VBAC After 3-Sections?

[HeyaAll]

Hi everyone! :)
i'm hoping for some words of encouragement - please, anyone have a successful VBAC after 3 CS?
these 3 were with 2 year gaps in between. And it would be a 2 year gap since my last one.
i had a natural birth before, and would love to - again. Last pregnancy I started contracting early (without realising) and my scar got too thin. I was advised yet another c-section which I was really hoping to avoid...
if i was to try again, is there a hope for a natural birth? any stories? Good or bad?
thanks in advance ! X

@Goldencup 🤗 she sounds great! 😀

@Thelittlestranger thank you for your words, honestly I never talk about these things to noone in the real world lol
its an interesting perspective you said there that the birth wasn't all that 'natural' after all... yes, you are right i am focusing on it too much. Just feel like I've been put into prison of a sort and stupidly enough I didn't realise it at the time. Im sure if my hubby could've been there with me I'd make a different choice 100%! 😭 so yes, I AM beating myself up about it - although its a pointless endeavour obviously... i just want to break free lol 😀

I had a VBAC after two sections with my fifth child, both of my sections were unnecessary, first was in labour at 10cm after a five hour labour because I was too scared to push (ivf baby 42+1 and big and had been scared by the consultant about him getting stuck)
Second baby planned VBAC after 90 minute labour
Third labour was twins and wrongly diagnosed vasa previa led to section at 7cm dilated
Fifth baby I had to move hospitals to find a consultant to support me and I would have had to agree to a section if she hadn't arrived by her due date, she arrived after another fast labour 3 hours before my consultant appointment on her due date. That VBAC was also post full tummy tuck, I didn't think I could conceive naturally after 9 rounds of ivf. She was a big baby.

Honestly I was reckless and very lucky and I often thank god that everything turned out ok. With the benefit of hindsight I would have had the first VBAC which I probably had no choice over because she arrived so fast but the second one I maybe should have agreed to a section.

Recovery wise my first natural delivery was the most difficult recovery, I tore slightly but I think the speed of the delivery didn't help and it took a while to feel normal again, I also had dreadful haemorrhoids for a long time which hindered things. I had most tummy pain after my first section I think but it was a long time ago now.

In terms of numbness, I lost both scars during my TT and still had numbness I think from stretching of the skin and muscles during the twin pregnancy. The TT scar isn't numb

I've just spent hours on a deep rabbit hole research of any evidence and facts that are out there. Want to add this in here, in case someone in the future reads this:

According to currently available data:

A) VBA3+C offers pretty much the same success rate as VBAC1&2

B) The overall risk of uterine rupture seems to sit at 0.5% per each CS performed - cumulatively. (Therefore after 3 CS the risk would be 1,5% if I understood it correctly)
in another piece of study I found a risk of completely fatal accident to be at 1/1000.

B) To find a doctor who is willing to 'do it' is a task - usually caused by hospitals policies etc.

Here is a handy leaflet on this issue

It appears that more and more women are choosing to try for a VBA3+C and therefore hopefully in the future there will be more data to go by.

Thank you all for chiming in on my anxiety filled morning of overthinking. I truly appreciate your time and advice.
for now I decided to keep the light of hope for a VBA3C lit, and not overthink it so much.
we shall see as things progress, what needs to be done and when. 🤗

Let me share my experience.

I have three children, all c/sections. I had large babies but a small pelvis. To begin with, I felt that giving birth was something that ‘happened’ to me, not something I actively participated in.

I came to realise that it really didn’t matter in the scheme of things. They are all adults now and it matters not a jot how they came into the world!

I would definitely not have risked Vbac and my third was my biggest baby anyway.

You have had at least the experience of one vaginal delivery. Maybe you should get counselling to come to accept the c/s?

Personally I think to attempt a vbac would be highly risky. You already have 4 children to consider. It’s not my business obviously but isn’t 4 plenty? Your body has been through so much already. I had my first two scars removed during my 3rd cs yet nearly 20 years down the line I still get occasional twinges and the area is still numb. I might have liked 4 but I think it would have been too much for my body. Think carefully and take professional advice.

@Canthave2manycats
hi! Thanks for your input.
you are right on - I too am simply happy with my kids getting earth side well and happy. 😊
I am very happy for you to have found peace and joy in how your situation and think you are amazing, in your non-forcible manner. I here am desperate to FIX my error I guess so I can move on in freedom of choice about our family's future.
my biggest concern with another c/s is the increased risk overall shall me and hubby decide to have more babies one day. c/s although widely accepted are not the best for your body still.
We always dreamed of a large family and it doesn't seem I will be able to stick to 'my plan' so yes, I am going through the motions for sure. 🫠🫠

I feel your pain with not having experienced a vb and wishing you’d made a different choice previously. I’ve had 3 sections (emcs, elcs (twins), elcs) and was advised I would need a cs if I have another baby. I wish I had discussed/ pushed a vbac more but wanted to take the least risky option (and didn’t feel empowered to ask the right questions).

@Kentlassie Aww! Thank you! I did have a normal delivery before it all turned south as they speak - 3 CS after. I can only imagine you not having that experience at all. I mean, its not 'the nicest' experience in many ways, but also it is, if that makes any sense. For me it is like I am trying to find my 'normal baby-birthing' routes and keep getting further and further away. 😳 i dunno its hard to explain...
Good news for us both is, that based upon my research, you actually could try for a VBA3C its just hard to find someone willing to help!! Apparently the success rate is (although lower than VBA1C) but higher than VBA2C - imagine! 😉

Do you have a regular obstetrician who's done your deliveries?

I asked mine for advice. He said 4 cs was just about ok, 5 would be pushing it and 6, he would refer me to Psych because that's where I would end up lol (he was joking, not pc I suppose but it was nearly 20 years ago). I decided to quit while I was ahead, but then I was 40 and had had two miscarriages trying for our third.

I think you are being very hard on yourself - "desperate to FIX my error" - in the nicest possible way, you didn't make an "error", and you shouldn't feel like you have. You did the best thing for your baby, based on the advice you got at the time.

@Canthave2manycats
Hi! Thank you for sharing your experience and I'm sorry you've had a difficult time with your third try :( hope you're doing fine now.
you are very sweet and I appreciate how you spoke to me. yes, I definitely am what some would call 'hard on myself'. Objectively speaking, I did mess up. I had a CHOICE to have the baby naturally (CS2) and because of the circumstances from my previous birth (Emergency CS) and GRIEVOUS lack of care at the hospital at that time - again, we both barely made it - I was too scared to give myself into the hands of the midwives again... so i went with the 'doctor' option... noone told me I should thread carefully (I guess in the UK VBA2+C is not that much of an issue, so that could be why)... now no longer in the UK, I am finding out THIS CHOICE I made out of moments fear, is why I am where I am now.
so, in my head im thinking, if I only could have that VBAC now - I'd rectify this and be back to 'natural birth capable' in the doctors books 😆
I wasn't going to reply all this now, but then thought: maybe someone will read this and use the info in the right time to make the right decision. 🙏
@Canthave2manycats Thank you again. X

Please speak to your Dr. Mortality for the child is between 25-50% with uterine rupture.
You had scar thinning in your pregnancy, that is not accounted for in your internet browsing. That is a massive red flag.

I can see that you really want to fix what you see as a previous mistake over birth choice and it's clearly really important to you. I felt desperately that I had to fix what I perceived as my mistake with my first birth, I didn't 8n the end, I opted for an elective c-section with my second on medical advice and that decision caused me a lot of heartache.

However, it was the right choice. I didn't want to leave my first child without a mother if it all went horribly wrong or endanger the life and wellbeing of my second child. A few years on and my mental pain over not fixing my first birth with my second birth has really become irrelevant and I do really think this will be case with you too although it's incredibly hard to see it that way right now.

Try to take a step back and evaluate the situation objectively. You don't have to fix anything.

FWIW, @HeyaAll I think you made the right decision, given your previous experience. I think it might help you to talk this through with a therapist, see if you can make peace with it. The positives are that you and your baby are alive and well. Things could have gone very differently, and chances are you might well have ended up with another emergency cs.

I'm fine thanks now. The 3rd pregnancy is now a strapping 20 year old!! The years have given me perspective, and so many of the things I agonised over when I was younger just don't matter - not even that in spite of having three children, I've never been in labour. Best wishes x