VBAC Any book recommendations

[Again]

I'm 17 weeks pregnant and had an emergency section on my previous/first pregnancy. I am very keen to have a VBAC and would like to inform myself as much as possible. Does anyone have any recommendations on literature? I'm particularly interested in hypnobirthing.

Hi there!

I would suggest Birth After Caesarean published by AIMS
www.aims.org.uk
This covers a lot about your rights and also Ina May Gaskin's Guide to Childbirth is a good one to read for anyone who is pregnant. It (Can) gives you confidence to trust your body to do what is right.

There is also a UK VBAC yahoo forum which is good support.

Hope all goes well,

I have a lovely pattern of natural, caesarean, natural, caesarean so have had 3 naturals and 3 caesareans. {grin]

Regards
Umm Layla

Theres also the VBAC handbook by Helen Churchill, although if I am completely honest this didn't help me much. Im still undecided but the natural birth stories in there did scare me a little!
But you may not be as easily scared over the subject as I am!
Good Luck

I second Ina May Gaskin's Guide to Childbirth. It gave me the confidence to have a VBAC with twins. Wonderful book.

PeasPlease that is wonderful news.

My Friend/client (I'm a Doula) just had twins vaginally and I gave her Ina May's book to read. She read it about 4 times lol. She'd also had a VBAC but with the child before.

Kity what are you undecided on the VBAC or a good book? If it's the book then the 2 I've listed are good and if it is the VBAC then what's the harm in trying. If you say you want a VBAC now does that mean should a problem arise you don't have the option of the caesarean? I think that option never goes away .

I am no poster girl for VBAC after 2 babies, 2 EMsections BUT would recommend Michel Odent's The Caesarean and Ina May Gaskin's Spiritual Midwifery.

I third Ina May's Guide to childbirth. There is a section in there about VBAC but it is mostly giving stats about it, but the rest of the book really changed my attitude from "I'll give it a go and see" to "feck me, I can really do this!!"

And I did!

I had a VBAC for ds2 14 weeks ago after an elective cs for ds1 who was breech. This was despite a bi cornuate uterus (rupture risk) and a broken ankle.

Happy reading

I read Michel Odent's book Birth Reborn and I thought it was ok.

Not so easy to read as Ina May's but I'm not a good reader. How was The caesaren lizzytee?

Was it easy to read or are there a lot of medical terms?

Well done Mawbroon

Hi UmmLayla
Still undecided on whether to VBAC or not! Although my last appoint with consultant we decided that I would try but since then I've wobbled all over the place!

With my first pregnancy I prepared myself mentally by reading loads of books (stand and deliver my fav) and they did really help, had lots of positive mantras going round in my head and managed to labour and push with just gas and air, however babs was brow presentation so it all ended in a scary emcs.

No matter what I read I just cannot seem to get over my fear. I've got Ina Mays book and am currently absorbing all that, but all the what ifs keep popping up.
My main fear is ending up with a emcs again, when I could have taken control and had an elcs.

Oh its all very confusing and annoying! wish someone would just say "You have to try a VBAC and thats that"
We have too many choices! X

Hi Kity,

I hear you on the choices and it's sad we can't just give birth without having to think about it but unfortunately I feel we have to know about these choices before we give birth as it can be very sad to find out that we did have a choice after.

Just a tip on the labouring,

"Babies who have experienced labour benefit from the surge of hormones called catecholamines which are released in the baby's body during labour and which prepare the baby for birth. These hormones help to clear the baby's lungs so that he/she can breathe, they speed up the metabolism and ensure a rich supply of blood to the heart and brain. It is these hormones which keep the baby awake for sometime after birth so that the baby can bond with his mother and have his/her first breast-feed."

Also

"They are usually born at full term, when they are ready. This makes them less likely to need special care for respiratory distress (breathing problems) or because they were 'small for dates'"

Gina, A VBAC campaigner said:

"A caesarean mother would never put her baby at risk. She will always make the sacrifice she has made before if there is the slightest indication that it will benefit her baby. The baby always comes first, the birth experience second"

And I couldn't agree more with that.

Quotes from AIMS book Brith After Caesarean

So You have to try a VBAC and thats that! LOL

No, seriously you always have time to choose. If you book an elective you can cancel and if you don't book you can always book one.

As it stands your not having one, so why think about it. It's time to think about things for the baby and spending time with your other child/children and husband/partner before baby comes and takes all your attention away.

Let you body think about it and not your head it will tell you want it needs, so will baby.

Enjoy your day you and everyone else (on this thread).

Thanks so much for your kind reply UmmLayla, and you are totally right in all your say!

Im a very strong willed person and will absolutely do the best for my baby and myself, and there is a small part of me that thinks if I book an ELCS I will feel better just knowing its there? if that makes sense? then I can carry on the rest of the pregnancy not even thinking about it but knowing that this kind of safety net is there if I need it?
Im not in any way scared or worried about going into labour/waters breaking like last time as in a funny kind of way I enjoyed the labour with my DS, was supported massively by my sis and hubby. So in a strange way I would almost look forward to that experience again BUT because everything went wrong at the very very end (Id done absolutely everything I could) I worry that I will end up being my own worst enemy by panicking and thinking it was going to go wrong again.

My hospital also does trial of labour and seem to have very strict guidelines for VBACers and there is a general feeling that I may well end up in theatre again, in which case I really would just rather the decision were mine than that panic of a EMCS again.

I will keep on with Ina May and hope for some bolt of lightening to give me the strength to do it sometime over the next 10 weeks!
Again thanks,
X

UmmLayla, I would recommend the Michel Odent book The Caeasarean because it is one of the very few that really acknowleges the feelings and emotions around the operation, and written by (it seems) one of the very few obstetricians who understands this. I also felt that some of his views on the need of labouring women for quiet and calm and VBAC made a lot of sense to me. Waaay more than the hypnobirthing CD I spent good money on.

Kity, I feel for you, my second baby was OP & brow and with my head I know a section after 2 hrs in second stage was probably a sensible clinical call. My heart still says different.

In your post, you have summed up part of the problem with how hospitals treat VBAC - they tell you what is "allowed", what the "guidelines" are. My experience was that docs tended to be pessimistic, assuming that I would end up in theatre, midwifes (who of course are the ones that see successful VBACs) much much less so. Please remember that you can reclaim some of this if you wish.

Do consider whether having a skilled birth partner who can support you without having needs of their own is something that will help with the very real anxieties you describe. I was lucky enough to have a friend who is a community midwife who jumped at the chance. In my case, it not only meant great support during my labour but someone I could debrief with afterwards - DH just could not do this for me.

You will make your own decisions, but I'd like to offer this. A close friend had her second baby, VBAC and I saw her about 9 hours after her daughter's birth in the most beautiful, blissful state. And please remember that of the women who choose VBAC, around four out of five do deliver vaginally.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

I do appologise Again not meaning to hijack your tread. I hope you've found the information useful to you too.

Kity you are more than welcome

Try to look at it another way. It didn't go wrong at the end it just happened that way. It wasn't wrong because you did everything you were suppose too, and it just happened that baby wasn't in the right way.

Ina May does talk about brow presentation and they use the 'Pelvic press' for this. Maybe when you go into labour you could explain what happened last time and ask the midwife if she's heard of this (bring the book) also you can get you birth partner/s to look into it too. But I think it is highly unlikely that this baby will be positioned in the same way. I say unlikely not impossible LOL.

Also you could make preparation should you have a section again (sorry not sure if you were knocked out last time) where you have a natural Caesarean (sorry I really don't like the name). It's were you see more of what is going on and baby is passed to you straight away and they can wait to clamp the cord I think???
Also you can have your favorite music playing and things like that.

With regards to reading Ina May's book, I found the second half more interesting. The first half was more of a booster to see that women had done it.

Like Lizzytree said it's good to have good birthing partner/s and it sound like you had them with your husband and sister, but get them reading too so they can help with reminding you of the options you have and what you said you didn't want, when your in Labour Land.

Lizzytree thank-you for the recommendation, I will add that to my never ending book list.

Take care

Sorry forgot to add a book recommendation for birth partner's:

The Birth Partner: Everything You Need to Know to Help a Woman Through Childbirth by Penny Simkin

Kity Do you mind mentioning the strict Guidelines your hospital gave you.

No problems if you don't