Emergency section at 35 weeks - now have the chance of a VBAC - need support and info.

[Hangingbellyofbabylon]

dd1 - forceps at 39 weeks
dd2 - emergency c-section at 35 weeks, not in labour.

Me - 33 weeks with dd3. Throughout the pregnancy I have been told that I would have to have another c-section so had kind of given up hope. However dd2 is disabled (due to birth cock-up)and there is no way I can recover from a section whilst having to lift a disabled 3 year old all day long. Besides I found recovery from the section crap generally and would like to have a chance at a VBAC.

Anyway.. finally saw the consultant yesterday rather than one of his possie of registrars, explained the situation and he is happy for me to try for a VBAC . I am so happy that he listened to me, he reckons I have about a 70% chance of success. However there are things that I know will make it more difficult...

As I had a previous Emergency section I have to give birth in the high risk unit with continual fetal monitoring. Last time I had this with dd1 every time I tried to move they lost the trace and I ended up having to stay lying on my back in bed which meant I couldn't cope with the pain and ended up with an epidural and forceps etc etc.

Do you think I have any chance of arguing to not have continuous fetal monitoring? Also if I do end down that route would they be likely to attempt something like forceps or would they just go straight to a caesarian. I would much rather recover from an episiostomy than a caesarian any day.

What else do I need to know / ask for? Do I need a specific vbac birth plan?

I'm so excited now but have no real idea about any of it as I really had given up hope of even getting to have a go at a VBAC. .

Any help appreciated.

You don't have to anything that you don't want. But rather than saying 'I'm not doing it', suggest a viable alternative.

Why do they want CFM? If a MW isn't looking at the machine the whole time, does it make any difference if they use the doppler every hour instead?

They could take your ob's (heart rate, bp etc) at the same time as using the doppler.

It is well known that you are more likely to have a VABC if you are up and mobile, so why they want to tie you to the bed and CFM, I will never know. It jsut doesn't make any sense, but hey, I'm not a HCP!

Good luck

I have just had a VBAC after em cs with no labour at 34 weeks (due to pre-eclampsia). I "had" to have CFM and a cannula in - agreed to everything but insisted that I wanted to be able to move around. I had a radio controlled monitor thing that didn't have any wires, so I was free to walk around the room. It did keep losing the heartbeat every time I had a contraction so dh or the mw ended up holding it in position quite a lot, but fortunately no one suggested I should lie down as I think I would have found the pain unbearable like you did in your first labour. Maybe you can discuss it with your consultant eg ask whether they have the wireless monitors, what would they do if you kept losing the trace etc. Agree that it seems a bit ridiculous to try for a VBAC strapped to a bed.

Another thing is that because of the VBAC I had to go into hospital pretty much as soon as my contractions started, which meant that although I was lucky to have a very quick active labour I was there in early labour for AGES! Take food and maybe a trashy magazine (they did let me eat in early labour).

I had second degree tear (don't know how this compares to episiotomy) and it was incomparably easier to recover from than my cs. Good luck! Can understand your excitement - I had a cs booked for three days after I went into labour so had also resigned myself to cs, was overjoyed to manage VBAC.

Hi. There's some discussion here about VBAC which touches on the issue of monitoring, and some links at the bottom to other VBAC sources of information. Hope you find it helpful and good luck!

GFAMB - might I suggest you change your name for the sake of MN's coffer?

coffers

thanks for the info and advice, I am seeing the consultant at 37 weeks so I hope it's not too late to ask all my questions then. I think the continual fetal monitoring thing is going to be a battle as dd2 stopped moving at 35 weeks and had some really dodgy heart traces before she was delivered, however most of these were ignored until it was almost too late. We have just started legal action against the hospital for dd's birth injuries so I imagine they are going to be extra fussy this time, just worried that they will feel it's safer to go straight to a caesarian if there is any slight risk but I would still like to try for a vbac as it was the delay and execution of the caesarian that actually caused dd's problems. Complicated stuff..

Hi Hangingbellyofbabylon

Firstly I'm sorry about your experience with DD's birth injuries and the resulting legal case. I can imagine this feels complicated under your circumstances and the dynamics with the hospital etc.

Given that you genuinely wish for a VBAC and that despite history with DD this is a separate pregnancy with a new clean slate of it's own, perhaps it could help to simplify things again to....I'm pregnant, I want a natural birth, I know that I can best achieve that by staying mobile and upright and I'm going to keep mine and the hospital's fear (? sorry if that's assumed) and experiences of previous history to one side because this is another birth story, a different one. That way, perhaps you can just be very assertive about your needs in reality rather than doing what the hospital feels is safe because they are worried about their legal position etc. If anything, given that they cocked up last time, they should be listening to you even more carefully this time and complying with your clearly stated wishes. Have you looked at the Imminent VBAC thread on this site? It's very long and contains a wealth of info I found very useful in preparing for mine.

My situation is different in that I don't have the history you do but since I got pregnant with DC2 (Am now 40 weeks!) 8 months after em section I insisted on a VBAC despite considerable pressure to book for a section again. I then found the pressure to have continuous monitoring etc so irritating that I decided to plan on a Home Birth (HBAC) and keep things really simple at home. If I need or wish to transfer to the hosp when the time comes, I'll simply do so. But I certainly have every intention to enjoy the first dilation period in the peace and privacy of my own home so that when I get to the hosp I'm in a dignified and established space as regards my own choices and hopefully a good flowing established labour. I just know I'm likely to stall if I end up in hosp at the very first sign of things happenning, arguing with doctors about CFM etc.
I have found that having a doula has been invaluable. Could this be a possibility for you? I think doulas come in particularly handy when there has been a history which needs some special care and attention.

Let us know how things go and all the best.