Successful natural VBAC questions??

Ardmhs83 · January 2013

Not pregnant now, but plan to start TTC in a little bit over a year from now. Since my local hospital bans VBACs I have to go out of state to attempt one. Therefore, I am already in the process in trying to to find a "real" VBAC friendly midwife/OB that really believes in me and my body. I found a place that sounds wonderful and I have a consultation apt set up in April.
Anyway...I've been reading a lot on the success of VBACs and how to have the best odds to not have a RCS. Correct me if my brain is thinking wrong:
use a midwife
hire a doula
try to go med free so you would actually feel scar pain if something was going wrong. I would love a natural birth....so any natural VBAC moms, chime in.
make sure the office and hospital has at least a 70 vaginal birth success.
special birthing classes for natural birth.
Also heard I can't be induced or have water broken either and I'm ok with that, but don't want to be rushed off to the OR because of "their" time schedule. I'll labor at home as long ad I can, but I will have a 30 min drive.
These are the top things I've heard...any others?
I also want to do other natural stuff like placental encapsulation to hopefully help prevent my PPD next time. I also want to not clamp or cut cord until it has stopped pulsating. Baby straight to my chest without being washed for skin to skin so we can nurse right away.
Any other suggestions, books, thoughts or ideas??
Any moms with similar birth experiences or wants?
TIA!

Ardmhs83 · January 2013

Sorry my iPad takes out some of my words and jams everything together. Sorry if that was hard to read.

I also meant 70 percent

iris427 · January 2013

use a midwife--Midwives are generally good for VBAC, but what is really important is how supportive your provider is, not what their title is. I had my VBAC with an OB who had a 90% VBAC success rate and he never had any doubt that, barring some unforeseen complication, I would have a VBAC. On the other hand, there is a local midwife practice that just told someone in my local ICAN group that she probably couldn't have a VBAC because her shoe size is too small. My ICAN group recommends a specific family practice physician in our area who is a big supporter of VBAC. So that just goes to show there are good and bad providers in every field. The best thing to do is ask lots of questions so you can gauge how supportive they are. You want someone with a high VBAC success rate (average is 75%) and who isn't going to treat you like a ticking time bomb and put a bunch of restrictions on you just because you are a VBAC.

hire a doula--I'm a big advocate of doulas. There are studies showing they lower cesarean rates. But you can have a VBAC without a doula of course.

try to go med free so you would actually feel scar pain if something was going wrong.--Your provider should be able to monitor you for signs of rupture regardless of whether you have an epidural. Pain is not the most reliable sign of rupture. If you want to go med-free, I think there are lots of benefits, but many moms also have successful VBACs with epidurals. It really comes down to personal preference and what you think is best for your individual situation.

"I would love a natural birth....so any natural VBAC moms, chime in. make sure the office and hospital has at least a 70 vaginal birth success. special birthing classes for natural birth. Also heard I can't be induced or have water broken either and I'm ok with that, but don't want to be rushed off to the OR because of "their" time schedule. I'll labor at home as long ad I can, but I will have a 30 min drive. These are the top things I've heard...any others? I also want to do other natural stuff like placental encapsulation to hopefully help prevent my PPD next time. I also want to not clamp or cut cord until it has stopped pulsating. Baby straight to my chest without being washed for skin to skin so we can nurse right away. Any other suggestions, books, thoughts or ideas?? Any moms with similar birth experiences or wants? TIA!"

You CAN be induced or have your water broken with VBAC. There are safe induction methods for VBAC (Foley bulb or low-dose Pitocin), although we don't have as many options as moms with unscarred uteruses (No prostaglandin inductions for VBAC moms) and some doctors refuse to induce VBAC moms at all, despite evidence that it can be done safely. Breaking your water does not pose any additional risk to a VBAC mom.

I had a med-free VBAC and we did delayed cord clamping and immediate skin to skin and all that stuff. Check out our site, vbacbumpies.blogspot.com, for birth stories, links and book recommendations.

Squirrel29 · January 2013

I just wanted to chime in and say that my VBAC was an all natural (no IV, no hep lock, no drugs of any kinds, delayed cord clamping, immediate skin to skin, delayed bathing / weighing, etc, until after first nursing session) waterbirth in a hospital with an OB, so I wouldn't necessarily rule anyone out or make any choices based solely on title (as another example..my first birth was with a midwife and I was induced with cervadil and pitocin, given both morphine and narcotics for pain and ended up with an episiotomy) Find the best provider you can find and the most natural birth friendly location if that is what you want. In my opinion, hospital policy and nursing staff have just as much (if not more) to do with your chances of achieving a natural birth in a hospital as your preparation does.

anchalmasako · January 2013

When I was in labor, nurse told me I would feel a rupture even with an epidural. It would be very obvious, I was told. Therefore, don't be too afraid of pain relief. I had a very supportive ob and nurses, which made a huge impact on my vbac success.

cchill01 · January 2013

I would say I had a semi-natural VBAC.

I was induced with pitocin and AROM. I had a heploc and constant monitoring. I asked for an epidural, but by the time the anesthesiologist got there I was fully dilated. I'm so glad I ended up going without pain meds, since it really helped me push properly.

Good luck. It sounds like you have your bases covered.

Ardmhs83 · January 2013

Ty so much!! I did contact ICAN to get hooked up with the midwife/ob office in April. She recommended a great midwife and that is who my apointment is with. :

taurus424 · January 2013

I had a med free vbac in January 2012. I was able to labor while walking the halls and they only put me on the monitor every two hours for a check. I did read the hypnobirth book but did not do the whole thing. I didn't hang a sign on the door etc. all I did was use the relaxation and breathing techniques.

I ended up needing a vacuum assist and had third degree tears. So I was happy for the baby to go to the warmer and not right on my chest. I didn't have any strength to hold a baby and needed to get sutured up.

it was wonderful. And hoping to have another baby soon!

nosoup4u · January 2013

I had a med-free hospital VBAC with DS2. I was in labor during the day and ended up laboring at home the whole time. I think staying upright and "ignoring" the contractions as much as possible helped immensely. And being able to eat as much as I wanted during labor helped, too.

I showed up pushing (which I had hoped for), and had an IV and monitoring when I showed up. I did end up pushing in the traditional hospital position of being semi-reclined, but I was so tired and out of it at that point I didn't really care.

Lucky_N_Love · January 2013

Okay I am not a regular poster on this board but I have been a lurker for the past 9 months. I will try and answer some of your concerns.

I just had a completely med free VBAC 2 weeks ago and I couldn't be happier

First I will agree with PP you don't necisarily need a midwife over an OB. You need a practice that you like and you trust and they are supportive of VBACs. I did switch to a new OB this time around to a practice that is supportive of and has a success rate of around 80%. They are also supportive of more "natural" moms.

I did hire a doula and for me I think it is a huge help if you want a successful natural birth and I'm sure helpful for a VBAC as well. Not saying you couldn't do it without but is was truly helpful. Even my DH said he would hire her again if we had more kids and he was hesitant for our first birth which is why didn't use one then and I ended up with an Emergency C Section. Coincidence? maybe.

As far as induction most doctors will not do anything at all but some will allow for minimal amounts of pitocin or the use of a folly bulb. I was against anything for personal reason and would have been even if it wasn't a VBAC. Once I got to 42 weeks though I was asking about a folly bulb but it wasn't a good fit for me.

Other Natural things we did--We did delay cutting the cord and our doctor was very supportive of this. I ended up deciding not to keep our placenta because I was too cheap to pay for encapsulation and our hospital has a 3 day wait period that was kind of an "extra step" to deal with.

you CAN do this. Research and reach out to people. Great support to look for is a La Leche League near you if you aren't already active. I found many of these moms to be super helpful as many of them are more natural moms and supportive of Attachment Parenting etc. Many of my local LLL moms had had VBACs too.

cchill01 · January 2013

Molly&:
nosoup4u:
I had a med-free hospital VBAC with DS2. I was in labor during the day and ended up laboring at home the whole time. I think staying upright and "ignoring" the contractions as much as possible helped immensely. And being able to eat as much as I wanted during labor helped, too.
I showed up pushing (which I had hoped for), and had an IV and monitoring when I showed up. I did end up pushing in the traditional hospital position of being semi-reclined, but I was so tired and out of it at that point I didn't really care.
Can you elaborate on what you mean by "ignoring" the contractions? Is that part of a specific birthing plan? Is that why it's in quotes? Just curious.

I don't know what nosoup meant. But, I borrowed from several methods when "ignoring" contractions. I used visualization to encapsule the pain and send it downward. It worked for me until things got really crazy and I lost my focus. It was kind of a mish-mash of yoga and meditation that I've used for cramps for years.

cchill01 · January 2013

Molly&:
nosoup4u:
I had a med-free hospital VBAC with DS2. I was in labor during the day and ended up laboring at home the whole time. I think staying upright and "ignoring" the contractions as much as possible helped immensely. And being able to eat as much as I wanted during labor helped, too.
I showed up pushing (which I had hoped for), and had an IV and monitoring when I showed up. I did end up pushing in the traditional hospital position of being semi-reclined, but I was so tired and out of it at that point I didn't really care.
Can you elaborate on what you mean by "ignoring" the contractions? Is that part of a specific birthing plan? Is that why it's in quotes? Just curious.

I don't know what nosoup meant. But, I borrowed from several methods when "ignoring" contractions. I used visualization to encapsule the pain and send it downward. It worked for me until things got really crazy and I lost my focus. It was kind of a mish-mash of yoga and meditation that I've used for cramps for years.

nosoup4u · January 2013

Molly&:
nosoup4u:
I had a med-free hospital VBAC with DS2. I was in labor during the day and ended up laboring at home the whole time. I think staying upright and "ignoring" the contractions as much as possible helped immensely. And being able to eat as much as I wanted during labor helped, too.
I showed up pushing (which I had hoped for), and had an IV and monitoring when I showed up. I did end up pushing in the traditional hospital position of being semi-reclined, but I was so tired and out of it at that point I didn't really care.
Can you elaborate on what you mean by "ignoring" the contractions? Is that part of a specific birthing plan? Is that why it's in quotes? Just curious.

Ah, sorry! I meant that I kept on with my day and tried to not pay attention to them until I HAD to really focus and breathe through them (which for me meant I was in transition). I was really paranoid about ending up in the hospital too early (which happened the first time). Hope that clears things up!

Ardmhs83 · January 2013

Thank you all so much! I'll report back after my appointment. I'm sure I will be able to feel things out just by talking with the midwife or OB.

Successful natural VBAC questions??

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