Vbac - Lindenhurst,NY

I think you should go for it. I've just researched it and am also going for VBAC in a few weeks. Just a word of advice: don't watch frontal vaginal birthing clips on utube. I did this today and am almost ready to keep my scheduled C. LOL.

My size 0 friend had a 10-pound baby. Another 4'10" friend has had 4 babies all over 9 pounds. There's no reason to have a c-section out of fear of size, you just never know what your body can do until you try. I'm sorry your old doctor made you feel like it was even an option, let alone a good choice:(
Your co-worker is right, VBACs AREN'T that risky. ACOG just published a new statement saying that doctors and hospitals should make VBAC an option for women because they ARE safe. Actually, the death rate is lower with VBAC both for mothers and babies. Here's the press release:
http://www.acog.org/from_home/publications/press_releases...

Surgery is always risky. VBAC has it's risks, but there are safe ways to go about it. The risk of rupture is low with the right previous incision, which I assume you have if your doc says it's an option. And the VERY SAFEST way to do it is naturally so that you feel it if there is a rupture. Otherwise, you're drugged and oblivious to the rupture until a nurse watching a computer output of a monitor catches that the baby's hear rate has dropped.

Check out http://vbacfacts.com/ and http://www.ican-online.org/ and see if you have a local ICAN chapter where you can talk to other women who had c-sections.

Good Luck with your pregnancy and birth:)

Hi D. - I used to wonder why VBACers were such fanatics ;) and then I had mine. It has changed my life. Until you do a VBAC you don't realise how much a C *sucks* :) Honestly.
As for the unknown part - I was there myself. But I took a hypnobirthing class that completely changed my outlook on pregnancy and birth. This is a natural process and the climate of fear that surrounds birth in developed nations and among the global middle class is a little ridiculous.
So here's the skinny. I had to go unmedicated since I am insensitive to the epi. I also pushed for 4 hours because my little one's shoulder was stuck. Ok so for as long as I was in a tub of water, life was intense but pretty good. The moment we pulled into the hospital with the baby crowning all hell broke loose for me. I was yelling for a C after 3 hours of pushing (the pain was intense for me) - but honestly I owe my OB my life (really!) for looking me straight in the face and saying - look at me! you are going to have this baby, and we are going to do it vaginally!
I pushed for 4h, my baby's shoulder was stuck, but I delivered and I did not have a single tear! Post partum was a breeze. And the only way I could afford to have it go, since I had a 2 year old at home to take care of in addition to the new baby. Post partum I felt like a million bucks since your body just naturally does its thing to heal and you are gaining strength and feeling good almost immediately.
As for my baby - same experience as another mother's on this thread - she gained 6 ounces within 2 days. I birthed her, cradled her, nursed her, and stayed up all night chatting, cuddling, nursing ...the most magical moments of my life. I walked out of the hospital the next day baby in tow, feeling truly awesome.

A C section is major abdominal surgery. The risks of uterine rupture are vanishingly small. They were so small that it was a bit of a joke that it had to be mentioned at all. Interestingly, the form they have your fill out when you opt for a VBAC will list all the risks associated with a C section....something I never recall being offered when they whisked me into the OR, placed me under General Anaesthesia and carved out my breech baby girl...hmmm,,

Remove all fear. Your baby and body will thank you for giving it a chance to do what it "knows" to do naturally. This for me was one of the most profound experiences I have gone through. It also helped me purge the sadness I felt that I never knew I was carrying around since the birth of my first through a C. (Sorry for the choppiness of this response..I am very sleep deprived..:))

Hi D.,
I'd just like to reiterate what Sarah D. said. The risk of uterine rupture is very low, less than 1%. (Fatal) maternal outcome is actually higher for cesarean than it is for VBAC! For some reason we tend to think that it's not a big deal, but it is major abdominal surgery. I think doctors are afraid they will get sued if a woman has a rupture but if they do an emergency cesarean, with a negative outcome, then they 'did all they could' and then they are seen as a hero. The recovery is much harder and longer, and remember you will also be caring for another, more active, child this time around.

I was also going to post the article about the new guidelines ACOG has just published. This is great news! Try to focus on the power of your body to birth a baby naturally, and not focus on the fear that some of your family or friends or doctors will impose upon you, or even that fear in yourself that will naturally arise. You can do this!

Join up with your local ICAN chapter, read books, BELIEVE IN YOUR BODY. I just had a VBAC and it was so awesome! I actually started laughing when the head was born because I did it! [1st baby was a posterior boy with meconium and after 5 hours of pushing (at home with no drugs using hypnosis as pain management) we transferred to the hospital for a cesarean.]

I say explore your options, you will know what is right for you. Find a supportive doctor, bring the new info from ACOG to discuss. Ask questions, educate your husband, read studies and share them with him. Read VBAC birth stories. Here is a good site to check out. http://www.pregnancybirthandbabies.com/vbac%20stories.htm

Also, GET A DOULA!!! It's money well spent. Your husband will thank you too. Check out Hypnobabies too - it works!! I guess I'm a bit of a VBAC-tivist so please don't be offended if I sound extreme. I mostly just think women need to know that they do have some control of their births and that it is important to do your homework to discover what you are comfortable with so you have no regrets when it's all said and done. Wishing you a healthy and easy pregnancy and a blissful birth. Good luck and congrats!
K.

I have been in your shoes somewhat..my first child was a c-section but not by choice. She wasn't tolerating labor and we were wisked into the emergency c-section category...not fun. But I have since gone on to have 6 VBACs with no complications. Your best bet is to educate yourself. You need to first decide what you want and then find the best way to get it. I have found that a VBAC is most successful if you have a supportive doctor and family. Then the rest is up to you. Yes, your most successful chances are if you don't induce labor, so if you aren't patient enough to wait possibly clear until your due date, then this might not be the best way to go. Once you have made your choice then move forward and don't let other sway you. Good luck. If you have more questions I would be happy to answer them, just message me.
J.--SAHM of 7

After I have a very bad experience with my C-section.
I decide to educate my self and found about the pros and cons of a VBAC.
While in my search I found an amazing group I-Can from yahoo.
I also found out that VBAC risk are not as high as many people think (more likly people that haven't really spend a LOT of time looking about it)
Every operation has a risk, "everyone", a C-section is actually cutting skin, muscles, nerves.
However, C-section is a good business, they are done fast, they cost more and they don't get in the middle of the plans of your doctor.
Natural birth sometimes take a longtime, time that the hospital is having you there, time that your doctor can go and all of this for cheaper then a C-section.
After LOTS, and I mean it, lost of research I decide to attempt to VBAC, my doctor told me I was going to die, that I was going to tear.
I was so glad I also have another amazing doctor (that have been longer in the "business") and he explain me that if it is true that some woman are not as legible to VBAC, there are other that do (having big babies is NOT a reason to C-section).
We both were also open to the possibility that even if we wanted it can all change and I would need a C-section and I was ok with that too.
But I did it!
And I can't explain you how amazing it was (and no really painful like I thought it would be). Recovery was amazing fast, but the best of all was be able to breastfeed my baby right away, to hold her tight and count her toes and fingers.
I never had to take pain medications after that and I never had to hold my tummy every time I have to get up like I did with my C-section.
In my own experience, I would do again, but the key of my succes I think it was that I educate my self, and my family and doctor were with me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TZyTH3-R2o
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roFVkDV45MM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7E-wULAaD50&feature=re...

My friend just delivered a healthy 10 POUND baby boy on Wednesday, a VBAC! (Her previous daughter was breach and engaged when she went into labor so they couldn't try to turn her.) Went fine and everyone is healthy.

Both VBACs and C-sections have risks, Surgery, in my opinion, carries more risks. I did a VBAC though and mine didn't go well. Our son got stuck (shoulder distocia) and we had a big scare with him. But everything turned out fine. He's PERFECT! Now he's 3 years old. But because I had the same problem with both of our kids (baby wouldn't come down on their own), our next one will again be a c-section. I went through labor twice now and it really didn't seem that bad. If you can labor in water, that helps a TON! I labored with no medication each time but in water with our son and there was a BIG difference.

I had my first son (8lb 2oz) the old fashioned way, and #2 by scheduled c-section because he was breach.

The first time I was out and about within a couple of days. I could move on my own and other than being a little (okay a lot) sore it wasn't so bad. The c-section of course saw us in the hospital for the first four days and then grounded for quite some time after. The baby had some trouble breathing and I was told it was very common with c-section babies. There were issues with my blood pressure dropping after the surgery, and I split a stitch and bled like there was no tomorrow and ended up back in the er. No matter how easily and often it is performed, it is still major surgery! My doctor was amazing (a doctor that doctor's go to!) but it is still surgery and there are still lots of risks all on its own.

I'm not pregnant yet, but trying and I am searching for a new ob. My old ob said he wouldn't do a vbac because of the risk and that he had to "go home and sleep at night". I was so disappointed by the c-section that I nearly couldn't bring myself to even have a third baby because of my docs stance! I have taken it into my own hands, read the pros and cons and risks and think it would be worth it. I'll do whatever the doctor thinks is necessary to bring my baby into the world safely, but if it's safe I would rather labor and deliver than risk surgery again.

There is a sense of... power? Accomplishment? Something like that after pushing a baby out. There is a rush that you don't feel after the surgery.

Whatever you chose, you have to be the one to live with it! People have lots of opinions - the only one that matters is yours and I hope that can turn off the guilt the other side of the fence will try to give you!

I've chosen to have all repeat C's with my pregnancies even though my OB will gladly do a VBAC, I won't do it out of my own fears from what I've heard and I know that many doctors won't do them because of the high risks.

This won't make you any "less" of a mom in any way, my pain recovery from a C was so much worst than the vaginal recovery, I wouldn't wish that kind of pain on anyone, and then you have to lived with a big belly scar the rest of your life so any way you deliver is OK and many many women chose to do repeat C's, not for fear of having another big baby but for the fear of what might happen with a VBAC.

My son was 10/3 at 39 weeks which is why I did the C and my second son (repeat C) was only 8/15 at 40 weeks so I'm sure there wouldn't have been any major complications with a VBAC delivery, but I didn't want to risk it.

Also, if you're worried about the fear of pain with recovery, the second time around is much easier. It might sound strange but it's like a different kind of pain and recovery was much quicker.

So in the end it's ALL UP TO YOU and I'm sure you'll get lots of great advice here but do what you feel is best for you! Don't let yourself feel pressured by friends or OB's telling you everything will be fine becuase if that's the case, why do so many OB's now refuse to do VBACs? I'm sure they have good reason so if you decide to go with a repeat C, there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. I'm due in Oct with # 4 and this will be my 3rd C. I know without a doubt this is what is best for me and baby but I was in your situation with my last pregnancy and didn't know whether or not to have the VBAC or repeat C but I'm very happy I went with the repeat C.

It was nice having everything planned out and a quick delivery, not easier in any way but yes quicker. Good luck in your decision and "go with what your heart tells you!"

I had my first child naturally even though I begged not to, he was also BIG -- 10 lbs even. Because of his size and it's horrendous effect on me, I requested, and was a granted a scheduled c-section with my daughter. Having done both I would do the c-section again in a second. A second. and I felt that way the second it was over. I actually feel like I had a better bonding experience with my daughter (initially of course) than with my son because no one was running around in a panic. Of course it is entirely up to you. There are risks with every kind of childbirth. People how tout one as more risky than another always strike me as fearmongers. The only thing I'm adamant on is monitoring during birth whether natural, induced, medicated, etc. It's your choice. But in my experience I STILL wish that both my son and daughter were c-sections and I don't feel I would have missed out much on their coming into this world without the labor part. Good luck!

How big of a family do you plan on having? My first was a c/s because he was breach, 2 weeks early and broke my water. He was 9/3 so for my 2nd, the doctor said he wasn't comfortable doing a vbac because often the next child is bigger than the last. I was fine with that as I liked the thought of scheduling the c/s and knowing what to expect. Plus I was scared of uterine rupture which my doctor who had previously been all for vbacs said he had read a report saying there was a 10 time greater risk of rupture than initially figured. What reports do you believe??

I was always told the scar tissue was what you had to worry about so with my 2nd I asked how things looked and the doctor said Great! I didn't really have any. My 2nd by the way was only 7/12.

Because I had had 2 c/s, my 3rd was automatically a c/s. He was 9/1 and again, not much scar tissue so we decided to have one more child. I just had my 4th son 4 weeks ago. He was 4 weeks premature and weighed 6/12. I had planned on getting a tubal and the doctor on call that night told me she was glad because my uterus was very thin. HUH?? I never knew to ask about that. :-| We believe that my son came premature because he was heading to be a big baby like 2 of his 3 brothers and my uterus couldn't stretch anymore. It was either come now or rip which would have been awful of course.

Looking back I'm still glad I did the c/s's and the first three were pieces of cake. This one though has kicked my butt. Maybe it's because it was my 4th but a part of me believes it is because with the first three, I had met with holistic instructors. Even knowing I was having c/s's, I believe they help to bring peace and positive healing. I didn't do that in time this time and suddenly I'm having problems? Hmmmm...

Only you can decide how important it is for you to feel labor. I can tell you I was in labor with my 1st and my last son now. I am glad I didn't have to endure too much of that. :-|

I wish you the best!!

WOW - I'm impressed some of the Moms either researched this subject (about how uterine rupture - if no inductions or cervical ripeners are used ONLY! - are in the extreme rarity) and know the very real and deadly mishaps/complications/increased mortality rate of women undergoing cesareans or understand how empowering it is to allow your body to do naturally what nature perfected for millions of years in primates and other mammals. The more cesareans you have, the much higher your chaces of death occur.

I would recommend a CPM - Certified Professional Midwife. CNMs - Certified Nursing Midwifes - actually follow the same policies as the OBs in hospitals, such as use inductions, cervical ripeners, etc... at almost the same rate. Midwives have much more experience in NORMAL birth and have had more then likely experienced more VBACs then a whole OFFICE FULL of OBs.

Many OBs are all about the money - - and don't forget, they are surgeons, not normal birthing experts - they will FIND something wrong in order to operate, even if it's not really a problem.

I am a Nursing student and I've watched 2 cesareans, I plan on being an ARNP and CPM w/ IBCLC... I was very disturbed while watching. The spinals/epis are dangerous - for what if you move while the Anesthetist is pushing that long needle between your vertebrae? There are nerves, your SPINAL CORD, and the simple breeching of a sterile environment (your space around the spinal where the CSF flows) which can cause infection of the spinal cord or severe headaches for an untold period of time. After each cesarean, your uterus does not repair itself well and becomes so much thinner that by the 3rd cesarean, your uterus will be unable to carry a developing fetus. The c-section I saw that was her 3rd... her uterus was so thing, it looked like saran wrap and was horribly problematic to sew closed. The OB actually told her she should not have anymore pregnancies, due to problems of uterine rupture during her pregnancy.

Yes I agree with what most of the Moms have said....some good advice. Look for a midwife. I had a 9.4 lb boy vaginally & no epidural. Your body can DO IT!!! And I am preg again (kids will be 16 nonths apart) andi am going w/ a midwife again and this time getting a Doula. The extra support will be great.
I feel if I had a Doc I would have possibly had a C-sec, cause my labor was 28 hours & may hours of pushing. You can do the VBAC and you will feel so empowered and strong. You can do it!!!

I had my first by C section because he was breech and we did not know that he was until a few days after his due date. I had no labor whatsoever with him so I did not know what that would be like with the second one. I was determined to have a VBAC as long as all went well with the second because I wanted a quicker recovery. Labor was just as laborious as everyone says and I believe that most any doctor will not want to induce if you have had a C section. I absolutely beleive the labor process helps to "wake up" the baby and get it ready to be outside the womb and saw that was the case with my own two. My son was small for his gestational age anyway and hospitalized for three days with jaundice and hypoglycemia. My daughter GAINED 5 ounces in the 48 hours after her birth as a result of nonstop feeding and was a pound heavier at her 2 week check up. She thrived from the start and while I don't know for sure that the birthing process helped get her going I really think it did