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VBAC
(Barely) Successful VBAC Birth Story
in VBAC
Today is my daughter's three week birthday, so this is a bit overdue 
. But I read this board so often as I prepared for her birth, and found it so helpful, that I wanted to make sure to share my experience, for whatever it is worth.
On Friday, August 5th, my water broke -- probably around 5pm. It was a "slow leak," not a huge gush, so I'm not certain exactly when it happened. Sadly, active labor didn't really get going. I was regularly contracting, but the contractions weren't terribly painful.
We brought my son to my sister's that night, but we waited until Saturday afternoon to go into the hospital. We got there about 3:00 p.m. Active labor still hadn't really begun, and I was only 2 cm dilated. My bishop score was a 4 or so. Boo. We got low dose pitocin going. (My hospital doesn't do cervical ripening agents for VBACs.) I was on that until about 9 p.m., but still no real active labor. We decide to turn off the pitocin, get a good night sleep and have something to eat (doc had advised me not to eat in case of c-section), and see if my body would kick into active labor naturally overnight.
We wake up Sunday morning -- still no active labor (steady, but only slightly painful contractions continue). We get started on low dose pitocin again, and rock that until about 6 p.m. with no change in the contractions. Then they kick in -- finally. At 8:30 p.m., I asked to be checked and I am a whopping....3 cm. OMFG. I am pissed. This bears considerable similarity to my son's birth experience, and I am now fully expecting a c-section.
Since I am having very painful contractions, and the nurses are sort of sadly suggesting that maybe I'm just not going to dilate, I opt for an epidural and we are all thinking that we'll probably be doing a c-section in the morning. But since I'm getting an epidural, we decide to keep the pitocin on overnight. Why not, right?
Overnight, what we've been dreading happens...I spike a fever. DAMNIT. It only hits 101 or so, but that's enough for me to get on antibiotics, and for the baby to need antibiotics after birth. I am super upset, because now I'm thinking that not only am I going to end up with a c-section after all, but my baby's going to be in the nursery after birth instead of in the room with me. Double boo.
At 7 a.m. on Monday, August 8, my nurse checks me...and low and behold, I am a loose 6 cm. Things happen EXTREMELY fast from that point on. The next nurse comes in, and she wants to check me too. (Up until now, we've kept the cervical checks to an extreme minimum to avoid infection.) She checks me at probably 7:30 a.m., and she says I am an 8, maybe a 9, and that I still have an intact forebag of water. She breaks that, and by 8:15 a.m. I am complete and pushing. (And, thank god, my sweet baby girl presented correctly. My son had been posterior, and I now think that is probably the entire reason I wasn't able to push him out.) I push for shy of an hour, and out she comes! I had a small episiotomy, but couldn't have cared less. It was amazing; she was incredible and adorable, and it was really cool to see her come out. And although they did take her to the nursery to get the antibiotics going, I had her on my chest immediately, for about an hour, before they took her.
(PS - For any of you that have a similar experience -- running a fever during delivery such that baby needs to be in the nursery for antibiotics -- it really was totally fine. I was completely overreacting. I was in that nursery every three hours feeding and cuddling with her, and honestly, it was kind of nice to be able to get a chunk of sleep and know someone was looking after my baby. She was back in the room with me 24 hours after birth, and all her tests came back negative.)
I have a few thoughts coming out of this experience:
One, the recovery was amazing. It was SO much easier than with my c-section. I held my three year old son the day I gave birth to my daughter, and was up, walking around, an hour after birth. Although I'm still kind of taking it easy, I feel totally recovered.
Two, in my particular case, thank god for epidurals. Had that not been an option on Sunday night, I would have gotten a c-section that very evening. When the nurse checked me and I was 3 cm after two days of labor, I was fairly convinced that it wasn't going to happen. I was resigned to a c-section; I just wanted a good night sleep first b/c with my son, we ended up with a middle-of-the-night c-section after a long induction and a failed attempt at pushing, and my DH and I were so totally exhausted that it colored the experience. That epidural allowed me to dilate overnight and is the only reason I was able to VBAC.
Three, I was working with just wonderful nurses and doctors, who were very willing to let me take my time, even though my water had broken. No one imposed an artificial time limit on me. They were all very upfront that there was a risk of infection, but also were very upfront that there is no magic time at which that risk goes up. Working with a supportive team was pivotal, and without them I certainly would have ended up with a c-section.
Four, and finally, the labor and birth process is amazing, but it is just a crapshoot. The best anyone can do is try to find a supportive team, and press for what they want. Beyond that, it is really out of our control. I will never again feel guilty for the c-section I had with my son. I don't think there is anything I could have done to change it.
Good luck to you all!!
This discussion has been closed.
Re: (Barely) Successful VBAC Birth Story
Congrats! Thanks for sharing your story!
Those are basically the same thoughts I had after my VBAC as well.
Congrats! Thats wonderful. I'm trying for a VBAC and kinda scared about the birthing experience this time around. With my DS i was extremely excited and couldn't wait. Now I'm more nervous than ever. I guess because I don't want to have another c/s.
DS2 - Oct 2010 (my VBAC baby!)