Second baby after caesarean- what to do??

[bowbluebell]

Hello there,

We have a lovely one year old daughter. We'd planned a home birth (right on!) and ended up with a (very) emergency CS (naff). I didn't go into established labour but my daughter's heartbeat was getting very faint (luckily my midwife examined me at just the right time), dropped rapidly and there was some concern that she'd not come out unscathed, so the whole experience was pretty scary (although I recovered well).

We'd love to try for a second baby, but I know that at the moment, doctors and midwives are keen to encourage VBAC. I am really nervous about taking this option. It's not childbirth per se that worries me, but the increased monitoring and increased need for a epidural, increased risk of interventions etc (especially as I've never been in labour proper). Also, I'm terrified of having to be in another emergency situation again. However I think that the thing that concerns me most is that although uterine scar rupture is very, very rare I have (as a child development specialist) worked with two children who have had neurological damage this way, and even though I know rationally thar this doesn't make it more likely for me, I can't get feeling that I'd be taking a dangerous risk out of my mind.

Any thoughts from potential or actual (V)BAC mums? Am I likely to have a ding dong with the doctors on my hands? Am Ibeing a bit neurotic?

Thanks

When I went to my booking in visit to my midwife, I was told that I should really try for a VBAC (ds is 4 and was an emergency CS). I said I had no desire to do the natural birth thing, having been in labour for 12 hours before the section and having a friend who had a horrific vbac experience (although I also have friends who have had fabulous vbac experiences too!)

The decision has been taken out of my hands somewhat, as I found out at an early viability scan that I'm expecting twins! So, I will be given a CS, but the pay off is two newborns to deal with.

I don't think you're being neurotic and I would have worried all the way through this pregnancy if I thought I would have to have a vbac rather than making the decision myself. I hope you get the outcome you want, when you're in the position to make that decision.

Yes, they are keen to encourage VBAC and it can be very annoying, but ultimately IME it really is left up to you.

I would just recommend trying for your baby, and seeing how you feel as you approach the birth. I was initially very nervous about VBAC and dreaded the thought of another EMCS.

In the end I decided that I actually wanted to go for a VBAC as I really wanted to experience a VB and also didn't want to have to recover from C-section with a toddler (my DD is 22 mos and I'm 41 weeks, so around the gap you'd have if you conceived pretty quickly).

THEN it turned out the baby was transverse, so I was booked in for an elective section and the choice was made for me. Weirdly, even though I had been ambivalent about VBAC, I was quite upset at this turn of events.

THEN I went in for my ELCS and when they scanned me, right before taking me up to theatre, they discovered that the baby was now head down and in the perfect position.

So I had to decide all over again (whilst starving and gasping for a drink due to Nil By Mouth from the night before) whether to try for VBAC. At that point the hope of having a vaginal birth seemed really important and I decided to see if I would go into spontaneous labour.

That was a week and a half ago and I'm now kind of giving up hope and am assuming I'll in fact be having that ELCS, just two weeks later than originally planned (this Friday).

The moral of my ridiculous story, is that my feelings on how I wanted to give birth changed throughout the pregnancy. And also that it won't necessarily be your choice - you might well find yourself in a situation where you'll be advised to go for an ELCS.

Don't let fear put your off trying for another if you are otherwise ready. Good luck

I'm a potential Vbacer!My DD is 22 months and my baby is due in may.I too have been encouraged to go for a Vbac by the midwives but I'm happy to give it a go.Having said that I'm not super confident I will manage a Vbac but if I have an ELCS I will always think 'what if'.Having said that if my baby is transverse (as my 1st was) and it is recommended I'll be totally fine with it like the previous poster.
You will be allowed an elective C section if you want one although you may have to be a bit pushy.
The way I see it is every birth is different and every baby is different.And like someone else has said they felt different all the way through the pregnancy.

i think it might depend on local health authaurites(can't spell today) but i thought it was standard that if you have a cs you pretty much can have a second if you wish.

i have been given the option of a cs for my second and no-one has made any attempt to persuade me either way, it's totally up to me.

i will (probably) go for a cs myself but you don't need to make a definite descision until about 36wks.

I had my 1st child by emcs. Her heart Rate dropped so much that I has a csection under a GA. She wasn't breathing upon delivery but thankfully she was fine. I too struggled with whether to go for a VBAC. I was really worried that a problem would develop and I would yet again miss my child's birth. In the end I opted for VBac. Made it to 8 or 9 cm's before labour was stopped for failure to progress and i had a csection with a spinal. It was a much better experince as I was awake. However, I do wish I had gone for a planned section as I would have been in a better state to put in requests. I really wanted to see actual delivery but didn't think to ask. If you think you want an elective csection than go for it.

I am considering VBAC too, but have not heard some of the things you mentioned, e.g. not sure why going for VBAC would increase the risk of an epidural? - if anything I got the impression that epidural was less likely, due to them being less keen to induce/augment labour, and more likely to go for EMCS sooner if things weren't progressing well?

I think I agree with the posters who said don't worry about it too much at this stage; by all means do some reading up, but really whether to try for another baby is a much bigger decision than how to have it. And in my experience I was not particularly pushed one way or another at all, I have been told all through that it's up to me whether I go for VBAC or ELCS.

This is uncanny, as I was just sitting here thinking of posting something similar.

I am 9 days overdue, and really sat on the fence for a long time before deciding I would go for the VBAC, on the basis that everything has been normal, and I would like to give it a go. None of the doctors, MWs or Consultant I've seen have pushed either option, and in fact it only went on my notes at about 37 weeks!

So, now I am overdue, and basically if nothing happens between now and my 11am appt tomorrow, they will book me a c-s.

I am really flipping between being fine about having another c-s (first one was emergency, so at least it's not that situation again) and listening to/agreeing with DH's ever so logical reasons why it's OK.

Then I get a completely irrational wave of being really upset that I (probably) have to have another c-s, and doubly pissed off that it's deemed elective, when I don't feel like I am electing to have one at all!

I'm going through the latter right now, and whilst I realise I am hyper hormonal and emotional, this suddenly feels REALLY important.

Sorry to hijack your thread, OP - and I don't really know what I want/expect by posting all this!

I have had 2 VBACs, following an em c-s under GA with DD1. I was absolutely determined I wanted to try for a vaginal birth though, as I was devastated that I had missed DD1's birth. I would have been given an elective CS no both occasions if I had desired it, though the doctors and mws felt that a VBAC was my best option (DD1 was brow presentation, failed epidural resulted in the GA, no reason why it should necessarily happen again).

I did have the increased monitoring, but it made me feel better, as I felt 'safe' as it were. I did not want synto with DD2, as I had found it very difficult to deal with during DD1's birth (probably because the mw was saying 'Don't push' but I couldn't help it). In the end, I had an epi and the synto, DD2 was born with forceps, and I was delighted.

Just to throw a little spanner in the works, I was induced for DD3 - obviously my body decided I would not have a straightforward birth ever. It was a fabulous birth - epidural, synto, no other assistance for her birth, two stitches where the scar from DD2's forceps delivery wouldn't stretch. It still makes me smile to think of it........