Anyone up for a VBAC support thread?

[Chulita]

I'm 34+3 and baby's currently OP. Had an emcs with DD 19 months ago and I'm desperate for a VBAC but there seem to be so many variables and I'm just dreading another OP labour.
Anyone fancy joining?

Hi, I have just read through this thread and would like to join too

I'm currently 33+2 weeks pregnant with my third baby and hoping for a vbac this time.

With ds1 I had a long labour (latent stage) first time round and an eventual emcs after 'failure to progress' then with ds2 I elected for a cs. They are 23 months apart and I did feel really traumatized by the first experience and felt like I hadn't got over it. When the consultant suggested a vbac with ds2 I got in to such a state as I couldn't imagine going through it all again.

Now with this baby I feel like I'd really like a vbac (I now realise that the first experience was due to bad positioning and that this is very unlikely to happen again) and I know the risks after 1 or 2 cs are about the same also so I know it doesn't matter so much that I've had 2.

I've also completed a hypnobirthing course which has helped me get rid of some baggage from the first experience and has filled me with a lot more confidence for this birth.

I've got quite a supportive midwife and she said they have waterproof and wireless monitoring at the hospital too so I can move around and use the birth pool too.

I'll be checking on this thread a lot I'm sure - hope everyones having a good week!

hi chathappy I was thinking of trying out some hypnobirthing. I don't have the time or money for classes, but I've seen an MP3 download that's been recommended by some vbac mums. How did you find it?

Hi there, not been on this thread for ages, have been moving house and worrying about having this baby has taken a back burner. Ready for it to come now though!
Congratulations to LaTrucha and looking forward to news of gwennie and chulita!
I am 38.5 weeks now so waiting, waiting waiting. I am hoping to be a bit early!

Hi to new joiners. unbuffy near me I think there is no chance they will let you in the MLU but the consultant led bit has a pool - I am going to try and get them to let me in that! Strangely I think you can try for a homebirth after cs if you want though (though I would imagine it would take a bit of persuasion)

Hi there, I had my INDUCED VBAC on Saturday night so thought I would post some positive vibes to those still to go through it!!

Was 40+2 and requested induction on Friday due to various reasons. Went into hospital on Sat PM. As cervix was not thin though to break my waters, I was given one pessary to start thinning it out. Started having 2 min apart contractions 3 hours later and was taken into the delivery room. Waters went naturally and DS3 was born weighing 9lb 7oz with only G&A and no stitches 2 hours later which was only 5 hours after I had the pessary!

A canula was not even mentioned and although I did have CFM whilst in the delivery room, the leads were long and I was encouraged to walk around and lean on the bed or sit in a chair so I did not really notice it. Midwife would not even do a VE as she said if I was not dilated enough, it would discourage me!

Best birthing experience out of my 4 and I totally still cannot believe I did it.

Hope that helps someone .

Congrats bigmomma does that mean you'll have to change your name?

Well, Samson William was born at 0126 on Saturday morning and I didn't get my VBAC. I'd been having strong BH for 2 weeks and was fully expecting them to have done some work but they did nothing. Friday at 1am I woke up to proper ctxs, they settled to about every 3.5mins lasting 40secs by 4am, phoned labour ward and got in for 6am was 2cm, very, very slow progression til I finally got to 8-9cm at midnight on Friday. The doctor had a good rummage and said that Sam was OP and wedged in at an angle so regardless of what I did he wasn't coming out. I had an emcs an hour later. He was exactly the same as DD so that's 2 identical labours (except DD's was a lot longer) so I think for the next one I'll cut my losses and opt for a cs. I'm gutted though cos I was determined to get this one out 'normally'. I've been told I might have a strange-shaped pelvis which would account for both my babies coming at an angle/OP, who knows!?

Hopefully I'll be the one who didn't get it and you'll all get lovely natural births!

BTW I said no to CFM and cannula and after a few raised eyebrows nothing more was said. I didn't opt for the birth pool cos I could barely walk so didn't fancy hopping in one in the end!

Hello to the thread's newbies! I am 24 weeks, so still a fair way to go. Worth looking for natal hypnotherapy VBAC CDs second hand on eBay. I got mine for 99p. Nothing to lose by trying it out. I am finding the first cd excellent for relaxing and, erm, falling asleep to.

Congratulations on the arrival of BigMommas and Chulitas DCs.

Sorry that you didn't get the birth you were hoping for Chulita, hope you aren't too down about it and are able to enjoy Samson non the less.

bigMomma an impressive delivery, do you have a name yet?

congratulations bigmomma and chulita

Congratulations big momma and chulitas!

The main thing is you gave it another go chulita - my first labour was op and asynclitic too and I've also been told this could be my pelvis. So I'm in the same boat as you were in - will give it a shot but if it happens again it's probably that I do have an odd shaped pelvis too. But might as well see what happens this time and good for you for trying again too - at least you know that's probably the reason why now anyway.

Maxpower, ive found the hypnobirthing really helpful so far and although I'm trying to keep an open mind about what might happen I am so much more confident now about it all. If it helps me to relax even a bit during labour then I'll think it's worth it! I'm doing the Marie mongan one and if you wanted to try that one I would recommend the book and the CDs/mp3s. There's quite a helpful group on babycentre website too for ladies doing hypnobirthing or who have done it.

Have a midwife appointment Wednesday (I'll be 34 wks) to go through my birth plan - fingers crossed it goes to plan !

thanks chathappy & good luck for weds

Congrats bigmomma and Chulita, I guess it shows that these things could go either way. I am 28 weeks and hoping to have a VBAC. Having a hypnobirthing refresher session next week!

Just wondering if anyone had any advice at all... I had my 34 week midwife appointment yesterday which went fairly well.

I showed her my birth plan and it mainly contained things to support hypnobirthing and also stated that I didn't consent to continuous monitoring unless it was via telemetry (which they have at this hospital) so that means I can still move around and use the pool too. I had spoken to her about this before and she said that they would be supportive of that and they still are.

Anyway, they have one room with a pool which is right in the middle of the delivery unit and the midwife led unit and can be accessed either side from both. I asked her, if this room/the pool wasn't free could I use a room in the midwife led unit (as I'm not having continuous monitoring anyway I thought that would be the main reason to have to go the the main unit?) and she just gave me a very blunt "no" and that that unit is only for low risk etc even without the monitoring (even though it is next door to the main unit anyway so hardly far to go if there was an emergency!).

I didn't know how to respond to this - do I have any rights in the instance?

I know I could try and get in contact with the head of midwifery to discuss but I'm also uneasy about creating a battle when they are already letting me use the pool (which is good) and I'm not sure if I want the stress of putting up a fight to use it iyswim. I am seeing the consultant in 2 weeks to discuss. Is there anything I can say that may change their minds? I guess I could threaten a home birth but again I hate confrontation and don't want to cause myself any stress either really....

It seems silly I can't use it IMO

Congrats big momma and chulita. Chulita sorry you didn't get your vbac but sounds like you gave it the best go and it just wasn't going to happen. These unpredictable babies hey. Anyway I hope you are feeling ok about it and are enjoying lovely new baby cuddles. Please come back to this thread and let us know how you are getting on!
Chathappy it is the same i the hospital near me. The mlu is on the floor below the consultant led one and they won't let you in it for vbac. I don't think they will be flexible on this where i am, though if you push for it they will let you try home birth! I suspect it's probably partly for resourcing reasons as they don't want to have to move you from one place to another, though this must happen reasonably often with normal births so i dont really see the problem.

Just popping in again to say I've read the thread and it's great to hear how others are getting on.

Baby seems to have been doing backflips so now have no idea of lie, will have to wait until next week to find out!

Congrats to those who have produced offspring by any route - wonderful

Yeah exactly summerlightning, that's what I was thinking. They must end up having women classed as low risk that end up getting transferred to the normal delivery unit anyway if a complication did arise? Seems crazy doesn't it!

I have the name of the head if midwifery now so I'm going to ring Monday to try and arrange a chat with her.

I think I'm going to say I'll have a home birth if not... (although this does scare me slightly also...) and to be honest I'm kind of hoping she will say I can use the unit if I DON'T have a home birth as in their eyes that would be considered more risky... We shall see!

Cognratulations Bigmomma and Chulita.

Chulita - Big congratulations to you. How are you feeling now about the c-section? And how are you recovering? Any chance of a picture of the lovely lad?

Silence from Gwennie - how are you doing?

Hi, somebody was looking for this thread so thought I would post and bump it up again at the same time.

Latest from me is that I have a c section booked for 12 days over my due date (I'm completely happy with this) but hopefully I will go in to labour before.

They said also, that if I go 12 days over then they will check to see if they can break my waters first (if cervix is favourable) but if not then I will just have the section.

I will probably request a sweep at 40 weeks to try and get things going if nothing has happened before then but I'll see how I feel then too!

Hope everyone is well and things are going to plan for everyone? Any updates at all?

36+6 wks

Hi Chathappy

Welldone for bumping the thread.

I am 27 weeks. The only thing going on here is that tomorrow I am having a glucose tolerance test. At my consultant's appointment at 22 weeks he said "although your baby was 9lb 13oz, there is no reason why you couldn't vaginally birth a baby just as big or even larger this time. Non the less we will give you a GTT to check for diabetes just incase we missed it last time". Not entirely reassuring. So, this means nothing to eat tonight after 9pm, then lucozade at 7.30 tomorrow followed by a mw home visit to do the test at 9.30. I can't remember the last time I went so long without eating!

Oh I hope you're not too hungry by the time the midwife gets there tomorrow spiderwilliam !

The way I'm eating at the moment, I'd be practically fainting by then I reckon

Fingers crossed the results come back as normal for you and you don't have diabetes.

I am still on track for a VBAC, am 31 weeks now. Have been doing some hypnobirthing again and some pregnancy yoga, and trying to steer clear of negative birth stories. Chathappy I am still not completely clear what happens when you go overdue. I know they can try and break my waters, but I am not completely sure what the policy is on other kinds of induction - I know they can use the syntocin drip for VBAC's, but surely your contractions need to have started for them to use that? I'm not really happy to have chemical methods of induction used, but no one has mentioned booking in a c-section if I go over my due date (and I did go over by 11 days last time). I think I need to speak to the consultant mw again and check a couple of things.

Spiderwilliam I have to have the glucose test for life insurance a few months ago, wasn't too bad going without food. But I was surprised you can't even have a cup of herbal tea!!

I'm not 100% certain but from what I've read it sounded like any other method of induction apart from breaking of waters (I think your cervix has the be favourable for this) or a sweep (which isn't officially a method of induction but can start things sometimes) is not classed as safe for a vbac. I know that my hospital won't induce me any other way than the 2 I just mentioned and I'm happy with that.

I'd imagine that your hospital would have a certain amount of time after your due date that they would want to book you in for a section (like my one being 12 days). You'd have to check that information with your consultant. However, you can still refuse a c section or any method of induction and choose to be monitored/scanned daily to check that baby is okay and the placenta is still functioning fully. It's entirely up to you

When is your due date again domestic ? Ive only just had my section booked for when I go overdue and I'm 37 weeks today. They didnt speak to me much about the vbac before 36 weeks as I think they wait in case you change your mind (which makes sense!).

Sorry, I just realised your message said you are 31 weeks domestic ! I'd imagine you'll see your consultant at around 36 weeks and they will discuss it with you properly there (I think that's about the time they normally see you)

I was v happy to see my midwife this morning! Get the GTT results tomorrow. I also suspect that I may be low on iron and she said that I don't exactly look glowing at the moment, and then apologised for being tactless .

DomesticGodess - similarly, they haven't talk me through all the options for induction and pain relief. I have my next consultant appointment at 36 weeks when as I understand it, if I am still a good VBAC candidate then they will get into the nitty gritty of all that stuff. (I am 28 weeks, so a little behind you)

Aha! I am the dumbass who couldn't find this thread, then when Chat replied to my post saying she'd bumped it, I thought she meant she was bumping my thread. D'oh ....

Anyway, hello again!

I'm 34+3 and saw the consultant on Monday for a growth scan (just above 50th centile, same as DS at this stage - 8lb 3oz in the end, at 39+5) and a chat. I was so shocked to find that my visit to an osteopath on Friday had led to a cephalic baby by Monday that I forgot to ask all my VBAC questions

He did say that if there was no action by 40+7 he'd want to "look at" inducing me with prostin. I think he probably got a reasonable idea of how much I welcomed this suggestion by my wincing but we'll "cross bridges as we come to them". He wants me to hit the road as soon as I start labouring. He's seen two ruptures in his career so if it does all go tits up I'm just hoping he's on duty!

I then phoned the maternity ward the next day to speak to a midwife and she wasn't particularly cheery - yes, I will have to be on a bed and monitored unless the wireless machine's free, no, it's not likely I'd be allowed access to water, but you know, she has delivered babies before now for mums who've had a previous section (said in a tone which suggests it's a very rare occurence .

So I spoke to my community MW today and even in this trust they have the same policies. She said progress is important, in that if I don't, they'll want to get the scalpel out. She was a bit more positive about the monitoring though, said even with wires I'll be surprised at how mobile I'll manage to be.

Just have to get this BP down a bit and we'll be cooking!

Sorry for ramble ... it's a minefield! :)

Remember, you can refuse continuous monitoring if you really don't want it.

I'm quite lucky at the hospital I am at, they have telemetry which is wireless and waterproof and I can use the pool if I want to and move around. I have put on my birth plan though that I don't consent to continuous monitoring unless it is via telemetry (in case it broken or something!).

They also have a room on the main delivery unit that is almost identical to the rooms on the mlu but because it's officially the delivery unit, I can use that room too.

Just hope it's all free when I go in though, but I was happy with the compromises and didn't want to go down the route of arguing with them about it too much (not that we should have to argue these things with them anyway but thats what I was happy with!)

Of course there's always the home birth option too - can do what you want then (use a pool etc). They don't like it and would probably try and put you off but you have a right to have that kind of birth if you really wanted it and they would have to send a midwife to you. Best to weigh up the pros and cons of it all

That was nice of your midwife to say spider - I think I had iron tablets wih my first pregnancy? Haven't needed anything like that this time luckily.

Had a scan yesterday as midwife thought baby might be breech! They also said last week they thought baby was back to back (so lots of things for me to worry about!) but the scan said that baby was head down and to the left and half engaged now so In a good position. Makes me feel a bit more confident about it now anyway!

I'm in the same boat re hoping things are free when I go in ... although I gather we're having babies at quite a popular time of year

Home birth really not an option I am even vaguely comfortable with, nearest hospital with surgical facilities is an hour's drive! Nobody would believe me if I threatened that

I think an awful lot will hinge on mental attitude and in some ways the ability to forget the VBAC side of things and concentrate on the job in hand like any other birth - I think if I let the stress of monitoring get to me I'll get nowhere, but if I can look at it in the way of "they're doing the monitoring so I don't need to worry, just go into myself and let my body do the work" I'll have more chance of a successful outcome.