Vbac - Beaverton,OR

Hi Dayla,
Congrats on your new little one!
Please don't wait too long. I went 2 weeks over on my due date and it was not a good thing. The placenta gets old and does not give good nutrition. In fact my baby only weighed 6 lbs and was very sick, in ICU for days. The good news is she is doing great and in fact has a birthday tomorrow! We are greatful to have her!
About the vbac, I had 2 c-sections and then a vag delivery for my third. My doctor said the only way she would even consider it was the reasons why I had the c-sections to begin with. The first, baby in destress, the sceond a large baby (9lbs 13oz) after 3 hours of pushing he was stuck. Since these were reasons that didn't nessissarly come with every pregnancy she let me try a vag. delivery. I wanted a vag delivery because I felt I was missing something, and what was wrong with me that I couldn't do something that was suppose to be so natural! Well, I was wrong. It really is no different. You still bring your baby into the world no matter how it is done. There pros and cons, aches and pains to both kinds of deliveries, as long as you and your baby are healthy that really the only thing that will matter.
Good luck to you and you and your new babe.
L. S.

didn't have a vbac, but you can consider a midwife ... direct-entry midwives can sometimes let you go later (depends on laws and a bunch of things; I don't know where you are)

I am so sorry you had an unsuccessful induction :(

babies being "late" is perfectly normal; as long as your little person is still kicking around and you aren't sensing any scary changes in you or your child, I get really frustrated with "modern medicine" telling women to "fear fear fear"!!

First births, left to a natural length in a study in Australia, AVERAGED 11 days "overdue."

I'm sorry I can't offer you a great vbac story (I would have if I had stuck with the doc for birth #1, which went 38 hours and there were about four things that would have triggered a C section in a hospital, but she and I were fine (albeit exhausted)) ... but I did want to offer you that you don't need to be scared.

Almost all uterine ruptures occur from pitocin ... so the one thing that is most important is to not let them "hurry" your vbac with induction ...

God bless and good luck and Happy Baby :)!

Hi Dayla,
I had a great experience doing a VBAC. I had an emergency c-sect with my first, two weeks early, so we didn't know if I'd go late, early, on time w/ the second. He turned out to be 6 days late and I did have to set a date for repeat c-sect. My doc said it needed to be on the surgery schedule "just in case", but it was nerve wracking for me to have that surgery date looming out there b/c I really wanted to have a vaginal birth. In the back of my head, I think I figured I probably would have another c-sect and I ended up having a very long labor w/ the help of a small amount of petocin to kick start and keep the process going. (Perhaps it went this way b/c I was worried about having to do another c-sect...?? Who knows?!). Long story short-- It was a beautiful birth and I'm very, very happy I was able to do the VBAC. I delivered at Kaiser Sunnyside and because of the VBAC they had me (and baby) on constant monitoring which was a bummer, but worth it for safety, I suppose. I would also highly recommend hiring a doula, if you're at all interested. It was important for me to have an experienced advocate since I really wanted a natural birth (no pain meds) and the VBAC. Having our doula there made the whole process much easier and more comfortable. Don't know if you're in PDX, but if so, we used New Renaisance doulas and I highly recommend them. We're done having children and I can't imagine not having had the experience of giving birth vaginally. But, I guess I should also say that I did work really hard on letting go of my expectations and hopes in case I ended up having another c-sect. I hope you can consult with your care providers, partner, and your "gut" and come up with a plan that feels right for you.
Good luck!
-A.

Hi Dayla!

I would encourage you to ask your doctor *why* it's only one week past your due date. Are they worried about a big baby? Shoulder dystocia? Liability issues? A lot of times the doctor will say "the risk of the baby dying goes up after 42 weeks" but they don't say why. Find out more about what the reasoning behind your doctor's protocol is and you'll be able to make a better decision on what's best for you.

I can tell you that I attended a VBAC delivery (I'm a doula as well as a mom--and I'm a mom who had a primary c-section) where the mom was over 2 weeks "overdue" and her baby was just perfect.

-A.