If trying for a VBAC do you go to hosp straight away?

[susanjayneh]

Or do you stay at home as long as possible? I am trying to plan for someone to look after my DS when I go in but having just moved here all my pals are at least an hour away and the hospital is another 1/2 hour away with no traffic

I need to know whether to call someone straight away or not.

Any advice welcome.

i had a VBAC 18 months ago, i laboured at home for 10 hours or so and went in with contractions every 3 -4 mins and lasting a minute or so....

took 35 mins to get to hospital, but had MIL round the corner to take DS ....

hospital said to stay home, i said i had every intention of staying at home as long as possible, they were fine with that

less time for them to faff with me !

Did you see a quack a few weeks before to decide if you could vbac or not? If so do you know what criteria they use to decide this?

i saw my doc at 6 weeks
told her i wanted a VBAC

same with the midwife at 10 weeks

same with registrar at 20 weeks

same with obs for the last 12 weeks.

i was going to VBAC, unless there was compelling medical reason not too.....

my c.s was for a failed induction ending in c.s......failure to progress

so i knew that there was no reason that would happen again, especially as i had laboured stuck on the bed with an epidural before i was in establised labour...so i researched VBAC very thoroughly and went for it !

the NICE guidelines do indicate that a trial of labour should be offered where it is possible

Thanks for that. I am 90% I want to go for it but I have this horrible thought of my scar spitting open...I have a foul scar from last time.....

was your CS a LUCS or is it a classic top to bottom one?

and for what reason did you have the c.s?

a rupture is a risk, but a small one and you are quite within your rights to have a trial of labour....will find some stats re rupture for you

a great source of info and support for VBAC

Great link thanks - I had the small cut above your bikini line after 42hrs and not progressing past 4cm - had EMCS as DS got distressed all of a sudden. I've been told that there is no way of telling if this will happen again till I get to 4cm and that I will only be allowed a few hours of labour. I have an appointment at35 weeks to discuss al this but want to be armed with relevant info so I don't get railroaded.

Also...I've just had a look at the scar photos on the site - mine is really red and lumpy compared to all those...not sure if it means anything or my surgeon couln't be arsed to do a good job. I have a small section which is a fine white line so I know it could have been much better. Just makes me wonder what he did t the inside layers

good thread about VBAC

and this one too! HTH !

Don't wait too long. I had 40 hours of labor first time followed by emergency cs. Thought I'd have plenty of time second time around. So I went to a trade show in the center of london the day before I was due. I went into labor at the show, refused to leave before visiting all the booths, ended up getting stuck in rush hour traffic and had the VBAC only 2 hours after arriving in hospital. I had a post partum haemmorage (unrelated to fact that it was a vbac), it was a good thing i did make it to the hospital in time.
Personally I think it's shameful how they discourage you from going too early to the hospital because they are short of staff. How on earth can they tell how quickly you are going to have your baby!!?? My friend in London had her first 2 hours after she felt her first contraction and her second 45min after she felt her first contraction...luckily hospital was nearby.

It isn't just because they're short-staffed that they discourage you from going in too soon, it's because your body labours better in familiar surroundings and if you go to hospital too soon then your labour can stall. Most places tell you to come in when you're having regular, painful ctx, 5 minutes apart or want pain relief. For most women this will get them there in plenty of time. If they told you to come in any sooner there would be more chance of needing drugs to speed labour up.

To the OP, could you take your ds into hospital with you if you feel like you need to go in and your friend could pick him up from there?

IMO they tell you to stay at home until contractions are 5 - 3 mins apart, beacuse then when you do get there you are more likely to be in established labour and can be admitted to delivery suite.

or you get sent home and that can be discouraging and can slow and even stall labour

i was much happier to labour at home as long as i could, wihout monitoring and without being sent away...

and what Daisy said!

I think that the longer you can stay at home in your own surroundings, the more likely you are to have a successful VBAC. Hospitals do differ, but mine had a massive VBAC protocol, and I wanted to go against almost every line of their protocol. It wasn't easy, and I wasn't in the best mood to be fighting them. Try and find out what the standard practise for VBACers is. Typical things include continous monitoring, regular internals to check progress, a canula in your hand 'just in case'... If you're not comfortable with this, then the longer you are at home, the less you are going to have to deal with this.

I had a VBAC 40+ hours after the start of my induction - something that had never happened before in that hospital - they wanted to do a c/s after about 6 hours. I had no choice about being induced (not normally recommended after a c/s) - my waters had broken over 96hours previously, and I had group b strep, so it was that or another c/s.

Good luck with whatever you decide

If you have a hospital nearby, then waiting until the last minute is a viable option. In my case, although the hospitals were not far as the crow flies, I couldn't count on it taking less than an hour because of construction and traffic. If I had not been in the hospital when I gave birth, I would be dead. Not a risk worth taking imo.

Daisymoo - my friend has an hour to travel at least to get here and then its another 1/2 hours to the hosp. With DS1 contractions were 3 mins apart from the start so I can't really go by that......

oh well just see what happens on the day I guess....

Thanks for all the tips th

S

I was told that they start their 'timing' of you as soon as you are formally admitted as being in labour - and that usually the time restraints about how long you can labour for are more restrictive for a VBAC. So, if you having dilated by x time, off you pop to the theatre. By this logic, if you're absolutely committed to a VBAC (which I was), you're best not rushing in too early.
The chances of a scar rupturing are very low. Just because a scar might (in your eyes) look lumpy from the outside mightn't mean it hasn't healed properly on the inside. I had a VBAC 20 mths ago; I wasn't convinced by the scare stories of scars rupturing - they pull this in as reason not to induce as well - supposedly because you apparently go from zero to very quick contractions in a shorter time. I WAS induced (with a drip) - my labour was quick (1.5 hrs) - and I loved every minute of it. It was the best thing I've ever done. Go for it!

timing should start from being in established labour, which varies from 3 - 5 cm dilation, depending, but usually 3 cm

and TBH, if things are going well and looking good, you can ask for more time.

Yes, but how are you supposed to know if you are in established labor.
My first labor I always describe as lasting 40 hours. Technically, according to the hospital, I didn't start dilating until 20 hours into those 40 hours. However, as far as I could feel there was no difference between the "pre-labor" non-dilating period and the dilating period. In fact, if anything the "pre-labor" time was more painful for me. During the last 15 hours of "pre-labor" period, I was have contractions that were 3-4 minutes apart. During the time when I actually was dilating my contractions were not regular and 10-15 minutes apart. Since I didn't fit into the textbook description of a labor, I was left unattended in a waiting room for 12 hours. My mother finally dragged someone in to monitor me who was shocked to find that I was 7 cm dilated and eventually discovered that I wasn't progressing and my baby was in distress.
I think it's ridiculous to pretend that there is a norm and expect all women to go by it. And I think it's disrespectful for health professionals to dismiss what a woman is telling them about what is going on in their bodies. Yes, some women may not be right or in touch with their bodies, but it is wrong to assume that all or even the majority of women are that way and ignore their needs. I had this experience during both my pregancies and my first labor (I had a wonderful midwife who oversaw my VBAC for my second labor and she listened to exactly what I was telling her about my body and it all worked just fine.)

SofiaAmes....beacuse there has to be some norm by whihc to define labour....regualr contractiosn 5 - 3 mintues apart usually indicate established labour...but not always, as you say

my VBAC labour was similar, in that on paper my labour was 3 hours 15 minutes, but that did not take into account the 15 hours of contractions, that like you, were painful and regular!

however, that is absolutely no excuse for yuor shoddy treatmnet..you should, IMHO , have either been sent home to labour at home, or rest comfortbaly, or admited to the ante natal ward for monitoring. being sutck in a room ,unattended is disgracfeful and inexcusbale.

and says more about the shortage of midwives .

TBH, i am the first person to stand up and say each woman needs to be able to be suported to labour how she needs to, and for the textbook version of labour to be thrown out, as it puts a burden on women that often cannot be fulfilled......

i do not like the idea of women labouring under a time limit, that is imposed regardless of how her individual labour is progressing, and the blanket 'ban' on home birth and water birth for VBAC in some trusts...but until there is a radical shift in obstetric care and thinking, it will remain in place, and the labouring woman has to fight for her rights to be able to labour how she needs to.

i think you and i are both in favour of the same thing.

I had vbac 2 weeks ago - waited at home till contractions were 4 mins apart. Was 6 cm when got to hospital, 2 hours later was ready to push. The midwives were great - i was told i could only push for an hour, but they let me go 1 hr 45 mins - doctor was waiting outside - but they wouldn't let her in as they knew she would intervene!

yay for you ! lovely to hear that x