Does anyone regret VBAC?

[pancakes22]

Having a wobble about my plans for VBAC. Current plan is to try go into spontaneous labour, have a balloon induction if overdue and then if that doesn't work then elect for section rather than drip. However closer I get the more I start to doubt myself and whether the VBAC will just be too painful with PGP and if I'm going to put myself through days of unnecessary pain and time away from DD to just end up in section anyway. My DH thinks it will be so much easier to just have a planned date and section so that doesn't help knowing he thinks that. The thought of being in theatre again though fills me with panic. I just don't know what to do :(

It's such a difficult decision and hindsight is a wonderful thing.

I couldn't decide what to do and had a major wobble on my due date so booked in for an ELCS at 41 weeks. I went into labour at 40+3 so decided to give it a go.
Ended up with EMCS as I didn't progess again.
So in a way an ELCS would have been better but at least I know my body just can't do it for sure!

Do you feel like you want to try for a Vbac and will regret it if you don't? Yes you may end up with a C section but equally you might have a vaginal delivery!

Impossible decision if you're not decisive either way.

I had a major dilemma about it and was also very averse to the drip. My first was a planned section and absolutely fine - so I decided I’d opt to wait for 41 weeks and then have a c section if things weren’t progressing.

In the end I started to very slowly contract at 41 weeks and was 3cm dilated. I decided to cancel the c section and let them break my waters to see if that would progress things. As I was 3cm I didn’t need the balloon induction and thought the waters breaking would get things moving. But it didn’t.

Fast forward 16h and I had: drip, loads of epidural, an hour of pushing, second degree tears, blood loss, birth on back with feet in stirrups. So totally not the calm and active labour is hoped for. And... I LOVED my VBAC and don’t regret it for a moment.

Its soooo weird as on paper a lot of what I was terrified of happened (though no instrumental delivery or EMCS). But the feeling of pushing my (9lb8 - ouch!) baby myself was AMAZING. It must be natures way of getting women to go through it again and again as I had no idea it would be so wonderful.

My partner on the other hand was slightly horrified at the blood loss, lengthy labour, unpredictable nature of the whole thing etc. But he supported my decision and was brilliant when we were in hospital.

Of course if I’d ended up in theatre it might have been a different story. But I surprised myself - and three months further on (with tears still not completely healed) I have nothing but positive and warm thoughts about it.

Good luck with your decision!