Vbac questions

[Lilice]

Do you have to go straight to hospital when labour starts or can you labour as home before heading in? I know they have to monitor you because of the scar, but from what stage do they monitor you?
I had last baby by csection due to being breech but first one was vaginal birth, where I managed to get to 8 cm at home with tens machine, and i was hoping to do the same again this time. Any tips on a successful vbac welcome 🙏

Hey Op! I’m currently waiting for what I hope will be my vbac, 40 weeks at the moment and no sign of baby. First I had a planned section at 35 weeks I really expected to have met Dc2 by now.

I was under the impression you are most likely to achieve your vbac with the least intervention so if you are feeling ok and not having scar pain in between contractions I’d personally stay home as long as possible!
Maybe you should call your mw and check what their protocol is though.
Wishing you a healthy delivery!

Thank you @Jomum2020 I will double check with my midwife when I next see her. Currently 35 weeks so still a little bit of time. I wish you a safe and speedy delivery

I'm pretty sure you can have a homebirth vbac so should be OK!

I had a VBAC a couple of months ago and wasn't told to go straight in but think they may have suggested calling when things started just to give them a heads up and also because my first labour was fast so they may have suggested I went straight in.

I’m planning to stay home as long as I can. It’s been agreed that I can use the birth centre once I do get to the hospital so won’t be having continuous monitoring unless I change my mind and want an epidural (Would transfer to deliver suite), or have other risk factors at the time. The less intervention you have, the more likely you are to have a successful VBAC. Obviously any scar pain, bleeding, or meconium in your waters should be checked immediately though so would mean going in.

I went in earlier than I would have done (I was only 3cm), last time I was 5cm (but it ended in emcs). They preferred previous c section mothers to go in earlier even during covid. I had a VBAC with no interventions

Thanks everyone

I’m not sure all of the above is entirely correct - just talk to your midwife about what her advice is, and have a low threshold for calling the hospital for advice when you start to labour. Generally in my experience they’ve advised going in when you reach 2-3 strong contractions in 10 minutes.
Even though rupture is low-ish risk and you’re far more likely to have a normal delivery, it can happen at any point in labour. If your uterus ruptures and you’re not already in hospital at the time then the delay may cost baby/you your life (sorry to be blunt!). For that reason most places I’m aware of would prefer you come into hospital early in established labour.
The other thing is that the first sign of a possible rupture is often baby’s heart rate changing - scar pain or bleeding can be late signs. So monitoring(either intermittent or continuous) is pretty important.
You can take your TENS machine to hospital with you, organize your music etc etc and try to make it as homely as possible!

Also I’m not sure re home birth VBAC - I think most obstttricians would be a bit freaked out by that idea, having seen what a rupture can do. But I’m not in the UK so who knows!

Also I don’t mean to worry you or overstate the risks at all, I would definitely VBAC myself - it’s just more about being close to help IF you happen to need it. X

Thank you @TenThousandSpoons0 that's good to know. I will ask my midwife what she thinks.

Sorry to jump on thread but can I ask what made you decide vbac? I had c section for DC1 as breech and have to discuss with consultant what I'm doing this time soon and I don't know! I've been told waterbirth is an absolute no which makes the idea of vbac less exciting ☺️ Half hoping DC2 will be breech so I don't have to decide 🙈

@pigletpie2177 I've experienced both a vaginal delivery and a csection and found the recovery easier and faster with a vaginal delivery. I'll have 3 children to look after, with no family nearby to help (they're all abroad) so im hoping for a quick recovery 🤞. I know what you mean about the water birth though. When I had my phone appointment with my consultant, she told me it could be possible but it didn't sound like the safest option.

Hey @pigletpie2177. There’s a great group on fb called VBAC support group uk with birth stories and loads of advice, I have found it really useful.
I personally always felt I wanted to try for a vbac so I knew my little one was coming when she was ready rather than being pulled out early, DC1 had a lot of breathing issues to start with which I feel could have been linked to his section.
I also felt like recovering from surgery wouldn’t be so easy second time round when I have a toddler to think about. DH is great but due to his work commitments and our lifestyle I’ll really be home alone with the two DC straight away.
There’s pros and cons for both though.
As for water births. You can indeed have one. Look up the NICE guidelines, you can request wireless monitoring which would mean you can water birth, this is my plan!
I don’t mean to sound totally one sided, there is definitely plus points to a planned section too but I just personally want to try for a VbaC :) and there’s lots of help out there if you do too.

I'm surprised at some of these responses, but maybe it's different for different areas? I had a meeting with the VBAC clinic last week and they were pretty insistent that I should be making my way to hospital as soon as labour started to show signs, no hanging around at home at all. They definitely will try to intervene as little as possible but the monitoring will also start straight away. And definitely know birthing centres or home births! (Is what I was told) It slightly panics me that you're being given such different information on here when the VBAC clinic were so clear with me. Please please know for sure what's expected from you before trying to wait it out at home for a while. The consequences could be horrific. I wish you the best of luck, and let us know how you get on! I desperately cling onto every positive VBAC story I hear!

I meant 'no', not 'know' 🤦

@lilice @jomum2020 thanks so much for taking the time to reply. I can definitely see the pros and cons of both - I grieved for my waterbirth last time and refused to call it an elective c section as I really hadn't wanted one - though my mum and I nearly died when they made her try to deliver me breech so I wasn't arguing either!

I'll speak to my consultant about waterbirth this time though the midwife/nurses have been pretty consistent so far. The faster recovery of the vbac is certainly a big plus given the toddler, though the scheduling aspect of the section was attractive.

It hadn't occurred to me to look on Facebook so thanks for that! For some reason only the American version of the support group is coming up but I've joined the c section support group and hopefully will find a link on there to the other.

Thanks @pukeymama , it does look like it's different depending on the area. I will definitely talk to my midwife about this. I wish i could go to a vbac clinic too. The communication with my midwife is poor and I only talk to her when I see her once a month. I was hoping to do an antenatal refresher course to discuss all this in depth but despite asking her twice, nothing has happened. I found an alternative online by myself but there's no information on vbac. I'll make a list of questions and wait for my appointment next week to be sure of their procedure. Good luck with your vbac too, when are you due?
@Jomum2020 thanks for the tip about the Facebook group, I've joined it.
@pigletpie2177 I was also very gutted at the idea of having a c section and like you, i had to grieve.

@lilice it's a shame you aren't being offered more support, VBAC clinic made me feel so much more at ease and gave me the opportunity to ask so many questions. My midwife is a bit crap so I was grateful for the opportunity to ask someone who actually seemed to listen to my concerns. So frustrating you aren't being offered the same support. I'm only 27 weeks at the moment so still a while to go!

i know @Pukeymama im really not impressed by the level of care I've received. Ive never been able to reach my midwife by phone, and whenever I've had an issue i had to get my gp to sort it out. Luckily im low risk and no major problems but i feel let down in many ways. At least i can say thay my gp has been amazing and is really responsive. Good luck with your pregnancy and i wish you a successful vbac

Thanks @lilice, and you!

Hi just wanted to update this thread. I had a successful vbac and gave birth to a beautiful baby girl on Wednesday. Labour started with my waters breaking. Took a few hours to get into active labour. Then it all went very fast. I didnt have time for any pain relief, my first stage lasted 48 minutes and second just 3 minutes. My husband barely made it in time, as he was only allowed once i was in established labour. Good luck to all the mamas, you can do it!

I was told to stay at home as long as possible. I went into labour at 2am, went in at 6am and had baby at 6.38am. Really fast birth, especially compared to my first birth.

Amazing news @lilice, congratulations!

@Lilice congratulations 💗