VBAC

I need a VBAC pep talk please

I'm a longtime lurker on this board, and I've never posted - so I apologize in advance for jumping right in and asking for this...but I know you ladies have the stories and the info that I need.

So, I'm 38w1d pregnant with #2, and really reeeeeeally hoping for a VBAC this time around (first c/s was due to FTP, I was induced at 40 weeks and after a three day induction eventually dilated to 10 and pushed, but DS never descended).  

I've been doing everything I can think of to make my VBAC successful - I've exercised regularly, eaten well (have only gained 10 lbs, as opposed to the 30 I put on last time), have seen my acupuncturist regularly, have an awesome and supportive OB and doula, have been taking EPO and drinking RRL tea since 34 weeks, and am scheduled to start seeing a chiropractor next week.

I fully planned to walk/swim this baby out.  I've been feeling great all pregnancy, and was completely planning on letting gravity and exercise help me progress.  At my 36.5 week appointment it seemed to be working - I was 1 cm and 70% effaced (more progress than I ever made on my own with DS!)...

...and then the sh!t hit the fan :-/  and I was diagnosed with PIH (my BP is just borderline high, but it doesn't fall back to normal levels within the time frame my OB wants) and have been told that I need to be on bed rest.  No exercise allowed, no walking, no swimming, I'm not supposed to even browse Target or grocery shop.  Nothing that gets my BP up (although we've got the go ahead to have sex, so that has and will continue to happen!). 

I'm beyond frustrated.  I feel like, at this point, I can't do the things that I'd been planning on doing to help the baby out - and being stuck to laying flat on my back, not only while in labor, but in the weeks leading up to it... well that can't help this baby descend :-/  As of last week she hadn't engaged at all, and was still high and floating.

I'm feeling defeated.  I had at least felt like I could assist nature in some way in this process, and now with this stupid high BP and bed rest I feel very stuck and like I'm setting myself up for the same thing to happen again.

Any words of encouragement or advise or wisdom or been theres? I need all the encouragement I can get at this point :-/  

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Re: I need a VBAC pep talk please

  • I'm sorry about your BP and having to be on bed rest.  That has to be really hard. :(

    I just wanted to say that one of my closest friends had incredibly high BP (so high she almost had a stroke, it was really scary) and she was still able to deliver vaginally. Twice!  She also gained an excessive amount of weight, and was also put on bed rest.  So don't let those two things make you think that you can't still achieve a vaginal birth.  You absolutely can, and fortunately you've been taking great care of yourself thus far, even though you can't exercise anymore.

     All I can suggest is to stay positive and keep your head up, keep planning on a VBAC and telling yourself you can do it.

     

    GL!!!

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  • The circumstances are what they are.  The only power you have over the situation is the mental attitude you use to approach it.  Good luck!
    Lilypie First Birthday tickers
    DS1 born June 2008 | m/c at 9w March 2011 | DS2 born April 2012
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  • I just wanted to say - don't give up!!  Each pregnancy is different.  It sounds like things are already going better for you - even with this new hiccup.  There was one Mom on here who helped her baby descend by sleeping sitting up.  So, you don't need to be running marathons.

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  • Can you do any yoga poses?  The cat/cow and child's pose are really good for making sure baby is head down and moving that direction, and I don't think they will elevate you BP if you do them slowly.
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  • imagecchill01:

    I just wanted to say - don't give up!!  Each pregnancy is different.  It sounds like things are already going better for you - even with this new hiccup.  There was one Mom on here who helped her baby descend by sleeping sitting up.  So, you don't need to be running marathons.

    I agree with this 100%.  I was walking 5 miles a day (hilly walk too!), having sex twice a day, and didn't go into labor until I was 41 weeks.  I don't think that you are doomed because you are in bed.  Try your best to relax and not stress (I know, easier said then done).  As long as your BP stays under control, it sounds like you still have time to go into labor naturally.

    If you get closer to your due date (or your BP continues to increase) you might want to talk to your OB about their policy on induction + your personal comfort level.  There are ways that your OB can induce without using cervical ripeners or pitocin, such as foley catheter or seaweed (inserted into the cervix), sweeping the membranes, or he/she could try AROM as a last option.   

    Good luck! 

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  • I'm sorry, Em, how frustrating.

    I will tell you that my third trimester I was probably the laziest person on the face of the earth.  Forget regular exercise, I barely did anything but lounge around.  And I still went into labor on my own and had a VBAC (c/s was like yours--induction, pushing, c/s for failure to descend).  One of the things I think might have helped was nipple stimulation with my breast pump--you could do that while on bedrest.  Bedrest definitely does not automatically mean you will have another cesarean.

    Can you do something like swiveling your hips on an exercise ball?  Do you literally have to lie in bed all day?


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    Big sister {September 2008} Sweet boy {April 2011} Fuzzy Bundle {ETA July 2014}

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  • Thank you ladies, all that was exactly what I needed to hear.

    And good ideas about the little things I can do too - yoga and birthing ball and nipple stim.  I've been feeling like little things like that don't count/won't matter, and I'm back on the "every little thing helps" train :)  

    Thanks again :)

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  • I'm sorry! I was put on modified bed rest for PIH at 38 weeks and still had high BP all through labor and delivery and still successfully VBAC'd. I also laid on my back the whole time and still progress from 1-10 even with an epi at 5... I hope that gives you some hope!
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