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3rd Trimester
Your thoughts on VBAC?
My Dr. and I were having a discussion about it (my last birth was vaginally so it wasn't for me, it was just casual conversation) and she was telling me it's not the best way to go. There's plenty of reason's as why not to such as scar tearing and what not, but I just was wondering what others thought about the topic?
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Re: Your thoughts on VBAC?
I have 2 good friends: 1 had a very successful VBAC, 1 didn't even bother because her first labor was so horrible she didn't want to deal.
I think giving birth is giving birth. I say go for it if your doctor says it safe and you are comfortable with it, or don't if you are not. Most doctors will have differing view points.
I have no personal experience with it so my opinions are just that. I believe that c/s have come far enough that VBAC is absolutely possible. Doctors are less likely to give their patients that option though, because there are some known possible (though unlikely) risks and the doctors run the risk of legal issues should something go wrong when they knew the possibility existed.
I fully believe that doctors turn pregnancy into a medical condition even though it's perfectly natural. Most things that they do are just to avoid problems for themselves.
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My BFF is going to try for a VABC with her second and I hope it works out for her. From the conversations I have had with her not everyone is a good candidate for a VABC and that there are many different factors. She has spent a ton of times educating herself on VBAC's. Reading books, joining online, and IRL support groups for women wanting VBAC's, talking with Dr's who support VBAC's and listening to those who do not.
Having a VBAC is a personal choice and I think that if a person is a good candidate, has educated themselves, and has a good support system around them then they should try.
There is risk with VBAC's but there are also risks with c-sections, and vaginal births as well.
Personally I found vaginal birth an amazing experience and I hope everyone who can, and want to have that experience gets the chance too. I hope my second labor goes just as well.
I think it is a personal decision to be made between doctor and patient taking MANY factors into account (whether the c-section was emergent, how many pregnancies there have been, how close the pregnancies are together, age, etc).
PERSONALLY, I would never attempt VBAC. A friend of mine died attempting VBAC (uterus tore, the vast amount of blood caused her to go into cardiac arrest before they could her open to control it). Thankfully, her daughter survived. It haunts me to this day - her funeral was absolutely one of the most depressing I have ever been to. It is engrained in my brain. I know that is SO RARE but it hit just a little too close to home for my husband and I.
Your doctor is wrong. There is only one real risk to VBAC that makes it different from any other vaginal delivery, the risk of uterine rupture. That risk is only around 0.5 %. It's right around the same risk of having an umbilical cord prolapse, and less than the risk of fetal distress. Further more the majority of ruptures are symptomatic. You would need to do something like 7000 elective cesareans to prevent one death from uterine rupture. So if your doctor thinks VBAC is too dangerous, then why doesn't she think vaginal birth, period, is too dangerous?
Of course, cesareans also have risks. Repeat cesareans have more risk than primary cesareans. So I guess by your doctor's standards of safety, no one should give birth at all.
The safety of VBAC and even VBA2C has been established in many studies. ACOG, the American College of Nurse-Midwives and the National Institute of Health all support the safety of VBAC.
Every Dr. has different opinions on VBAC's. Some say to wait two years before getting pregnant again, others say right away is better. Some love them, others don't like the hassle. It just depends on who you talk to.
That being said there are a couple of precautions they usually add on for women attempting VBACs. They usually aren't allowed to go much past their due date and induction is usually out of the question (again every doctor is different, but I saw three different OB offices when discussing my VBAC and they all had those same two guidelines).
There are risks involved, but major surgery also involves serious risks. I think that both decisions are valid.
My Dr said there are risks either way- VBAC or repeat c/s on top of a previous one. He's totally pro-VBAC if the situation is good!
I'm hoping for a VBAC, but DS was very large and I had a sched c/s. I have GD again and may end up with a large baby again!
They also said with GD I cannot go past my due date, and I cannot have pitocin/ be induced. DS was born 8 days early (I did go into labor before my sched c/s!) So there's hope!
Sorry- off topic- can I ask what your friends name was? I had a friend die during childbirth with a baby girl a couple years ago and we are the same age and close to the same location... I'm just wondering if its the same person.
I have 2 friends who have had successful VBAC and were very happy with it.
No hospital in my area allows VBAC so I'll be a repeat c/s. I haven't thought too much about it since I'm not allowed one but I guess I'm not against VBAC.
Her name was Christine and it happened down in Norfolk, VA.
My thought is that if a physician and a patient have discussed the risks, the patient's history, and the patient's own feelings on the matter and come to a conclusion together, I respect that decision.
It's really none of my business.
I can't say what I would do, having had two vaginal deliveries already, I don't know what c-sections or recovering from them is like. I just don't have the personal experience. I do know that the modern associations (of American Obstetrics, for example) are increasingly supporting VBACS, rather than shying away from them.
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The problem with this is that it's every woman's right to labor how she chooses (be it c-section or VBAC) - hospital bans on VBAC are unethical, frankly. ACOG just came out with new recommendations supporting all women who are interested in VBAC.
I obviously support VBAC (and am planning one myself) - the risks of having 3+ c-sections is a serious problem that will get more serious with the less women who are "allowed" to VBAC. And ditto everything Iris said, too!
DS2 - Oct 2010 (my VBAC baby!)
Different person- my friend's wasn't a vbac either, just a regular delivery and she had some fluid leak into her blood stream and cause cardiac arrest... it sounded very similar though.