Looking for advice..
I had a c/s with DS. Long story short: I was in labor for 48 hours before I was even admitted to the hospital and was still only at 1-2 cm. I was put on pitocin at one point and jumped from 4-7 cm fairly quickly and got stuck there. Put on pitocin again and made it to 10. Pushed for about an hour to an hour and a half and DS wasn't moving at all. He was fine, but I had a fever they couldn't get down and was exhausted. Total labor: 60 1/2 hours. During the c/s I could actually feel the doctor pull DS out of the birth canal...he was stuck. He was 8 lbs, 1oz, 22 in.
My recovery was horrible and I had a hard time dealing with the fact that I "failed" as a woman. BUT I was thankful for my healthy baby boy. I really want to try a VBAC and have finally convinced DH to at least consider that option. My small town hospital won't do them, so I'm looking for a new doctor in a bigger town an hour and a half away.
So, really, anyone have any encouraging advice or success stories with VBACs after a labor like mine?
Re: Looking for advice..
Go for it! Every labor and baby is different!
Long labors are tough...its hard to endure pain for long, and to go without decent sleep for so long. I'm sure you were exhausted! For #2 your body will have already gone through a lot of it before...and usually (usually) 2nd labors are shorter.
Here are my thoughts, but of course I don't know much about your 1st labor...
Piticin could have effected your body's ability to labor efficiently. It certainly messes with the natural flow of things. If you can avoid that this time around, that might help. I'm sure they wanted to use it b/c your early labor was so long and they wanted to move things along, but if your water hadn't broken and there weren't other issues, then there wasn't any medical reason to use Pitocin.
Were you able to move around, or did you have an epidural? I'm guessing by the fever that you had an epidural. Its possible that if you could have changed positions DS could have "fit"...there are positions that open your pelvis more to allow room. This time around if you get an epidural again, if you want, you could request to have it "turned down" before you start pushing so that you can push in a different position, and also so you can feel the contractions a bit and work with them.
Also, 1.5 hours of pushing is really hard after 58 hours of labor, but if you have a shorter labor this time, and the pushing stage is lengthy you will have more strength to go longer and achieve a vaginal birth.
Those are just my initial thoughts...I think its great that you're going to give it a shot! Chances are that if you find the right, supportive care and environment, you'll get yoru VBAC! Good luck!
My daughter's birth was very similar to yours. Long labor, 2 hours of pushing, stuck baby, c/s. I could also feel them having to pull her out of my pelvis during the surgery--not fun! Did your doctor say anything about why the baby got stuck? Were they in the OP position or some other weird position? My daughter was in the OP position and my OB didn't realize it, so I think that is why she got stuck.
I will be trying to have a VBAC this time. So you are not alone! The OB that did my c/s told me my pelvis was too small and I could never have a vaginal birth. But I have gotten opinions from several doctors and midwives who say I am a good candidate for VBAC and my current doctor told me to just forget about what the other OB said. There are studies showing that over 60% of women who had a c/s for their pelvis being "too small" are able to have VBACs next time. Considering that the overall vaginal birth rate in the US is only 68%, those odds sound good to me! So I'm going to give it a try and see what happens.
I didn't get to labor and haven't vbac'ed yet. So I can't speak from experience. But please don't feel like a failure. I know we all have probably felt that at some point or another. You did the best you could and you needed the interventions you got to have the best outcome for you and baby.
I agree w/ pp'ers that every birth is different. I had HELLP and so I'm terrified of getting it again. So I know how you're feeling. I just keep telling myself that it won't happen again and if it does, we'll know more what to expect and so even then it will be different.
Alistair ? Yes, I did have an epidural. If I had had a normal labor I think I could have done it without it, but I was so exhausted after two days of no sleep I needed something.
Iris ? I do not know if he was in the OP position or anything. My doctor moved shortly after DS was born; I wonder if it would be on my chart. Just more for my curiosity. Good luck with your pregnancy and delivery!
Marge ? Thanks. It took a while to cope with it, but I?m glad that I was able to have a healthy baby in the end.
And thanks to all for the encouragement.
My labor was very similar (55 hours, 4 hours of pushing with no progress and a c-section of a 9.5 pound monster baby) and I'm hoping to VBAC this time. No encouraging stories yet but check back in 8 weeks
Seriously, it sounds like you want to try. I'd give it a shot!
Erbear - Good luck! Let me know how it goes.
I found a VBAC friendly doctor today and my first appointment is January 3rd. Have to bring all my pregnancy related medical records with me. Guess I'll find out more then.
My first labor was like Iris's - dilated on my own, pushed for 4+ hours until it was discovered DS was OP, and then a c-section. I just had a successful VBAC with DS2, who was 2+ pounds bigger than DS1, but anterior - my c-section was most likely due to positioning. There's also a study that came out in which the conclusion was that most c-sections come about because of failure to wait, i.e. if women were given more time, they'd be able to have a vaginal birth. That might have been a factor, too, for you.
Check out spinningbabies.com if you haven't seen it before, and think about going to a chiropractor - I was super-skeptical of them before this past pg, but even if she didn't keep my pelvis in alignment, I had a lot less aches and pains and sciatica this time around. Good luck!
DS2 - Oct 2010 (my VBAC baby!)