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VBAC
Are you a good candidate if......
your first baby was 9lbs 9oz? I had a scheduled c-section with DD due to her size. However, my c-section was scheduled on a Thursday morning and I went into labor Tuesday afternoon and checked into the hospital that Wednesday morning. When I got to the hospital I was 2 cm dialated and 100% effaced. I had to wait around 8 hours before they did the surgery since the hospital was so busy. I was the 3rd section of the day. They never checked me again so I have no idea if I progressed past 2 cms or not. They just put me in a room until they could get to me and gave me some nubain to take the edge off. I do not want to have another c-section, but I have no idea if I am a good candidate for a vbac. I am not pregnant now, but it won't be long before we want to try for #2. I had asked my doctor at my 6 week post partum visit and she said she would do another c-section and didn't even discuss it any further. Has anyone had a large baby and the second one was smaller? If baby #2 ends up measuring in the normal range I do want to try for a VBAC, but I am unsure if I am a good candidate since I have never been through the entire labor process. Would be nice to know if I progressed any in the time I was waiting for surgery.
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Re: Are you a good candidate if......
There's no reason for you not to try for a VBAC. You won't necessarily have a smaller baby (or you may) but, to be honest, large babies aren't a reason in and of themselves for a repeat c/s. Most women don't grow babies they can't birth, or so I've been told! I've heard of VBAC stories for moms who had a VBAC with a 10 lb child, often much bigger than the baby that their OB said they couldn't birth vaginally. I personally would find a new doctor if you are interested in a VBAC.
You do get points for going into labor by yourself! You may want to research a doctor now and get a feeling if there are any restrictions to time in between c/s and VBAC attempt. I didn't see your ticker, but certain doctors won't attempt VBACs if a certain amount of time hasn't passed between births.
Good luck!
I had asked her what my options were for the next baby and she just said she recommended I do another c-section. I let it go after that since we weren't going to get pregnant anytime soon. I have been doing much more reading since then and I want to discuss it with her, but I won't be back to the OB until my next annual exam. I am not sure if she does vbacs or not. I wish I would have asked more questions then.
Honestly, if she was the one who said you should have the original c/s due to size, I would say your chances of VBACing with her are pretty slim.
Dump her. CS for size is one of the dumbest reasons ever. Unless you have gotten to 10 cm and you baby is still floating for some reason, then come talk to me about a CS. But until then, I can show you a million women who have birthed babies bigger than that (although that IS a big baby, and might take more effort).
My doula told me that she helped a 1st timer birth an 11 lb kid last month. Apparently the mom drank milk by the gallon during pregnancy. There is some early research to suggest that mass amounts of milk can make big babies...
Exactly this. You can totally VBAC! There is no reason for you not to.
It sounds like you have a lot of what ifs. It's too bad the dr didn't let you do a trial of labor with your first child so you'd feel more comfortable with whatever decision you'd make.
I'd at least find a dr who was willing to do a trial of labor with you. Hugs!
Hee hee, I'm here, I'm here! I meant to answer you yesterday, but I got too busy.
Anyhoo, my first baby was 8lb 4 oz, and was posterior - I pushed with him for 4+ hours and he just couldn't come out. My second was 10 lb 10 oz (I had NO idea, didn't have any sizing estimates), and I pushed with him for 2 hours, but he came out, no problem. I think positioning has a LOT to do with babies coming out easily or not - DS2 was anterior. I was much more worried about positioning while I was planning the VBAC than I was size.
That sucks no one checked you while you were waiting for the c-section! But it's good you labored so long and that you went into labor on your own...both are good indicators of VBAC success. You could ask around for local providers (and maybe consider midwives, if you haven't) on your local ICAN message board. It's definitely doable, but would definitely help to have a fully supportive provider on board with you. Good luck!!
DS2 - Oct 2010 (my VBAC baby!)
This! I ended up with a CS for size (aka failure to progress) after 60 hours of induction techniques and 3 hours of pushing. You should never have been scheduled C/S because of size. US measurements are so inaccurate. Total crap.
Also this exactly. My situation was very similar to yours. First DD was estimated to be 10 lbs 13 oz. We scheduled a c-section but I went into labor a few days before my scheduled section. When I came in, I was at 4cm and they went ahead and did the section. She was born at 10 lbs 1 oz. This time, I switched OB's and even switched again at 28 weeks because the second OB was not going to let me try to VBAC with a big baby. My new OB was awesome. He had no problems with letting me try, never even estimated size even though I was measuring a little large. I delivered a 9 lb 15 oz little girl with no issues. Good luck to you with making your decision!