got overly upset by it all. I was just happy to have a healthy baby boy - a dream come true for me.

Its only now with just over 8 weeks to go that I am getting nervous and worried about it all. I am more nervous this time round than with my first...