VBAC
VBAC and LEEP
Just a little ranting I guess....
Facts....I am going for a VBAC, My body had son child with the help of a little pitocin, no pain meds., #2 was breech (reason for c/s), I had the LEEP procedure done 1.5 years ago.
I was a little concerned about my cervix bc of the LEEP. upon asking my doc what his thoughts were about it he said "well it is usually not a problem but the biggest problem would be the scar tissue keeping you from dialating properly, usually we just go in and kind of rip it open and since you'll have an epidural you won't feel it" I AM NOT HAVING AN EPIDURAL. Granted it is not something that has been discussed much c I am only 29weeks but Why does he assume I want an epidural?
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Re: VBAC and LEEP
Sometimes a doctor prefers a VBAC mom to have an epidural in case she needs an emergency c/s, or even tell her that she has to have one for a VBAC. Could that be why he is assuming you will have one? Otherwise, I think most doctors generally assume a mom will get an epidural because most mothers do.
Have you talked to him about your desire not to have an epidural? If not, I think you need to do that at your next appointment. You want to find out now if you and your doctor are on the same page or not--don't wait until you're in labor to find that out.
As for the LEEP, I have read some stuff about being able to massage the cervix to soften up the scar tissue, or help manually dilate the cervix. It sounds like your doctor is willing to do that, so I think that is a good sign.
Not sure why your doctor would make that assumption. However, I had a LEEP and then several years later had a homebirth. I had no issues going into labor or dilating. HTH
Actually, I was thinking it sounds like he's totally unaware of this. 'Ripping' the cervix open during labor is not the same thing as massaging scar tissue out beforehand. I have not had scar issue, but I have had my cervix manually dilated without any pain meds and it is THE most painful experience of my life. You do not want to do this if you don't have to, and having the scar tissue broken up before labor even begins seems to me a far more preferable option.
I see what you mean. I took it as a good sign that he talked about another option besides "well if you don't dilate we'll do a c/s." But you bring up a good point that she should discuss with him
And yeah "ripping" it doesn't sound good--ouch. Some people need to think more about what words are coming out of their mouth.
I had a VBAC in July and had a LEEP many years earlier (probably 10) and had no issues. My ob had me use evening primrose oil every night to help soften the cervix from about 35 weeks. You might ask you doctor if you cuold try this. She also recommended that I not get an epidural when I asked for one during labor. (didn't want things to slow down becuase I was at a VBAC unfriendly hospital racing the clock before the c-section that they forced me to schedule...but that's a whole different story)
This is what I was thinking. Also, I had the LEEP procedure done 1.5 years before giving birth. I had no problems dialating and they did not have to do anything to my cervix b/c of the scarring. (C-sec was emergency due to baby's heart rate.) Hopefully your scarring is also minimal or the massaging works for you. GL!