I'm Very Upset, My Dr Wants to Schedule a C-section.

I would be very upset if that is why my dr told me! I really have no advise i just wanted to wish you the best!

M.
www.143kids.com

I do know that it can be pretty dangerous to induce if you've had a c section.

Why do you need to make this decision already? You're not over due, why not give yourself the full 41 week? Do you know in France they don't even consider you due until 40 weeks?

This advice is for every woman facing a doctor's decision she doesn't like. Ask the following questions:

Is this an emergency or do we have time to talk.

What are the benefits of doing this?

What are the risks of doing this?

What are the alternatives?

What is my instinct telling me?

What would happen if we did nothing? What if we wait an hour? A day?

Ladies, give yourself time to think and do not be bullied. Sometimes schedules are just for the convenience of docs.

Hi M.,

I'm not sure that this will help you, but I can certainly relate...I have a 3 year old who was an emergency c-section and now I'm 27 weeks pregnant with my 2nd and want to do a VBAC. I've talked to my OB and also several other OBs in the practice and the doc who did my 20 week ultrasound, plus I've read a lot on the subject. My OB seems to concer with yours.... if they have to induce, that's when the complications arise. So like you, I'm hoping to go into labor on my own this time (I had to be induced with the 1st due to high blood pressure...), but if I don't, I know we're not going to induce... it will be a scheduled c-section. The recovery was horrible for me with the 1st c-section, so I'm also terrified of going through another. But I also now know better than to think that everything is magically going to be smooth-sailing and I feel much more prepared if that does happen since I know what to expect this time. Even if you tried to see a midwife, since you've already had a c-section, I doubt they would want to take you. I talked to our family doctor at the beginning of this 2nd pregnancy and she advised me to stick with my highly recommended OB since I've already had one complicated delivery. I think you should try to relax, let things happen as they will... And feel lucky that you were able to have 2 VBACs already! that's amazing : ) Good luck!

M.,
You are in charge of your own Body if the Dr wants you to have a C-section and you don't agree schedule it put for two weeks after your due date.
I have had 3 c's two emergency and one schedule. I did trust my instincts with the last c. It sounds as though your doc is being sued right now and won't take any "chances" but you are in charge of your own body. Your young presumably healthy and strong. I hope you do right is right for you not a dr.

J. O
I have five kids too.

My girlfriend was in the same situation. Her youngest is 17 and her newborn is 6 weeks. She travelled from Plainfield to Chicago so that she could have a VBAC. She was not induced but the doctors in the area told her the same thing your doctor is telling you. If you want to travel to Chicago, let me know and I'll find out the name of her doctor. Her doctor was the only one that would take the risk.

M.
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I work in L & D and it is true that it is a little more dangerous to induce a woman with a prior c-section. So what should not be used is cervidil or cytotec (two medications in the prostaglandin family). These are typically used to ripen the cervix prior to induction with pitocin. They are absolutely not supposed to be used in women with a prior section. Now, we fairly often gave VBAC moms pitocin in several hospitals I have worked with. It must be used judiciously (which it should be for every woman VBAC or not and isn't always ;( ) but it can be succesful. Most often we do this with women who are already in labor and not inductions, but some practices do induce VBAC patients with low-dose pitocin. Also, if you are at least 2-3 cm dilated it is possible for your doctor to jumpstart your labor by breaking your water. Castor oil is another natural induction option that is supposed ot be pretty effective (worked for me). Also, unless there is another concern, there is NO issue with a VBAC patient going overdue. I was at a lecture by the Chief of OB at the University of Illinois recently and I asked her that specific question- most doctors just pick a random day to perform a section if a woman has not delivered. There is no medical evidence to back up this practice. At 42+ weeks the risk of stillbirth is greater for all women, nothing to do with VBAC.

To be honest, I would consider finding another doctor. Your doctor has just shown you that her preference is for you to have a c-section. I am not familiar with doctors in the area but I do know several midwifery practices doing hospital VBACs (with OB backups for sections, of course). If you would like their info please let me know. Many doctors SAY they do VBACs,then section for any little reason in labor, so they never intended to do the VBAC in the first place, so be careful. Ask them about their success rates.

If you decide to stick with your current doc- ask her those questions about other methods of induction, why/when she would want to schedule a section and what her logic is. Do not allow her to say she "thinks" or "believes" ask her for scientific evidence to back up her claims.

Good luck and remember that she is not looking out for your best interest or the best interest of the baby, so please do not feel bad about finding a new doctor or questioning her practices.

I was planning a VBAC for my second child and my doc initially said she wanted to schedule a cs in case I did not go into labor on my own (my first was 4 days late but they started "intervening" 2 days after my due date). She was against induction but then (I believe after consulting with the other docs in the practice) decided to schedule an induction at 42 weeks. I know it sounds weird but I actually think she did it to help me "psychologically" since we all know labor is affected by our state of mind. Knowing that I was not scheduled for a cs was helpful for me as it was a horrible experience having one (my 1st son suffered a stroke and was in the NICU for 5 days). Since my 2nd son was in no hurry to make his appearance I did go in for an acupuncture induction and had my doc rub evening primrose oil on my cervix. Now, this was my 1st experience with acupunture but I have to say that I went into labor that afternoon into evening and my son was born the next morning, 12 days late! Hang in there mama, you and your soon to arrive baby will go into labor naturally and be perfectly fine.

I did a lot of reading about gestational development with my last pregnancy (twins), and what I found astonished me.

NO. 1 - 40 weeks is an 'average' GUESS for gestation - that doesn't even mean that 50% of women gestate for 40 weeks, it only means that western medicine picked 40 weeks to use as the gage for determining the stages of pregnancy.

NO. 2 - it's documented that up to 10% of women have a 50 week gestation.....and, no two women are alike.

NO. 3 - since you've delivered 2 vaginal births already, there's no reason to rush into a C-section or even schedule one for that matter. What's the magic number for your doc? 40.5, 41, 42, 43, nature doesn't work that way, as medlesome as that is to the medical community..as long as the placenta is holding up and you're doing okay, your babe is okay.

NO. 4 - if there is concern, consent to stress tests and ultrasounds done every day or every other day after 41 weeks - or whatever your doc recommends - to ensure the heartbeat is strong and there's no concern.

Don't be shy about talking to your doctor about your reservations. Bring your husband with you for support or your mother or best friend (sometimes women are much better at this because they've been through it & we get really protective of other mommies!).

You should have another appointment for 39 weeks already scheduled. USE IT to resolve the issue. Bottom line, you can always be taken from labor and delivery into the surgery room, should the need arise. If pre-scheduling the posibility of a c-section is upsetting you, then don't do it. You won't be turned down from having one because it wasn't on the calendar for that day...

GOOD LUCK!!!!!

Oh, I bet you are so frusterated. I have never had a c-section of my own, but have been at many vbacs for my clients. I am a labor doula. One of my clients went into labor on her own, but when it did not progress like they wanted it to, they did give her pitocin. I am sorry this is happening to you. There are some things that you can try and do to help yourself go into labor naturally. If you want some help with this and information, let me know and I will be glad to help you out.

S. Bailey CLD
Aurora
www.tendermomentsdoula.com

M.,

I was in the same boat as you 5 months ago. I had a section with my first son. Retrospectively, I know this was needless. When I got pregnant with my second son I knew right away that I wanted a VBAC and was very upfront with my doctor from the first appt. (I had gone to nursing school in between my two boys and had done all my research on the matter) All along he said this was fine as long as I had no other complications, which I never did. I knew my exact conception date and therefore his due date. At my 38 week appt my doctor wanted me to schedule a section to have the OR reserved, which I did to please him. At my 39 week appt. he said that he had "forgotten" to schedule it and now I would have to have my section the day before I was even due. This was also all before Thanksgiving and I think he was trying to prevent himself from being called in during the holiday. Case in point- doctors often have their own schedule in mind. Since I was adamant against the section I researched ways to induce on my own. The safest result I found was accupuncture. I had it done on a Thursday afternoon, for 3 hours, and Saturday morning I went into labor. Now they did give me a small dose of pitocin about halfway through to get me over the hump I had settled into, but I was not induced initially. At 5:45pm my baby boy was born and I felt to accomplished.

The long point I'm trying to make is that if you don't want a section, and there is no medical need for one, stick it out. They can't force you into the OR against your will. Tell your doc you will do the non stress test daily to make sure the baby is doing well. Hopefully that will get her off your back. Best of luck for a healthy and happy baby and mommy.

P.S. My doc was not on call the day I went into labor so I had a colleague of his. She was great and I will be switching to her for my next pregnancy. Maybe switching to someopne else in the same practice would work for you too.

I had my boys 12 and 14 years ago, but still wanted to chime in here. My first was "emergency" c-section after 28 hours of labor when they decided his head was too big for me to deliver. Why it took 28 hours to figure that out, I will never know. My second boy was born 13 months later. My doctor scheduled me for inducement for vaginal birth at right around what his due date should have been. AT the time, they were big on being able to deliver after c-section, and they wanted the baby to come at the right time so he would not get so big. Looking back now it seems like all of this was strange reasoning and I feel like I was part of an experiment or something. I wish I had not done it. I was induced and my son was born, but he was not ready. He was of normal weight and was perfectly fine, but this child had no fat developed on him yet. His ankles were so thin the skin bagged around them. He could not even keep the littlest of socks on. He also had a lot of feeding problems. He could not breast feed. He could not keep food down and ended up on soy formula which he spat up too, just not as bad. He is a perfectly healthy and fine boy now, but he was like a little baby bird when he was born. I would do both hospital and delivery experiences over if I could, having hindsight. I don't want to scare you or anything but just wanted to share my experience. Sometimes doctors do not know best.

I am due with #2 in August and had a breech/C-section with #1. My doctor also said that they would not induce me. That being said I think 38 weeks is a little premature to be discussing induction. I would voice your concern and say you can revisit the topic again at 40 weeks. I have heard that term babies are born any where from 37-42 weeks so why are doctors so hopped up to cut woman so early. As long as your fluids are not low and that baby isn't stressed you should be allowed to carry past 40 weeks. The doctor can't make you do anything. So in the time being walk a lot, have sex, and do all those great things that can jump start labor!! Good luck and way to stick to your beliefs!!!!

M.,

If you are upset, you should talk to your doctor. Call the office and tell them that at your next weekly, you'd like to make sure you have some extra time to talk. I realize that you should have that time automatically, but I think if you call ahead it is respectful of their time.

Some one posted here with a list of questions - awesome things to ask yourself and/or your doctor. Bring the list with you if you have "pregnancy-brain".

I'm surprised by how many posts come up where people are uncomfortable with their OB/GYN. Personally, my doctors were great. I had ONE issue where I felt that I was dismissed, but it was taken care of. (I was also at the end of my AUGUST pregnancy!) Overall, I was so comfortable with the care I was given. At the end of my last pregnancy I got pre-eclampsia and had to kinda be induced (I went in on my own, actually and used almost no pitocin). But, the whole time I had total faith in my doctor. I guess some may say I was wrong to have that much faith and to not question, but I just felt that they really were looking out for my (and my baby's) well-being.

I'm not trying to dismiss your anger, fear, frustration in ANY way. I really think you should just talk to your doctor. Maybe she will be able to offer you some reasons for her decision that will make you more comfortable with the choice.

In the meantime, have lotsa sex, take some walks and wash the floor on your hands and knees. Maybe you can jump start your labor. ;)

Good luck and I hope everything works out well.

One more thing...about the malpractice thing. I don't know what is or isn't covered by the policy, but here in IL OB/GYN's have (or had) HUGE malpractice insurance premiums. It wasn't unheard of for them to have premiums over $200,000 a year for the insurance. I don't know how that is now, but I'm sure that doctor's are scared to death of doing something that may be considered risky, having something go wrong, get sued and then have their costs go up even more. It's a vicious circle and I'm sure something that all of our doctor's worry about it daily. Just a thought.

I've never had a c-section but have plenty of friends who were pushed or coerced into having one.

I agree with whoever gave the points about gestation, etc. My daughter was born at 43 weeks and my doctor at that time was ready to induce/section me at 40.5 weeks. I absolutely refused. My son was born at 10 days late and my doctor was completely fine with it.

Your baby will come when it's time. I also feel that 38 weeks is too early to discuss c-sections. Sit down and talk with your husband and decide between you two (not you and your doctor) what circumstances would be acceptable for you to have another c-section. Then talk with your doctor.

I would also advise reading the book "Pushed" by Jennifer Block.

Walk as much as possible, lots of sex, and do some relaxation techniques (when you're stressed, the muslces tense which can actually hold off labor).

The reasons doctors give for c-sections are usually selfish to them. Besides, doctors are trained in "worst case scenarios"...most healthy pregnant women do not fit into that category and would be better off delivering with a midwife.

Good luck!

I did use a mid-wife with each of my 2nd and 3rd children because they were VBACs. I knew they would feel differently. I was induced (with minimal pitocin) but told me if it didn't do the trick that I was in the hands of the doctor the next day for a C-section. Fortunately it worked like a charm. I know the doctors feel strongly about this right now...but to me the risks of a surgery outweigh any risks of uterine rupture. I'm not sure you can do anything right now except hope to go into labor soon so they don't schedule you!

Hi M.,

I have had two c-sections, trying to get pregnant again and I know it will be another c-section. Just remember your goal and your dr's goal is to have a healthy and safe mom and baby.

If you dr. thinks you need a c-section, I would listen to her/him. You don't want any complications and you certainly don't want an emergency c-section.

I was induced with my first, spent over 10 hours trying to push his head out. I begged and pleaded with the dr. to keep letting me try, finally I realized it wasn't going to happen. I HATED being induced- It was painful and not an easy way to go. The c-section was less painful then the induced contractions!

My second child my water broke on it's own and I had nice slow gradual contractions- I eventually needed another c-section, but I knew that was coming.

Remember- You want a healthy baby- and you want a healthy you! The recovery from a vaginal vs. c-section is still tough-either way you will need to take it easy for a little while.

Everything will be fine- C-sec or vaginal- Either way you will be meeting your baby soon! I wish you all the best!

:)
MV

M.,
I would be upset too. I am also due on the 10th of May and all I can do is give you my midwife's name and number and maybe you could talk to her and see what she says. Let me know if you decide to call.
I definetely would get more opinions, I know you don't have that much time left, but I guess you have to do what you have to do...
And maybe having this much stress would make you go into labor early :-))))???
But seriously I would go and get more opinions before you go with what your doctor says cause it just doesn't sound right...
And last but not least midwifes are 100 % better than the doctors, trust me...
Leyla