Elective C-Section or VBAC

[Sai26]

Hi everyone,

I am new on mumsnet and wanted to get some feedback/ opinions/ comments from other amazing mums that have been in a similar situation to mine. I am currently 37 weeks pregnant and still very confused about having an elective C-Section done or trying for a VBAC. My firstborn was born with an emergency C-section due to fetal distress (heartbeat was dropping with contractions). Now part of me wants to get over and done with and do an elective C-section because my first time recovery was pretty smooth but then part of me wants to try the VBAC route simply because of the advantages of a natural birth. I would love to hear about your thoughts and experiences. Thanks !!

Hiya,
It depends on your mindset. If you think you would wonder 'what if' if you went for elcs then I say go to VBAC. Just keep a very open mind that it could end up in c section if something goes awry.. or if baby sneezes these days I think they send you for emcs!!

I had my first baby by emcs 3 months ago because my waters were broken by an inpatient midwife in the latent phase and then my cervix swelled up. I've been told to not attempt vbac. Not told why though as my hospital was awful so I am chasing this up.

If I was given the option to vbac I would take it! X

I was in the same situation as you last year and confused about what to do. My doctor said she would support me in my decision either way but said that because of my uterine scar I wouldn't be allowed to labour for too long if progress stalled, and she wanted me to have an epidural in place in case we needed to move quickly to a C-section. She would have been willing to induce me (with a balloon catheter and then syntocinon if necessary) if I had not gone into labour spontaneously.

I decided to try for a VBAC and had a sweep at 40 weeks which triggered spontaneous labour. I then had a fairly textbook labour, with about 16 hours of contractions to get me to 3cm, then an epidural just as things were really ramping up, and gave birth two hours later after a short active labour and pushing stage. I had a minor tear which healed up well. It was a much better experience for me than my C-section, although if I'd ended up with a long induced labour, instrumental delivery, serious tear or another EMCS I might have regretted not just going for the ELCS.

The recovery was miles easier for me and I was really grateful to be able to pick my toddler up and cuddle him, which I wouldn't have been able to do after a C-section.

I would call it going for a vaginal birth rather than a natural one. I’ve had two vaginal births and there have been nothing natural about them. I’d definitely be asking for a C-section if I had another baby.

I don’t really see what the advantages are to a vaginal birth except maybe that your milk comes in quicker and you can walk around sooner. I know there are a great births with no pain relief, in water with candles all around but I’ve only heard of one woman IRL with that experience. All of my friends births have been long and painful and with complications of one sort or another. But we’ve all been 35+ so maybe that’s it.

@Diggersandunicorns A C-section definitely isn't an easy option! I found mine a pretty unpleasant experience, although I expect an elective would have been a bit better.

Most of the women I know who have had a really positive vaginal birth experience have had an epidural rather than water and candles. I had water and dim lights during early labour and it was quite nice but once things really started to kick off it wasn't enough. The epidural was fab though!

@MargotBamborough i didn’t say it was easy! Nothing is easy. My point was that vaginal births are often complicated rather than natural. I ended up in theatre anyway after my second with retained placenta which was vile, especially as I could see it all happening in the reflection of the overhead light. And now I need repair surgery for my perineum and prolapses.

Unfortunately epidurals didn’t work for me but I got remifentanil which was fab.

Weirdly though I still look back on my births with fondness! Must be the babies 😉

Hi I had a VBAC after an emergency c-section (sounds like a similar scenario to you). I had had a good pregnancy and was in good health for both DC.

So glad I went for a VBAC as you heal quicker and are much more mobile - very handy when you have DC1 to look after as well. Getting discharged from hospital on the same day as giving birth was also great.

Hope this helps. Good luck.

Thank you all for sharing your experiences ladies. This is really helpful so far. The other thing that I was told by the OBGYN which kind of put me off VBAC was that they mentioned how I haven’t done a vaginal birth before and that would lower my chances for doing a successful VBAC. However, after reading successful stories of other mothers it seems like that this is not always the case.

Hey!

I had a section with first baby (breach) then a successful VBAC with baby 2.

Full on pain relief but I did it.

There is 3years and 2 months between the kiddies, so my scar was in a good place to withstand the contractions.

Giving birth (whichever way) has been special with both babies

Hi just on this, my sister is a midwife and showed me stats that 75%+ of VBACs were successful.

My ELCS was a FAR better experience than my vaginal birth.

Vaginal birth (first baby) fourth degree tear and left with a double prolapse. PPH and bad reaction to anaesthetic given to do tear repair. Ended in ACU and recovery was bloody awful.

ELCS. Smooth calm enjoyable?! Recovery was great even with a 2.5 year old. Minimal
Blood loss

https://www.nct.org.uk/labour-birth/different-types-birth/caesarean-birth/vaginal-birth-after-caesarean#:~:text=Research%20suggests%20that%20the%20chances,or%20two%20previous%20caesarean%20births.
Some stats for you

Hi OP. I had an EMCS the first time also due to my son’s heartbeat dipping with each contraction. This was because i’d been contracting for 2 says by this point and only got to 3cm, partly because the staff buggered up my induction.

I’m going straight for an ELCS this time because:

-Previously needing an EMCS due to failure to progress lessens the chance of a successful vbac
-The care I had last time was horrendous so I don’t trust the staff to make the right decisions during an attempted vbac
-Although I know lots of women have successful vbacs, the only person I know IRL who attempted one nearly died, and I can’t ignore that

If you decide to go for a vbac, ensure you agree a proper plan in place for how long you’ll be able to attempt labour before you need a section.

I has an elective after EMCS and really loved it. I was back driving at 10 days PP, felt great. Really glad I went for it (and logistically it made arranging childcare for DD1 so much easier). The first night with DD2 was lovely, I was well rested, relaxed, etc

No need for details really, and everyone is different. But I've had 2 vaginal births and 2 c sections and if I was to have a 5th it would be a c section all the way.

I’m in a similar situation to you OP. It’s good to read people’s experiences although it is just so specific to each individual so it is hard to decide. I’m leaning more towards a C section and have started the ball rolling for that but a part of me does wonder. I was surprised the Dr said I’d be a good candidate for a VBAC as I thought my baby’s head size which was 98 percentile would be an issue but he said size doesn’t matter as much as position but I’m not as confident. I’m sure if I go for a section I’ll wonder what if but then the what if is just so unknown. I could have an easy birth or I could regret the choice. Best of luck in whatever you choose.

@ThomasinaLivesHere I'm convinced that the baby's position is what makes the most difference. My children were 6lbs and 7lbs respectively with very average sized heads. (I think the placenta gave up the ghost a bit early with my son as he was small for gestational age.)

My son was in a bad position, all the interventions under the sun didn't work and he came out through the sunroof after 30 hours of labour. My daughter was in just the right position and she practically fell out.

Oh I’m sure position matters a lot but there must be a limit to the size as well. Im worried about tears when I consider an VBAC especially as I’m also over 35 which increases likelihood of it too.

Yes, I think it all depends on each individuals case but still good to read people’s experiences. I again had a detailed conversation with my obgyn about it yesterday which was quite helpful. I have booked the date for the elective C-section but nearer to my actual due date. So if my labour starts naturally with contractions as last time I will give VBAC a go (before my elective c section date). However, if that doesn’t happen then will just proceed with the elective c section on the given date. The plan is not to get induced because that makes things a bit more complicated. Also, it seems like if you have had an emergency c section before they will treat it as a high risk birth and won’t keep you in labour for too long (if you go for the VBAC option).