VBAC info/support

[Mrs HM]

Mrs HM - How did they react when you refused consent? I'm not good at confrontation and was sort of zoned-out of what was happening around me last time I was in labour. I'm not sure I have it in me to put up much of a fight.

Well I had two meetings to discuss the VBAC before labour and they basically talked at me, telling me exactly what would happen...'we will induce you at 41 weeks, we will break your waters, we will need to monitor you and baby' etc. Instead of arguing at this point with a doctor and midwife who probably wouldn't be there when I went into labour I thought I'd just nod and keep my fight for when I needed it! I also didn't write a birth plan as I couldn't be bothered to argue about it, I just thought I'll be flexible and stand my ground as needed. I hate confrontation too!

When I got to the hospital in labour I was in too much pain and although I'm a people-pleaser by nature I didn't care what they said, I kept saying 'no I do not consent' lol. One midwife kept saying over and over that I had to have an IV and I had to have bloods taken and I just kept on saying no, I do not consent. By this time my contractions weren't letting up and even my DH (normally very reserved and quiet) told her to back off as I'd been clear to refuse the tests/IV.

I was quite worried that I came across as dramatic but they also refused me use of the pool, which I'd had approved at my first appointment, so at that stage I didn't give a flying monkey what they thought about me as I started demanding the birth I'd planned (albeit in my head!)

Get your birth partner to deal with any persistent hounding from the medical staff regarding tests etc- a simple 'she has made her feelings clear about that, now let's move on' would probably be enough I think.

 

[Mrs HM]

Thats great info thanks Mrs HM, that phrase is gonna be sticking in my head "no I dont consent" lol. Thats the only reason I am high risk too, I did have high BP and suspected pre-e last time but as long as there are no signs of it this time then having a previous CS is the only "risk".

Wow they dont give you long to progress then do they if they consider 1cm per hour.....it took me 16 hours last time and I thought that was good!!

That's what I thought and I was really worried that they would push for a cs if things slowed down so I waited until I couldn't stand the pain anymore before going in!

One more thing about CFM - you can always negotiate with the team to be monitored continously for a hour and then if nothing untoward is happening you could request regular monitoring with a doppler, say every 15mins, so that you can get up and move around. There really is no need to be strapped to the bed. It will not help you or your baby and has more drawbacks than benefits IMO.

 

[baileybubs]

My thoughts exactly, they are all for active births with everyone else so why strap vbac'ers to the bed and not allow them to move if they wish to just because it's easier than them doing doppler every 15 mins. I know it's more for their convienience coz last time I was left alone for long periods of time and they just kept coming in and checking the monitoring (I was induced last time).

 

[pushmug7]

hey there , popping in after reading most of the thread and its wonderful to read about succesful VBACs.
well im just 17 weeks with # 2 and i talked with my dr about vbac and hes letting me try..with DD1 4 years ago my waters broke while i was sleeping and contractions hit after an hour, i headed to the hospital and baby was waay high and i was 0 cm..after 24 hours contractions started to get stronger but baby was way up and just 2 cm dilated another 4 hours laater at 3 cm everyone gave in including me and dr and everyone including mom and DH pushed me to get a cs
i was put to sleep and woke up with scar that i will dread forever.
i feel cheated and i feel i should have known better , i was uneducated and dint do any sort of research about the subject . naive as i was i thought i would just give birth in 6 hours or 8 hours like everyone else .
anyways , this time im hoping for a natural birth and looking for support since im not getting it from any of my family members (except dh, hes on board) .
but im so nervous my waters will break before contraction this time too (PROM)
and after intense research im starting to beleive that it was probably the reason why i was in a very slow labor.
anyone had their waters break before contractions kicked in and had it happen again with the next pregnancy ???

 

[baileybubs]

I cant help you with the waters breaking pushmug as I was induced but I dont think its something that would definately happen again for you.

 

[pinksmarties]

Hi push mug, I can't help you with the prom either but I don't think it will necessarily happen again. I wonder why you were put to sleep rather than had a spinal if it was simple failure to progress? Its easy to feel cheated and 'uneducated' especially after reading up on things this time, I was angry about my last birth once I rad up on things but eventually I have realised things went as they did and have accepted it and I won't let things happen again without really asking questions this time. I feel a lot and am looking forward to my vbac.

 

[lauraclili]

I had PROM and then 5 days of useless contractions before CS the first time.


This time, I had some prodromal labour then my waters went in a trickle and contractions started. I got my VBAC after 3 days of labour (it's getting better!)

I, too, felt uneducated and a powerless part of my birth process. My VBAC wasn't perfect but it was so healing after the trauma of the first birth.

Happy to chat if you'd like.

I have subsequently read that vitamin C is very helpful in women who have PROM. Might be worth some research?

xx

 

[pushmug7]

thanks ladies , yes, i read about the vitamin c ... im hoping for a vbac this time too,my problem is that my mom and sister and husband dont want me to stay and labor at home for a while after waters break bec they are so afraid i might die or something and i dont want to go to the hospital bec im sure if i go the minute my water breaks ill be timed. so now im freaked out and feel i have to run to the hospital as soon as anything happens.

 

[lauraclili]

Do your research and don't let anyone put anything up there! (Speculums, hands etc.) as this will increase your infection risk. Otherwise, research to allow yourself to take control of your birth! After all, it is your birth experience and your babies birth. It has little to do with other people and if they are giving you negativity then suggest they do some more research themselves to be able to support you better.

xx

 

[Mrs HM]

thanks ladies , yes, i read about the vitamin c ... im hoping for a vbac this time too,my problem is that my mom and sister and husband dont want me to stay and labor at home for a while after waters break bec they are so afraid i might die or something and i dont want to go to the hospital bec im sure if i go the minute my water breaks ill be timed. so now im freaked out and feel i have to run to the hospital as soon as anything happens.

I had a vbac two months ago (my birth story is linked to my signature if you want details) but I had contractions building for hours at home throughout the day and into the night, and only went to hopsital once my waters broke and the pain became too much. I was alone with my DS most of the day, and didn't tell my DH about the contractions until they were every 10min. Maybe if your labour starts calmly you could keep it to yourslef for a while to delay going in? I'm certain staying away from the hospital as long as I did helped so much...the baby was coming and all the worries I had about failure to progress no longer mattered!

 

[c1403]

Hello All
I haven't read the majority of this post as I am on a very frustrating mobile. I am currently 35 weeks pregnant with Dd2 (I had Dd1 September 12 by EMCS)
I am planning to have a VBAC this time round, I've only had one meeting with a consultant who said this wouldn't be an issue and basically said he would see me at 41week's if I hadn't had her by then.
My EMCS was quite traumatic, my Labour slowed and baby was in distress. Immediate recovery after the op lead to me ending up back in theatre again (thought I was bleeding internally, fortunately I wasn't) I then caught a nasty infection and spent time on hdu meaning I didn't get to see my girl for 24hrs.
Any of you successful VBAC ladies able to let me know what to expect this time round? Apparently I'll be more closely more monitored but they haven't really said how? Anything I should be asking for?
I am not disappointed my first birth ended in CS as the safe arrival of Dd1was most important, I just would love to avoid it again but I'm worries about what to expect.
Thanks Ladies, will have a good read of the thread when I can

 

[baileybubs]

Hi hun, I had a successful vbac 3 weeks ago after EMCS last year with dd.

Basically for monitoring they like you to go in hospital as soon as labour begins rather than labouring at home for a while, and then once you get there they will put the sensors on your bump to get a constant reading of baby's heartrate. Thankfully my hospital had wireless sensors which meant I could still move around a bit but if your hospital doesn't this usually means you are stuck on and around the bed.

Those were the only differences for me, I did have a MW with me throughout the whole thing but that was probably because I went from 2cm to 10cm in an hour and a half rather than coz I was vbac lol!

Good luck Hun, I hope you get your vbac!

 

[c1403]

Just to update...I got my VBAC.

What I would say to anyone is to try and keep up and moving where possible.

I had a short 12 hour labour that wasn't progressing well at first. My baby was being naughty so I had to be on my left side hooked to monitors for 3-4 hours. I ended up so stiff and getting through the contractions was horrible I begged them to take me off to walk around as I knew if I kept like this my chances of VBAC would be slim. I walked around the bed, standing up through my contractions and then things sped up very quickly. I was begging for an epidural at 7cm as I didnt think I could do it (this would have also slowed things down) and within the next 10 minutes I was pushing my little one out and she was in my arms.

Totally different experience to my first birth and EMCS. I was in the shower within half an our after my stitches (ok I had a tear that I didn't notice and stitches hurt a little) and was home the next day. I am doing so much better mentally this time round also, breastfeeding is going so well and I am so grateful I had the birth experience I wanted.

Good luck to anyone else and I hope you all get the birth you want

 

[pushmug7]

congratulations to all the momas who got their vbacs , im slowly approaching finish line and so afraid of going overdue and have to get induced i go for walks everyday and try to be active as much as possible
DD1 came early , my hind waters broke and contractions started soon after at 37 weeks , do you think it will be the same this time around too ?
iv read alot about castor oil and EPO but im so afraid of trying anything new. did anyone try and did it work with any of you ? sorry too much questions

 

[the why bird]

I had my VBAC on Sept 2nd. Went into labour naturally after almost giving up hope at nine days overdue. Started contractions in the night but they stayed pretty far apart and very manageable for hours. I knew this was it though, so called my mum to come and take my daughter to nursery and went in to get checked. They had me lie in bed on a monitor for an hour in triage to get a base reading - wasn't too bad at this point because the contractions really slowed down when I was lying down. Got checked and was already five cm which I was thrilled about.

Went into delivery and met my fabulous midwife who I could tell had read my birth plan and was totally on my side. She got me on "wireless" monitors - bit of a misnomer because although I didn't have to be attached to the main machine, they still had loooong cables attached to a battery pack I wore round my neck like a handbag and were a bit of a tripping hazard. But at least I could shuffle around and go to the loo without someone needing to unhook me.

I stayed on my feet most of the time which kept the contractions coming nice and fast. I did have back labour again, even though this baby wasn't back to back, so that's possibly more to do with my body. I had gas and air and one shot of pethidine when the back pain got bad, and spent some time kneeling up over the back of the bed when I got tired.

I started to feel like I wasn't coping very well so I asked if an epidural was still an option - at the back of my mind I knew this feeling probably meant I was in transition but didn't let myself believe it because I didn't want to get my hopes up! She checked and I was nine and a half cm and my waters popped. Suddenly there was massive pressure and my body was pushing by itself which was both incredible and scary because I was totally not in control of it. So no epidural for me.

Pushed for about 1.5hrs and I did have an episiotomy. I wasn't pushed into it - she said she understood I wanted to avoid it. The concern was that as a VBAC the doctor didn't want me pushing too long, and the Dr would have been pressing for an assisted delivery, so at that point it seemed worth the try. He was out in a few pushes after that. I felt like he'd have been out faster if I was able to do longer pushes, but my body was doing it's own thing. This was the weirdest feeling - even though I pushed with my daughter I never felt the urge because she was badly positioned, so it caught me off guard.

Stitches were uncomfortable while they were being done but for the most part I felt fantastic, had a bath and was home within 4 hours of giving birth! And I felt healed after about 2 weeks. I was so much less exhausted than after my long labour/c section/hospital stay which is great.

So glad I went for it. The consultant had me worried but the midwife on the day was so much more relaxed and incredibly supportive (I had the same one right through, but others that came in and out occasionally to help were all really friendly and supportive too).

 

[baileybubs]

Pushmug - don't give up hope, I went 11 days overdue and also didn't want to be induced (was induced with dd and ended in EMCS). But my body was just taking ages to get itself going it seemed! I actually went in for them to break my waters as I had been 2-3cm dilated for almost 2 weeks and had experienced some contractions on and off which had faded. Once they broke my waters I went straight into labour and within 1 and a half hours I was fully dilated and pushing! 3 and a half hours after they broke my waters my son arrived via forceps (think it would have been even shorter if he hadn't been back to back and got stuck!). I tried everything and nothing helped get labour going but if you do go overdue it's worth seeing if they can just break your water if you are already dilating by then.
Good luck!!

And congratulations to all the other mums who got their vbacs!

 

[pushmug7]

Any ladies had their vbacs after first C/S due to faliure to descend ????
my water broke before cotraction 3 weeks earier than DDate and i guess baby wasnt ready at all ...im so afraid this will happen again

 

[Charliemarina]

hey ladies, im not sure if this thread is used much but i love it

im considering a VBA3CS and would love to hear from any ladies that have achieved this, im in the UK so my OB's are very much against it, but when i go in on monday armed with more odds and facts that they dont even know they may consider actually listening and not trying to scaremonger me

 

[MissFox]

Good luck the hospital I had my VBAC at used to go for vba2c but now they "don't allow vbacs" for insurance reasons. Though when I met with my ob she said that I just have to go into labor and refuse a section and sign some papers and they woul let me

 

[Kalabear]

Hi ladies! I'm in the U.S. and hoping for a vbac. I have to meet with my surgeon for a consultation in a couple weeks. My dr said we have to wait and see what my surgeon says but he thinks I'm a good candidate.

What should I expect at the consultation?
I had a c/s due to breech presentation and have never had a vaginal birth. My dr says that puts me in the middle for risk for our hospital.