VBAC

[Boblina]

Hi there am I the only one here who is not sure about VBAC? I think it would be lovely and I am def considering it because of the better recovery time and well I would be able to do more with my 2 year old DS (emergency c at 33 weeks). But not sure about the pain, the internal, you know the long labour, possible cut, forceps. I know that I am sounding like a total wimp and I probably am, but how do you deal with it. How can you all be so sure that you want a VBAC? What makes you want it? Sorry, I just want to, I don't know what I want really. Just thought I would write it down and see.

I have had 2 VBACs after an emergency section and I am so glad I did.

One internal at each birth.
Managable pain that is worth it for the end result.
No stitches,
Drove my new baby at 1 week old.

Much better.

Not saying it was easy at all but I would never choose a major op if I didn't have to have it.

Thanks. That is why I am struggling. I would not choose a major op if I did not have to but for some reason an internal and the rest really put me off. Not sure why as i was going to have one with DS.

I had a VBA2C and am so glad I did it. Yes it was painful and yes I had forceps and stitches, but the recovery, as you say, was sooo mcuh better than after my second C-Section, and emotionally I have been able to lay to rest the ghost of my first, prolonged and traumatic labour that ended in an EmCS seven years previously.

I was keen to have one for my second baby, but got an attack of cold feet late on and opted for an elective, but due to a poor recovery including a nasty wound infection I really regretted it. Getting pregnant unexpectedly for the third time meant that I effectively had another chance at a natural delivery and although as I said I needed forceps at the end, I went into labour naturally and laboured well with only gas and air until we decided I needed some help(baby was stuck in an awkward position).

My advice would be to read as much as you can (there was a good VBAC support thread runnung for ages) and then take it from there. Some of the VBAC birth threads might help give you some courage as well (look for mine at the beginning of November last year)

Good Luck

hi boblina

My reasons for wanting a VBac are mostly practical.

I had a difficult ventouse vaginal birth with DS1, and then a csection with DS2.

For me the recovery is the key, being able to get up and walk and do things within an hour or so of the birth was something I took for granted until I had a section, and was laid up for several weeks.

I am really hoping for a Vbac with this current baby as I will have 2 others to look after now as well as a newborn, and recovering from a section will be so much harder.

But all being well the pain of the internal/contractions will be over once baby is born. A c-section takes much longer to get over.

strange question, but something that really bugs me. How painful is an internal? Do you actually feel them doing it or are the contractions that bad that you just don't?

It really isn't painful ime. And midwives normally do it during a contraction so you aren't aware.

I had a VBAC 2.4 years after emergency section and am soooo glad I did.
My VBAC baby was 9lb14oz and I gave birth to her with no pain relief. I was a real mess afterwards and was an hour and 40 minutes being stitched up, had a torn cervix and had to have a catherter(sp?) for two weeks. I was uncomfortable sitting and the midwife said there was no point talking to me about contraception when I was doscharged because there was no chance I'd 'get anything up there' for at least two months.
This all sounds horrific i know but, once the first two weeks were over, I could drive, push the pram around for really long walks and felt so much better. I also felt much more confident and excited as I had the elation of giving birth, its a bit hard to explain what I mean by this but I just felt so much better.. i hadn't realised how crap I felt after I had DS by emergency section. Most importantly though, DD was in a better state due to not being full of drugs and we established breast feeding really quickly and I was in a better state for sorting her out. Even though I was in a mess, I'd do it again tomorrow over a section (not having any more though!). of course, I'd been in labour for a few days before my section, so i wouldn't have felt as bad after a planned section, but the whole experience of the birth and first few weeks after VBAC were so much better than after section.

Boblina - I am in totally the same position as you. I am in two minds over VBAC.

DS was delivered via csection at 37 weeks. Was planned, so lovely delivery and fortunately my recovery was fantastic. Was up the following morning, milk came in on the second day and breast fed with no problems. I was able to drive after 3 weeks, so I really have nothing to complain about.

Talking to some friends about delivering naturally....they put me in a more of a quandry. When they asked about my reticence about having another csection...citing major ops, longer recovery time etc. etc. Two of them piped up with their ordeals after natural deliveries - on rubber rings for 12 weeks, stitches getting infected and more...it made my csection recovery look like a doddle!

But, and it comes back to this for me...csection is a major OP, and any major OP carries risks. Am only 15w 3d, so have plenty of time to make my mind up. I continue to keep an open mind and will make my choices nearer the time.

Good luck whatever you decide.

I am 24 weeks so although I have a long way to go I have a meeting to discuss all this at 30 weeks (just in case), so long, but not long. I really don't know. It's very helpful to hear from you all. Please keep them coming.

a contraction should not be done during a contraction if possible.

also, you can request no internals. there are other signs that labour is progressing. or you can request internals kept to a bare minimum. say none until you feel an urge to push, or one only on arrival to determine how advanced labour is

I had a perfectly straighforward, normal VBAC, no complications, no tearing, up and about a couple of hours later. felt amazing.

wanting it was a very personal thing, i wanted to arrive at hospital, in labour, huffing and puffing, i wanted to feel the contractions and push my baby out. and be the first person to hold her . i wanted to feel i had given birth, rather than i was just an observer, which is how i felt in my c.s

have you considered a doula to support you?

What is doula support?

a doula is a woman , experienced in looking after other women during pregnancy and bihrt, it is a non clinical role... doulas cannot and don't deliver babies but provide one to one emotional support and can be incredibly helpful

have a look at

www.doula.org.uk

and

www.nurturingbirth.co.uk

I read an article in a magazine about hospital bourne infections in C sections and it really made my mind up. It was not at all balanced or scientific, but it swayed me to the VBAC!

Thanks all very interesting. Had not hear of it before.

Hi singingbear it sounds like you had a really bad time. Thanks for what you have said. It certainly gives me a lot of food for thought. I am not sure what I will do. Need to do a lot of thinking. One of my friends has just had her second baby (both cesarians) and even after just two and a half weeks she feel fine. Well not totally obviously, but the scar is not giving her any trouble. I suppose that every birth is different and I just have to think of what is best for me, baby and DS. What I am prepared to cope with and stuff.

Boblina I am 23 weeks and having exactly same dilemma. I recovered really well from my emcs first time round and dont really feel a vbac is something i need to do to feel happy or lay any ghosts to rest. however i have been told by consultant and numerous midwives that the risks of repeat c sections are high and one even said i couldnt have any more children after this if i elected to have a section. its such a difficult decision - because as Singingbear says there are just no certainties. Of course if I knew the vbac would hurt a lot but be straightforward i would opt for that over a major operation but the possibility of tearing/episiotomy/forceps/the baby being damaged/another emergency section etc is really making me scared to go down that route. Like dal21 i have so many friends who took ages to recover from vaginal birth because of really bad tearing/traumatic experiences etc...c section recovery doesnt seem that bad compared to some of their stories....i have no idea what to do.

Hoping for a VBAC here.

I may be the only one who, if I did have to have another caesarean would rather have it under general anaesthetic! The thought of being awake while they cut me open is terrifying. I was incredibly woozy for the rest of the day after my emergency cs and kept dozing off even while feeding them, I admit. I'd been so looking forward to that wonderful time when they finally leave you alone with your new baby, but after twin1 was born I was still in labour and then under anaesthetic, so I missed out on it altogether.
I'm the kind of person who is terrified of smears and upset for days after, but internals whilst in labour don't cause the same mental distress, nor were they usually painful as I remember, except one in my first labour when the midwife left her hands inside me while debating whether to break the waters. I didn't care either way, just wanted her to stop what she was doing! The waters popped of their own accord as she was still dithering.

I'm 29 weeks now in my fourth pregnancy. The consultant was completely supportive of my wish for a VBAC, yet my midwife has decided that at my next antenatal she needs to spend an hour with me planning for the birth. A whole hour! What on earth is she planning to say that will take that long?

can I just add that although my VBAC ended in a forceps delivery, the theatre team kept things as low key as possible; dimmed lights (first time ever at that hospital), music, baby put straight onto me for immediate skin to skin and I was left cuddling him while I was stitched up.

AS others have said though, it very much depends on your reasons for thinking about VBAC. For me, like Lulu, I needed to experience going into labour on my own and do the arriving huffing and puffing and "having a baby" as I was induced with No1 and then elCS with No2. It was also extremely important that I had a vaginal delivery and certainly it has helped my emotional well being knowing that I did it.

I hired a doula and she was great in helping me work through my reasons for having a VBA2C and getting me to see the right consultant who would best suit my wishes for as natural a process as possible. I doubt I could have done it without her.

You can find a doula local to you HERE

This is all very interesting. See I don't feel the urge or the need to have a viginal birth. If fact if I did in the end decide to go down that route I would probably want the drugs. I know that I sound wimpish, but hey that is how I feel about this. Yes I was not keen on being awake during my emergency c section as no one told me that you still feel them and yes I was drugged up for the rest of the day but as DS was taken to baby care in an incubator I did not have what some of you say the feeding to do or anything and maybe if this time baby is ok and comes on time rather than early I would want to experience it without feeling drugged up, I don't know how either would feel. I am still very much debating. I think that if I did not have DS I would opt for c section even if it's major op. You see I think I recovered quite well from it first time round. I don't know. It's all so confising. Be interested to know what you end up choosing Paz1 and why. Then again I may have to decide before you do. Cannot believe that I will be 25 on Sunday. So exciting but scary.

Boblina - I think I was roughly where you were in deciding to have a VBAC. No real personal urge to have one, but as much as anything wanted one for practical reasons as wanted to be able to look after 2 children after the birth.

The thing is, if you get a good VBAC, to my mind, there is no contest - it is much safer, pleasanter, better recovery than a C-section. BUT, you don't know in advance what you're going to get - so it could be an emergency section or a nasty VBAC like singing bear. So part of it is getting a realistic sense of what your own personal chances of a VBAC might be, bearing in mind the reasons for your first C-section (is it something that could be a factor again).

I didn't really feel my emergency section had been that bad and ummed and ahhed a lot. But in the end had a fabulous VBAC (DS born in 3 hours after breaking my waters, just a few minor stitches and feeling myself again almost immediately). Best of all, managed to get discharged the same day and back home in time for DD's tea. Really lovely. It was only when I got to compare that a realise how rough the (necessary) emergency C-section had been. So no regrets here. But I can totally see that if I'd ended up with a crash section or maybe a horrific vaginal birth I'd feel differently about it. Not an easy decision - best of luck with it.

Wow - That sounds like the dream vbac experience. Am so pleased it turned out so well for you TheInvisibleHand. Like you say the whole difficulty is just having no idea what will happen. In hindsight do you think there were any particular factors that helped? Like no epidural or that you had dilated last time so body had done it before or smallish baby etc? Or do you reckon its just mainly luck?