Help - What's the best way to get a VBAC?

[Kitsilano]

Hello all

I hope some of you can help - I had an emergency C-section with my dd who is now 23 months (24 hour labour, syntocin drip, epidural, full dilation, pushing, attempted ventouse but she was chin up and sideways).
I had her at Queen Charlottes, went through about 5 midwives during my labour and was given no support or encouragement, left alone most of the time. I am now 5 weeks pregnant so early days but want to maximise my chnaces of having a VBAC this time.
I dont know if I should

1. Go private all the way - if so which hospital best (I'm in SW London). Do I need a consultant? Or is midewife led care at a private hospital sufficient? St John's and Lizzie's looks good but is 7 "central London" miles away - is this too far? 2)Go NHS but with a private midwife? If so - which hospital? I am aware I may end up with a c-section and would rather be somewhere with good aftercare (preferably private rooms available)
2. None of the above...doula? Just trust NHS?

Please help - I am confused by all the options and although only 5 weeks have just been told by my Dr that the local hospitals get booked very quickly. I want to do the best thing to maximise my chances of a positive experience this time - and hopefully a VBAC.

Any experience, advice and encouragement welcome!

Thanks

Kits

Thanks lulumama. It's strange how rushed I feel to sort this out even though I am not quite 6 weeks pg and it's still such early days.

no , i felt the same, i was obsessing about the mode of delivery with dd from the minute i got a BFP......she is a VBAC baby ! i know where yo are coming from!

depends loopymumsy.....varies from oop norf to darn sarf ! LOL ! some doulas also offer a sliding scale if the price is a little out of reach....

doula uk is the best place to look, many doulas have their own websites with their prices and what is included for that....

Doula UK - find a doula facility

Our doula is £450. An IM would have been about £3k, which didn't seem worth it given that our CMWs have an excellent record with home births and I have full confidence in them. I already knew that my hospital won't let the IM do anything other than act as a doula if I did have to be transferred so all things considered, a doula seemed the way to go.

Interesting thoughts on doulas - I'll look into that too, thanks. Though I must admit I do like the idea of getting to know someone well before the birth plus not having to wait at the hospital for up to 2 hours every appointment as I did with my first, only this time with a toddler in tow. But £2k + is a lot to pay for that convenience factor! It's not so much that money isn't an issue at all as that this is REALLY important to me.

Thanks for all your ideas

Haven't read all posts (v tired) but just wanted to say I had a VBAC, and it was super. I saw a consultant at 20 weeks or so to discuss options for delivery. He was v pro VBAC, even though I wasn't sure (traumatic birth), but I did it, and it was fine (epidural helped!). There is a 1 in 100 chance of a rupture of the scar, according to the figures I saw, so I would always do it in hospital, just in case. Also, I think you get much better support from the midwives during labour if it is a VBAC, as you can't be left alone.

Kitsilano, I realise this thread is over 3 years old, but if you're still around I'd love to know how this story ended. I'm in exactly the same position as you were when you posted this. I'm 7 weeks, determined to have a VBAC (central London) and am exploring private midwifes/doulas because I feel I just can't leave it to chance this time. I also don't think I'm comfortable with the idea of a home birth for same reasons you mentioned, even though I know its supposed to maximise chances of success. At moment I'm thinking private midwife at NHS hospital would give me the most confidence but am really confused. I'd just be really interested to know what you plumped for and if you actually got your VBAC or not. If you'd rather not discuss then completely understand. Thanks :-)

hi
if you are in sw london then st georges was very supportive of me having a VBAC> C section was hardly mentioned. i had a normal pregnancy and saw the consultant from around 34 weeks. he said i had a really good chance and would leave me as long as possible to start labour naturally.
i went to see him when i was 40 +4 to book in for a section for when i was 42+1 and he gave me a sweep which worked! unfortunately i ended up having a emcs as my scar was in danger of rupuring as my contractions came on v strong and fast and also DD's heartbeat was very erratic. when they told me i was not as gutted as the first time as i knew what to expect and we were both in danger. also i got to hospital at 3am and she was born at 6.20am so i never had that tiredness after my previous 36 hour labour. It was much nicer this time and my recovery was much faster too even though i had a 20 month old to look after.

Good luck with it all and i really hope you get what you want but as always with childbirth expect the unexpected and prepare yourself for everything! the main thing is that you and your baby is safe and healthy.