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Two Under 2
MrsPedersen
member
On the fence about vbac vs repeat c-section
MrsPedersen
member
in Two Under 2
I thought I was dead set about having another section and that is all I have talked about with my OB. DH really wants me to try for a vbac and I have been thinking about it. What did you/are you planning to have and why?
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Re: On the fence about vbac vs repeat c-section
I am in the same boat as you. My Dr. is not pushing me either way- well I think he may be more in favor of the repeat C-Section.
Sorry I am no help- but just wanted to let you know you are not alone. I am getting nervous as the decision is coming closer and closer.
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My OB offered VBac. I considered it but ended up declining when DS #2's head started measuring crazy huge just like DS #1's head.
My Mom has had 5 surgeries to repair damage from 2 vaginal births (she tore to her rectum during deliver, had her bladder tied up 4 different times and her rectum basically rebuilt once)
My mom begged me not to try for a Vbac.
My OB said that we'd likely end up with a section again anyway.
I scheduled the section.
My take on your situation is this..... it's your body, your recovery, etc.
Has DH shared his reasoning behind wanting you to go VBAC?
'Cause frankly my DH didn't get a vote but even if he had he would have wanted me to do what I was most comfortable with.
Total score: 6 pregnancies, 5 losses, 2 amazing blessings that I'm thankful for every single day.
(read it. you know you want to.)
anderson . september 2008
vivian . february 2010
mabel . august 2012
I agree 100% with this. At my first OB appointment the Dr asked me what I wanted I and I told him 100% c-section!
Where in VA are you?
I had a VBAC scheduled and also scheduled my section. I chickened out 48 hours before my section and decided against VBAC. It is a very good thing. If you want details I am happy to share. But the doc said there is no way to know if you will have a complication until they go in.
Clomid M/C 8 weeks 2/08 *IVF #1-DD born 3/09
*Surprise BFP-T18 baby lost at 13w 1/10 *FET #1-DS born 2/11
I had 2 c/s. I was on the fence too, but it really just came down to the convenience of it. If you are worried about having to go through the recovery of the c/s again, I will tell you that I was in no pain the 2nd time around. I even slept on the stomach the first night home. I asked my OB about this and she said that I probably didn't hurt because all the nerve damage was done the first time around. Obviously, I still had lifting restrictions, etc. But I felt completely normal much much quicker the 2nd time.
I know VBACs have an easier recovery too (normally), but this is just my experience. GL in your decision.
Let me share my story... which may get kind of long
I had a wonderful experience with my first C/S (unplanned, failed induction, a week past due date) with DD. When I got pg with DS (DD was 9mo old) my OB said I was not a VBAC candidate. Frankly, I was happy about that. If my OB had said I could VBAC, I would have felt obligated to try it. Silly as it may sound. I didn't give it another thought and everything was fine. I had the perfect pregnancy and DS was healthy and growing.
Fast forward to my scheduled C/S date...
DS was born on 11/24 at 8:31AM in respritory distress. He was immediately taken from us and to the nursery where he was hooked up to tubes and wires and put into an oxygen tank. I wasn't able to see my son for almost 8 hours because of the epidural. It was so hard to not have any idea what was going on. DH and the nurses kept coming to give me updates, but it wasn't the same. I would hear babies crying and I had no clue which baby was mine. It was just about the worst feeling in the world.
Since the hospital we were in didn't have a NICU, DS was sent to Childrens National Hospital in DC. I was discharged from the hospital less than 24 hrs. after my CS so I could be with DS.
After getting to Childrens and having all the tests run, it was detrmined that DS had TTN (https://kidshealth.org/parent/medical/lungs/ttn.html) Transient Tachypnea of the Newborn.
Usually, this clears up within 72 hours but DS didn't get any beter. After more testing, they found that he also had air pockets around his heart. https://health.google.com/health/ref/Pneumomediastinum which prevented the TTN from clearing up.
We spent 8 days in the NICU which was an hour from our home and away from our other kids.
All of this was basically from never going into labor and having the CS! It is a risk of a totally scheduled CS. I had no idea. I felt awful. How could I not have done all of the research of the risks involved to my child? I knew the risks for me with the CS and the VBAC.
I can not even begin to express how painful it was to see my newborn struggling breath, not being fed, getting poked and prodded for the first week of his life.
My CS experience with DS (besides all of the craziness afterwards) was fine. Went well, healed up fine, etc.
We are done having kids (or so we think righ now. lol) but if I had to do it again, I honestly don't know what I would do. There are pros and cons to both.
I guess I just wanted to share my experience with you.
Good luck!!
I was induced for #1, ended in c/s for "failure to progress" after about 16 hours.
For #2 I opted for the vbac. DS waited until 41 weeks to come out. I was in labor for 29 hours .... but I had an epidural for more than half that time (5pm Sunday started, 9pm left for the hospital, 6am asked for epidural, started pushing at 9:30pm, born at 9:58pm - 8lb 9oz).
My vbac was wonderful and the recovery was about 1000x better than my c/s recovery.
If failure to progress was your only issue, then it's likely that you do have a good chance of successful vbac. Many women take longer than the "textbook labor" says we should take to pop out a baby.
However, if I had had the same OB, I probably wouldn't have been successful because it's not like she was suddenly going to say sure, I'll stay at the hospital for more than 24 hours and wait this time and I'll have helpful advice for helping to move the baby down that I didn't have last time - kwim?
Me too (well, I'm not pregnant again yet but soon, I hope!).
I had an induction with K (55+ hours, 4 hours of pushing and a c-section), so I'm a bit leery about going through that again. The c-section was pretty easy and the recovery wasn't awful. That said, I want to deliver vaginally, but I can't stomach the thought of going through all that work again only to end up with a c-section.
I'm on the fence because of the reasons I had a c-section last time. I was induced at 41w, 4d, because she wasn't coming on her own and they wouldn't let me go past 42 weeks. It took a while, but I dialated fully and pushed for 4 hours. She was not moving down at all...she got to +1 and stayed there. They were willing to let me keep trying because her heart rate and oxygen levels were fine but I was so damn tired from being awake with no food for 3 days plus pushing for 4 hours that I just couldn't do it anymore.
It turns out that Kate had craniosynostosis (for which she had surgery in October) so her head was never going to mold enough to go down the birth canal anyway. So I might be a decent candidate for a VBAC with #2, but I don't know that I am willing to go through all of that again when the c-section was not hard.
I'm leaning toward VBAC if I go into labor on my own, but scheduling a c at 40 weeks.
It's a hard decision! GL!!
My OB was wonderful about my options. I had c-sec for DD mainly due to her issues - meconium, her heart rate did not elevate during labor, etc... and so I was, as my OB suggested, a good candidate for a VBAC I am considered high risk though (I had a blood clot in my lung a year prior to PG) and so that coupled with DD's delivery & c-sec, in the event I went the VBAC route I would have to remain on monitors the entire labor- meaning I couldn't walk around or attempt to use any non-medical interventions (ball, shower, etc..). With that knowledge and based on my situation, I decided to schedule the repeat c-section, much to my husband's relief!
In the end, it is a personal decision and you should defintely discuss with your OB how exactly they will let you go w/a VBAC. I know my practice will not induce VBAC's nor will they use pitocin if spontaneous labor seems to lessen. They also will not let mothers who want VBAC's go beyond 40 weeks- again this is my practice, but more information is better right?
I still wonder if I am making the right decision, mainly from the recovery standpoint. While I had a fairly easy recovery w/DD, I did not have a nearly 22 month old at home who still loves to be carried and cuddled!
GL!
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