Baby girl is here now...traumatic birth I need advice fot number 2

[Luxoire]

Ok so at 40+5 I noticed I had been leaking fluids since Monday. I lost my plug Monday morning. But at first I thought fluid was baby putting pressure on bladdervand urine. By Tuesday night I told DH and said I thought it was fluid cos it didn't smell like urine.
Wednesday morning we went to triage...baby was ok but I was told there was a rupture in the membrane causing the leak. Bcos it had been leaking for a while they didn't want to risk infection so would keep me in for monitoring and start labour if things don't progress so I was admitted. By Wednesday evening contractions started slow but they were there. Mw was happy and said they woul monitor baby and not interfere if my body is doing it naturally. She checked I was 1cm dilated. Wednesday night contractions got stronger I could barely sit and I wss gettin them 3 every 10mins. When they checked Thursday morning I was only 1cm so they decided to induce with the gel first. They could not send me home cos of thr rupture but were reluctant to use the hormonal drip since I had started labour on my own. They wanted my body to do it on its own. They put the gel at around 6am anf got me up and walking. .contractions..by noon my waters broke and they discovered meconium in the waters. So they sent me to the labour ward for close monitoring. By thursday evening after strong contractions 4 in 10mins I was still only 1 cm dilated. The doc decided to start syntocinon to help things along since meconium was already dark green. At this point I accepted the epidural which. 6hrs later on epi and drip and still 1cm dilated. Friday morning when they increased dose of drip baby's heart rate dropped. Mine too dropped and doc said they had to remove epidural as some women react in this way. So they stopped epi and left drip on lowest level which was the only level babt could tolerate. friday afternoon I was tired and only 1cm and in so much pain with the contractions. They decided to do an emergency c.section as I want progressing on my own or with drip.

Apparently if I decide to have a baby in the next 3yrs I have to have a section. After that I can have a vaginal delivery. My question is, is there a medical reason for not dilating? They had said my cervix amd baby's positioning was ok. Is there a medical check I can do to see if it was specific to this pregnancy or a shape with my pelvis? I dont mind waiting 3yrs for a vbac but would rather have a baby sooner under planned c.section than go through another emergency one after almost 72hrs of labour with no progress. If the only way tgey can find out is when I am jext pregnant then that leaves me with a dilemma and a decision we need to consider in the next year or 2.

Thanks in advance for ur opinions

 

[Banshee]

I don't have much advice but had a similar experience with ds2 - never progressed past 1cm despite syntocinon drip and ended up with an emergency c section. But, with ds1 I got to 5cms before my first emergency c section (that time because ds1 was in extreme distress not coz I wasn't progressing).
So from my experience your body can react differently to each labour.

 

[Clarabell543]

I was induced at 42 weeks but had a similar labour. I did dilate but took a long time to get to six cm. There were arguments to whether i ended up 6 or 8 but i the drip caused hyperstimulation of my uterus and i eventually had an emcs. Personally i am still in the mindset that i could no way have a vbac and risk another emcs after a hard labour. If i couldnt have an elected section then my little girl probably wouldnt have any siblings. Saying that it is still pretty raw even six months on.x

 

[Luxoire]

I was induced at 42 weeks but had a similar labour. I did dilate but took a long time to get to six cm. There were arguments to whether i ended up 6 or 8 but i the drip caused hyperstimulation of my uterus and i eventually had an emcs. Personally i am still in the mindset that i could no way have a vbac and risk another emcs after a hard labour. If i couldnt have an elected section then my little girl probably wouldnt have any siblings. Saying that it is still pretty raw even six months on.x

Thats exactly my point...I dont mind a c.section if it is planned...what would really get to me is a hard labour only to end up with another emcs....7 weeks on and I have had to deal with an open wound, 2 infections and downright appauling care being passed from pillar to post which I believe would have been managed better if I had an elective cs with a clear care plan. The thot of another fruitless long and hard labour is annoying. X

 

[Clarabell543]

Yes i can totally sympathise.. i was back in hospital ten days later having to leave my baby when an internal infection burst. I had to have my emcs under general as i had become really swollen. I don't want that again so i would just f want a planned section.. so i know exactly what is going on and hopefully it can be an enjoyable experience. I know vbacs can be great experiences but i just wouldn't want the risk. Hope you come to a conclusion that is right for you. My midwife advised me to avoid pregnancy for twelve months to allow my body to recover. We want to wait till lo is around two anyway so maybe by then i will have a different view on it.

You have been through an awful lot of physical and emotional stress.. i am sure when the time comes you will feel that you have a clear idea of what is best for you amd your family

 

[Banshee]

I had a horrible experience with the birth of my first son - very traumatic and ended up with an emcs under general. I was so upset by the experience and cried about it for a long time. It did get better with time though. Even though my vbac for ds2 was not successful and ended in a second emcs it actually wasn't that bad. For me it was important to give myself the chance to have a natural delivery.

 

[Luxoire]

I had a horrible experience with the birth of my first son - very traumatic and ended up with an emcs under general. I was so upset by the experience and cried about it for a long time. It did get better with time though. Even though my vbac for ds2 was not successful and ended in a second emcs it actually wasn't that bad. For me it was important to give myself the chance to have a natural delivery.

Thanks for this. .part of me feeld like I want to attempt natural if only for the experience. But at same time I dont want an emcs...bcos I naturally cant dilate.

On another note is there a maximum number og kids you can have on cs? I'm not planning an army but I would imagine there are only so many times they can cut u open???

 

[Luxoire]

Yes i can totally sympathise.. i was back in hospital ten days later having to leave my baby when an internal infection burst. I had to have my emcs under general as i had become really swollen. I don't want that again so i would just f want a planned section.. so i know exactly what is going on and hopefully it can be an enjoyable experience. I know vbacs can be great experiences but i just wouldn't want the risk. Hope you come to a conclusion that is right for you. My midwife advised me to avoid pregnancy for twelve months to allow my body to recover. We want to wait till lo is around two anyway so maybe by then i will have a different view on it.

You have been through an awful lot of physical and emotional stress.. i am sure when the time comes you will feel that you have a clear idea of what is best for you amd your family

Thanks for understanding and sharing your experience. Thimgs might get clearer when I feel better or in 2 yrs which is when we will start planning or thinking of number 2.

Do u know if there is a maximum number of kids u can have by cs?

 

[Clarabell543]

A lady in hospital the same time as me was on her 4th section and a friend of mine has had three. I would like the experience too. I am never saying never but at the moment it would be not right now lol. I still cannot watch medical programmes and i used to watch all of them!

 

[_Lexi_]

Did they say why you have to wait three years to try naturally? My first I had to have a c section due to iugr, and it affected me really badly, I hated the experience. I was given the ok to try again at 6 months and fell pregnant that month. Just under 8 weeks ago I had a successful induced vbac.

 

[MindUtopia]

Is there a reason they advised you not to have a VBAC within 3 years? That's an awfully long time and normally, they just recommend not having another birth within the same year after a c-section. Plenty of women have had VBACs sooner than that, so unless there was a serious complication that haven't explained to you, I wouldn't let having had a c-section put you off a vaginal birth sooner. There are certainly midwives and consultants who will support it.

As for not dilating, it could be your waters went before your body was really ready (if there was a weakness somewhere or you did some activity that caused them to break prematurely), though that's pretty unlikely. What most likely happened is you were a bit too stressed and there was a bit too much poking and prodding that your oxytocin just shut down and your body wouldn't dilate more under those conditions. Oxytocin (which is what causes your cervix to dilate) gets switched off when your body produces adrenaline. So if you felt nervous, which you likely did if you had to go to A&E for a check, it would have halted dilation. It's your body's way of making sure you're somewhere safe to birth and helped our cavewoman ancestors to avoid danger and stop labour if there was a threat. For lots of people, it's much easier to relax and let your body dilate if you're at home, relaxing in your own bed, eating your own food, etc. in the early stages. You might just not be someone who can relax in a hospital environment and since you were in such an early stage of labour when you arrived, it probably just didn't work well for you. But don't dispair! It doesn't mean your body isn't made for labour, or that you can't have an easy, quick birth later on, you just might need to be much more attentive to making sure you're in the right conditions and somewhere you can really relax, let go and feel safe (even if you consciously thought you did!). That might mean being at home awhile longer or it might mean being at hospital but less disturbed or with less monitoring. Even the strongest drugs in the world can't override that oxytocin/adrenaline system, which is why so many inductions fail. So have faith! You'll likely be fine next time.

Congrats on your baby girl! Enjoy every minute. It's exhausting, but those early weeks go so fast.

 

[Luxoire]

Did they say why you have to wait three years to try naturally? My first I had to have a c section due to iugr, and it affected me really badly, I hated the experience. I was given the ok to try again at 6 months and fell pregnant that month. Just under 8 weeks ago I had a successful induced vbac.

They said it is mainly to allow the tissue time to heal and time for the scar to heal properly inside so as not to risk any internal bleeding or rupture when contracting and pushing during a vbac esp if the baby is not small

 

[Luxoire]

Is there a reason they advised you not to have a VBAC within 3 years? That's an awfully long time and normally, they just recommend not having another birth within the same year after a c-section. Plenty of women have had VBACs sooner than that, so unless there was a serious complication that haven't explained to you, I wouldn't let having had a c-section put you off a vaginal birth sooner. There are certainly midwives and consultants who will support it.

As for not dilating, it could be your waters went before your body was really ready (if there was a weakness somewhere or you did some activity that caused them to break prematurely), though that's pretty unlikely. What most likely happened is you were a bit too stressed and there was a bit too much poking and prodding that your oxytocin just shut down and your body wouldn't dilate more under those conditions. Oxytocin (which is what causes your cervix to dilate) gets switched off when your body produces adrenaline. So if you felt nervous, which you likely did if you had to go to A&E for a check, it would have halted dilation. It's your body's way of making sure you're somewhere safe to birth and helped our cavewoman ancestors to avoid danger and stop labour if there was a threat. For lots of people, it's much easier to relax and let your body dilate if you're at home, relaxing in your own bed, eating your own food, etc. in the early stages. You might just not be someone who can relax in a hospital environment and since you were in such an early stage of labour when you arrived, it probably just didn't work well for you. But don't dispair! It doesn't mean your body isn't made for labour, or that you can't have an easy, quick birth later on, you just might need to be much more attentive to making sure you're in the right conditions and somewhere you can really relax, let go and feel safe (even if you consciously thought you did!). That might mean being at home awhile longer or it might mean being at hospital but less disturbed or with less monitoring. Even the strongest drugs in the world can't override that oxytocin/adrenaline system, which is why so many inductions fail. So have faith! You'll likely be fine next time.

Congrats on your baby girl! Enjoy every minute. It's exhausting, but those early weeks go so fast.

Thanks for this. It could be ur right but I was not going to stay at home when I had lost my plug amd waters were leaking when they had not properly broken. There was no complication during surgery just 2 separate incidences of infections half of the wound opening and going septic and smelly within the first 6weeks. I just finished my last course of antibiotics the infection seems gone but I am due for a swab and they will assess whether to close up the wound in theatre or see if my body will close it naturally

 

[tristansmum]

Did they say why you have to wait three years to try naturally? My first I had to have a c section due to iugr, and it affected me really badly, I hated the experience. I was given the ok to try again at 6 months and fell pregnant that month. Just under 8 weeks ago I had a successful induced vbac.

They said it is mainly to allow the tissue time to heal and time for the scar to heal properly inside so as not to risk any internal bleeding or rupture when contracting and pushing during a vbac esp if the baby is not small

I have heard they prefer a year for healing but 3 seems a bit much! There is 2yrs and 7 months between my emcs and my vbac.

 

[Sweedot]

I have experience with this but, unlike you, I was given several different induction methods and eventually went into a productive dilating labour. I was admitted at 39+4 due to dangerously low fluid levels. I was given a folley bulb to dilate cervix and started on pitocin...same drip as you just different name. I had strong contractions and cervix dilated to four centimetres due to bulb, but after I came out, cervix shrunk back to 2 cm because of artificial dilation. They out the pitocin up to the max level for 12 hrs, I didn't dilate a cm. nex day I had the gel and again, pitocin, again, load of contractions no dilation. Day after had another gel insert and pitocin again, again nothing...the were pushing to c section by now. Midwife told me one last chance so was given citatec and pitocin overnight on the fourth day, finally lost my plug and started dilating. They had pitocin up full wack and labour went fast, dilated to 6 cm within three hours, then had epidural and pushed for an hour. Baby was under stress with decels and I was given oxygen. Doctor came I'm amd told me I had one last push then off for emergency c section. Pushed, third degree tear and got her out.

I just didn't respond well to induction or pitocin,it took a long, long time to get into labour,...much longer than what they tried ith you...I don't honestly understand where the correlation in the time frame is for you. If you have a baby within three years, I would push for a second opinion...and a vaginal birth. No one ever mentioned to me I would rquire a c section if induction was needed a second time.