"Support for imminent VBACers" thread?

[pendulum]

Hi there,
I am 38 weeks today and planning a VBAC after my el CS for breech.

I haven't spent much time on the ante natal threads because I couldn't keep up with them! But now I am on mat leave and due date is approaching I would love to chat to anyone else hoping for a VBAC in the near future.

Is there anyone else out there, or another thread I can join? (Am just heading to docs to check baby position but will log in again later!)

Thanks
p xx

hang on in there clara !

sex and nipple stim, raspberry leaf tea, birth ball... you know the drill !!

Good luck Claraq - hope things get moving soon.

Hi all
Just wanted to add my perspective on the venflon/ talking to consultants issues.

My doula told me that many VBAC ladies refuse them because a) they can make mibilising difficult when inserted in back of the hand and B) they remind the woman that they are viewed as a 'special case' undergoing a 'trial of labour'.

Reason b) didn't bother me and in the end I agreed with the consultant that I would have the venflon put in my forearm rather than hand so it wouldn't get in the way. This made both of us happier. In the end i needed an emergency general anaesthetic during my EMCS (thankfully after DD was lifted out) and in hindsight am glad I did not refuse the venflon out of principle.

IMO the best way to deal with the consultant meetings is to be alive to their concerns (I think they must really fear a uterine rupture happening on their watch). I suspect that some of them are inclined to dig in their heels when they get women in who are burning with VBAC zeal. Work out what issues are non-negotiable for you (e.g. no CFM) but maybe be prepared to discuss areas that you don't feel so strongly about (e.g. i agreed that the consultant would have to assess on the day whether I could use the pool- because I wasn't particularly attracted by the idea of water birth anyway.) Ask them to write you a follow-up letter setting out what you agreed e.g. intermittent monitoring, so that you can show it to the MWs on the day.

good luck!

that is really excellent advice.

i think another important thing to remember is that each hospital has a different policy and each consultant will react differently, so going in calm, collected and with information at your fingertips. i asked my obs how many ruptures he had seen.. and it went very quiet. a venflon was never mentioned to me. so get to know what your individual policy might be and take it from there.

Camilla is right about each hospital/consultant being different.

I was refused a VBAC at my previous hospital and didn't really know I could fight it, I sat in tears in my consultants office begging to be allowed to at least go into labour, but he just said no.

I even sat with my xMIL and said that I wasn't going to go in for my cs and just wait til I went into labour, but was so scared after what the consultant had said that I didn't dare.

This time for a VBA2C, I went along to my first midwife appointment, and she asked if I had thought about labouring, I said I wanted a VBAC, she said ok, I'll refer you, it's probably better for you having two kids at home to get back too. I was expecting allsorts of refusals!

I went along to my consultant, knowing a bit about uterine rupture, expecting to be told no. She had printed out the RCOG paper, highlighted everything that applied to me and was absolutely brilliant about my choices, which is probably why I agreed with the venflon and CFM, because I was just so shocked she was going to support me!

Hopefully yours will be just as great.

VictorianSqaulor - on what basis were you refused a VBAC last time?

Tbh, I don't know, I was just told 'oh, you had an em cs last time so we'll book you in for an el cs'
I asked if I could do it naturally and the consultant said no.
My previous cs, had been an em at 32wks, after placental abruption, but even he said that it wasn't the kind of thing that was necessarily recurrent so not to worry.
It's only been at this different hospital that they have decided to do a uterine doppler to see if I'm at higher risk of eclampsia because they thoguht that may have had some bearing on why I abrupted.

Ah, I recognise the venflon picture Camilla, just didn't know what it was called! Thank you!

Victorian, what is the RCOG paper?

I think now I have an appt date I ought to start making myself some notes to take in with me!

this
It is the latest findings on a study regarding Birth after Caesarian Section, my consultant said the findings actually surprised a lot of her colleauges as they had thought there was more danger in certain parts of VBAC than others (eg, after more than one previous section, but it showed the risks hardly increased)

Found this site really interesting. Wish I'd found it after my first c/s - obviously written by someone who understands what it's like to not have the "birth experience" you were hoping for.

Aaaahhh! VS, the GreenTop guidelines are downloaded on my computer and have been referred to loads!!!

they are very useful!

Hi there
Still hoping for a VBAC but time is running out for me. I was booked in for a section on Wed (12 Dec) but they have had to bring it forward a day to Tuesday. I know I could have put my foot down and insisted on sticking with the original date but apparently they are very busy and I would have felt very selfish denying other women in genuine need (eg pre-term babies due to diabetes etc) when I can have a section on any given day.

Anyway I have been having a few possible pre-labour symptoms like very dodgy bowels for the past 24-36 hours and some pains at night which might or might not have been false contractions.

But am starting to mentally prepare myself for another c/section instead.

Still at least I know I will have my baby within the next 3 days, which is very exciting!!!

why should you have a non-medically necessary section one day earlier just to fit in with their schedules? Remember that if someone is in genuine need they get bumped to top of queue!! Their scheduling is NOT your problem!!!

Well, let's hope that your niggles come to something in the mean time.

Have a nice glass of wine tonight, have a soak in the shower or bath, get dh to give you a massage and have an early night!

Remember, relaxation is the key just now, if you want to encourage spontaneous labour.

Thinking of you

Hope things get started soon! Thinking of you.

Thanks - still here. Might ask them to have a look at the pre-op tomorrow and if things look like they are moving perhaps postpone? It's a nightmare cos they don't like to schedule more than 2 sections a day and apparently they are busy all week (which means the wards are going to be chokka .
In the meantime will try and relax but my mum is here and is winding up my dh which is winding me up.....

thinking of you today Clara & wondering if you have your precious baby in your arms yet, by one way or another?

Hi all
Well, despite all your excellent support and advice I had an elective c/section on 11 Dec and gave birth to a beautiful girl, Martha Erin, weighing in at 8lb half oz. In the end I had gone 10 days over, they tried another sweep and my cervix was still too high. When she was born, the surgeon said she hadn't actually dropped very far (despite what I had been told beforehand) so I doubt she would have come on her own anyway.
So I am happy with my decision, feel I gave it my best shot and had a wonderful birth experience (the screen was lowered and I was able to see her being lifted out right in front of my eyes, all very emotional).
Am now sleep deprived and have horrendously sore nips, but that's another story!
Good luck to everyone else hoping for a VBAC.
x

welcome to martha erin. delighted it was a positive birth experience for you.... congratulations on her safe arrival......

Congrats on the safe arrival of your DD Clara

I also ended up with an el c/s instead of the hoped for VBAC, so I can empathise with how you are feeling. I found it much easier to deal with this time as I'd made all the decisions IYKWIM, and the fact I didn't get my VBAC matters less as each week passes (DS is now 5wks)

Hope your nips are feeling better soon

Congrats clara.

Can anyone help this lady with some VBAC advice????

Congratulations to you Clara and Betsy and anyone whom I've missed out who has recently delivered. This has really been an interesting thread altho I only read pages 1 and 16 - the amount of info is staggering. I wonder how things would have turned out if I had known about this site when I had DD2 just over a year ago. DD1 was delivered by cs bcos she was breech (and strongwilled til this day) but I really wanted vbac second time around. DH is a medic and was too aware of the risks and it was clear that altho it was ultimately my decision it wasn't really. Consultant also realised that we were both of a nervous disposition and suggested that that would not help vbac. In the end I was (surprisingly) very calm and rational about the whole thing and decided to trust nature. My mum and sisters all gave birth vaginally and I am told with relative ease. DD2 was not a big baby and my pelvis was not narrow. I was healthy and had no difficulty with the pregnancy - so I thought why not give it a shot. The other thing that I did was to consciously avoid reading material about birthing methods and the whole birthing process in general. It sounds a bit daft but I just did not want to psyche myself out (I remember my consultant referring to the second stage of labour and me looking at her quizically - I had read up on all of this for first birth but the info obviously evaporated by the time I got to DD2). In the end I gave birth within 5 hours of the onset of contractions, having only had gas and air but was fortunate to have had a wicked mid wife. Jamaican woman who swept my membranes (was told afterwards) and whose sutres for my tear were as good as any registrar's.
I know that each person's circumstances will vary and I don't wish to trivialise the difficulty of the decision making process. But in the end trust your instincts, don't get overwhelmed by all the information out there, be sensible and most of all be safe.

Not sure if I've missed this thread or not but here's my story.
I had DS nearly five years ago after a long labour (started Tuesday, he was born by em cs on Friday). I had every possible intervention and wasn't really up on what I could do to make things easier. My fist midwife said I was further dilated than I actulally was (mistake picked up several shift changes later). I had gas and air, several shots of pethedine and an epidural before a failed venteuse meant a spinal block and being wheekled to theatre for em section while literally having my clothes stripped of and hospital gown put on on the way there. DS has been a slow mover ever since I have to say, so it was bviously a sign of things to come. When I had DD 2.4 years later, the option of an elective was put to me but it was always made clear that actually, there was no point and I really should try natually. I said I would as long as the baby wasn't going to be bigger than DS (8.13) and was told the baby flet very average and would probably be smaller than him. I was so proud to give birth to DD natually and without any pain releif only a efw hours after arriving at the hospital and was astonished to find that she was 9.14. I did have lots of problems afterwards - an hour and a half of stitching, a catheter for two weeks, and I did think in darker moments that a cs would have been easier to recover from etc. But, the feeling that I have of knowing that I did it really makes it worthwhile. My children are now nearly five and two and a half and their births match their personalities, DS is a real plodder who never has his shoes on when we are ready to go out where as DD is always one step ahead and is still raring to go! I would say to anyone who is thinking about a vbac, give it a try but don't be disapointed if you can't. My two births were so different and I couldn't have decided on anything to do with the second based on the first. Sorry, rambling on as usual!!

Well, I just got back from the hospital.
After being told my uterine doppler scan didnt bode well, I was expecting a fight on my hands with my new consultant, and I was she said she wanted to do a CS, so I rolled out my well-prepared, calm factual reasons as to why I don't want to have one, she was still against it, so.............I cried

After explaining to her exactly why I don't want one and that I know the risks etc she was happier for me to have a VBA2C but still not completely happy.

She did however apologise for uspetting me and say that as I had a previous el cs with DS she assumed I would be happy for this one to be CS too.

She is willing to keep monitoring me throughout the pg and just see how we go, so as long as nothing gets any worse and I go into labour at a decent amount of weeks then I am kind of supported in trying for my VBA2C.

She would prefer to give me a cs at 38 weeks though and if anything (my placental stuff) goes up any higher as it is already high now she has asked me to consider booking in for it.

oh, i really feel for you. what is your gut feeling about it ?

I really don't know tbh. I am desperate not to have a CS but at least the consultant understood.

If things stay as they are I'm prepared to wait for natural birth to kick in, though I'm not sure how long I'm prepared to wait. My cons said that apparently they do CS's at 38 weeks for this type of result because the risk of still birth increases with each week and since they cut it to 38weeks the stillbirth stats have lowered quite significantly (I need to see those stats though). The stillbirth is what she is worried about, not scar rupture so I appreciate she isn't just surgery happy and feels there is very real risks with a VBAC in my case.

I know I can cope with another cs as long as I know in my heart all other options have been exhausted, now as well as induction, going overdue is not an option I am willing to pursue. If any of the results change (I ahveto have fortnightly monitoring now, inc scans) then I will consider a CS, but unless there is a significant change I want to wait to see what my body does.