What if you are the 1% with a uterine rupture??
Ugh. He went on, and on about the risk of uterine rupture, and how he believes I should just do a RCS. The other doctors in the practice are on board (the younger doctors), and this guy is so against it. He proceeds to tell me how many ruptures he has seen in his career. I walked out of the there doubting whether or not I should even attempt.
Help! I really want to try and VBAC but I am terrified. Now I am stressed.
Re: OB at practice scared me concerning my VBAC
Did he mention how many were traumatic ruptures or the type of rupture where there's a teeny little tear in uterus that they dont even notice until the mother has a surgery later on in life or something. What really helped me us watching more business of being born : the vbac dilemma...
also, if it comes down to it, could you switch to one of the more on board doctors in the practice?
What a douchenozzle! UR has about the same likelihood of happening as cord prolapse, and there aren't many OBs sitting around freaking out all women about cord prolapse, you know? I would refuse to see him again, in all honestly.
What are the chances of him being on call when you're in labor? If it's pretty high, I would make sure you know if it's a RCS with him, or if you'll still be able to VBAC, even though he's against it.
DS2 - Oct 2010 (my VBAC baby!)
If he's just as likely to be on call as the other Dr's when you go into labor (could you call the front desk and see if he'll be on vacation around your due date), I'd think about my options.
1) Personally, I didn't love my doula but if you find a doula who can do cervical checks, you could labor at home with her til you're in transition then transfer and arrive at the hospital when you're so far along that there's isn't much time to pressure you into a RCS.
2) You could switch practices.
3) Lastly, this isn't a great option but if all else fails and he's on call the day you go into labor, you don't have to call him. You're free to walk into any hospital and they will attend to you.
A had a pretty terrible run in with a midwife at my 38 week appointment who convinced the head midwife to do a 180 and disallow much of what we had agreed to in my first visit at the practice. I never wanted to see her again but felt it was too late to change practices and she was on call the day after my EDD - I told myself that I would just be a walk-in to the nearest hospital if I went into labor that day. I ended up not going into labor that day, but I thought my chances with a stranger were better than with her.
Did he also tell you that you are almost four times as likely to die dring a RCS than you are during a VBAC?
That doctor does not have your best interest in mind. The actual UR rate is actually less than 1% and only a tiny fraction of actual ruptures have a catastrauphic outcome. You are more likely to have a cord prolapse or a number of other complications than a UR.
That guy should not be a doctor. I'd check to see if you can ensure another doctor is there when you deliver. I'm surprised he hasn't been sued for bullying patients like that.
Sorry you are going through this. It's frustrating when a practice isn't unified on a very important issue like this.
He didn't say anything about minor ruptures, all his references were to extreme cases. He even went as far to say "another OB friend of mine just experienced a rupture last week. Everyone was on stand by for the worst".
I will not be seeing him again. I will just stick to the OB's that are for a VBAC. The other this he wanted me to do was just get on the schedule for a RCS. The OB that is on board said she is willing to let me go to 42 weeks. I am not sure what the heck to do now.
No, but I did ask him about the risk of a RCS, and he really danced around the subject. He did acknowledge it is major surgery, but he still was insistent on a RCS vs a VBAC.
I have no idea, hopefully he wont be there. He told me that it is my choice, but I know he will be side-eyeing the whole process, which will make me uncomfortable.
Some doctors prefer a RCS because it is quick and easy and he can be home for dinner. I am guessing he is that guy. If he is the one on call when you go into labor you can bet that he will say the baby is in distress and scare you then. You might want to talk to the other doctor about your concerns. It's best it is all on the table so you don't have to deal with it when you are in labor.
I think you need to talk to the supportive doctor. Tell her what the other doctor said and ask her what she thinks. Find out what the chances are of the unsupportive doctor being on call and tell her that you're worried you may have to have unnecessary surgery because of what is basically a roll of the dice. Sometimes a doctor will agree to come in for a VBAC mom even if it is not their day on call, so you can ask her if she would be willing to do that. Have you asked what the VBAC success rate is for the practice?
I'll be honest, I would first speak with the VBAC-friendly doctor at the practice about the chance of having him on call when you deliver. If she can't work it out that you don't see him I would consider changing practices over this. Because if he's this unsupportive now he's not going to let you VBAC. He's going to tell you something's wrong (not progressing, baby in distress, whatever) and whisk you down the hall for a RCS. Then you'll be left wondering whether there really was an emergency or not.
With my VBAC I nearly ended up with a RCS after 3 hours of pushing. But, having seen how my OB was through the entire process I was at peace with that if it came to it that time because I knew she and I had done everything we could to avoid surgery. If I didn't feel that she was as supportive as she was I would always have questioned, as I still do with my c-section with my first.
I have not, I will at my next appointment for sure.