Considering VBAC....need some input

[melissan_n_damien]

I am not pregnant and dont plan to be for a little while, but I do have a question that has bothered me since the day DS was born.
I ended up being induced, had 12 hrs of labor, 4 hrs of pushing and still had to have a C section. After going through active labor I have decided that it *may* be best to just have a c section again. I am wondering how many of you have had a successful VBAC or is just safer to have another c section. Thanks in advance for any help

[LadyEo]

Hi,

I can tell you about my experience. I had a c-section with my first, 16 hours or labor and never even got to pushing. Stopped dilating at 9, stayed at 9 for at least 7 hours. I did a lot of research about VBAC too. It may be slightly safer to have another c-section but it isn't very much. It all depends on the details of your first c-section. There are definite risks accompanying major surgery too.

I have also read that recovery is easier and quicker with a vaginal birth. You may want to look into what your doctor/hospital would do for a vbac procedure. Mine said I would be on almost continual INTERNAL monitoring as a vbac patient. That will severely affect the way I labor.

I did a lot of reading and was still uneasy about going through a vbac. I finally decided that if I was that uptight about a vbac, I was worried about the very slight chance for rupture, and could not make up my mind to do it, I probably would not have a good labor with a vbac. I sceduled a repeat c-section.

I don't necessarily reccomnd this for anyone else. What I would say is to read a lot, talk to a lot of people (like here:)), and do what is best for you and baby.

Good luck!

[huntergirl]

VBAC statistics and procedures vary greatly depending on where you live, and who your provider is. Rural hospitals that don't have an anesthesiologist on staff 24/7 are more likely to have a lower VBAC rate, whereas overcrowded inner-city hospitals are also more likely to have a lower VBAC rate because they don't want to encourage anything that keeps patients in labor rooms longer, like natural labors. Midwives are more likely to have a higher rate than OBs, because they believe in natural birth and actually support the laboring woman rather than showing up to "catch" the baby.

Do research not only on VBAC itself, but also on what's happening in your area, and use this time to find a care provider who will support you in what's right for you. Good luck!

[tina & bean]

I have never had a c-section, but I have taught VBAC couples and assisted their births. As the lady above mentioned, your labor and birth may not be the labor and birth of your choice if you have no choices of birth place. While I have never attended a VBAC homebirth, I recently had the overwhelming joy of assisting a birthcenter VBAC waterbirth. It was beautiful. The couple was able to labor in the way that was right for them. No monitors, wires, restrictions, etc. Just a watchfull eye of a midwife, periodic checks of the baby's heartbeat with a dopplar, and a heplock in place "just in case" ( the heplock fell out soon after secondstage began and dad handed it to me to hide. The nurse noticed it in the sink and smiled, knowing that this was not an emergency situation, but a calm quiet victory for all involved.) It was not easy. Mom was in labor for over 48 hours (not all of which was active)and she had given up at one point and asked to be transfered to the hospial. But shortly after that, she got back in the tub on her knees and moved her hips from side to side until she was past a painful cervical lip that was holding things up. After that- whoosh! She pushed for no more then 20 minutes and was soon nursing her new baby boy in a warm tub with an amazing radience to her. I'm sure she would have had another section in the hospital, which for some may have been worth it. But this mom, who worked so hard, was transformed by her expierence. It was magic.

[miche]

I was induced with my first. I labored for 13 hours on high doses of pitocin and only progressed 1 cm (from 3 to 4 and that was during the first hour).

With my second I planned a vbac all the way. You can read my journal and birth story in the link in my signature. I had 26+ hours of active labor, but I pushed for only 25 mins half of which I was pushing the wrong way (into my pubic bone). Once I started pushing correctly he almost flew out :) I had been diagnosed with CPD/FTP. Obviously that was wrong! My second baby was 8lb 6.5oz (my first was 9lb 15oz), but my vbac baby had a larger head than my c-section baby.

I personally feel that vbac was safer for me by far, especially because I plan to have more children. The risks of complications in future pregnancies and deliveries from more uterine surgeries far outweighs the risk of rupture during a vbac attempt. I also did a lot of research and believe vbac to be much safer for mom and baby. Labor itself has a lot of benefits to baby even if you end up with a c-section.

This is a decision you need to reach with careful thought, but please don't allow fears to make it for you. You do have a 70-80% chance of having a successful vbac! That is a conservative estimate. Depending on your care provider and delivery options that can be even better. I had planned to go with a midwife whose patients had a 96% vbac rate! Only one vbac attempt ended in a c-section!

Please check out our vbac cubby as well. There are links to personal stories, articles and lots of other informative websites - including information on how to design a birth plan for an emergency or planned repeat cesarean. That link is in my signature as well.

Good luck!

[Andrea_G]

I would suggest you get your medical records and get to the bottom of just why the c-section in the first place. Look into how what happened during the course of your labor that might have attributed to the section.

Were you induced? Augmented? Did you have freedom of movement? Did you have any pain medication? What position(s) did you push in? All of these interventions can contribute to the eventual necessity of a cesarean. IF so, maybe your body wasn't given a fair shake at an opportunity to delivery vaginally.

But to come to some sort of knowledge and then decide which way you want to go - cesarean vs. vaginal is a difficult decision. Both have risks. You also need to be aware of how many children you want in the future as more cesareans increase risk of future pregnancies, whether you plan future vaginal births or not.

Best Wishes!

[Celia]

Originally posted by melissan_n_damien
I am wondering how many of you have had a successful VBAC or is just safer to have another c section. Thanks in advance for any help

I prepared in every way for a VBAC (lots and lots of reading & soul-searching) but did have my baby by c-section. Please read his birth story (http://www.storknet.com/stories/fox_peterson.html). I had what's lately referred to as a successful EBAC ("Empowered Birth After C-Section"). We call it that because when you have a c-section under these circumstances after preparing so carefully for a natural birth and covering all of your bases, you are left with empowering freedom from second-guesses and "what-ifs."

I did all that preparation because I came to understand through my reading, etc. that an deliberate focus towards a VBAC was the best and safest choice for me and my baby. That's an understanding that each woman must <u>arrive</u> at for herself. The key word there is "arrive" because in order to arrive somewhere, you must first travel. You need to do the travelling (the reading, the soul-searching, etc.) before you can really decide which direction you want to go.

Happy travelling! :)