- Pregnancy
- Baby & Toddler
- Parents
- Getting Pregnant
- Baby Names
- Product Reviews
-
Registry
- Community
-
More
Want a personalized experience?
Download the free app
VBAC
If you FTP the 1st time, do you know what the chances are of it happening again? (long)
I would really like to attempt a VBAC but I'm scared that what happened last time will happen again and I'll end up with another c/s. I really don't want to go through labor again if I have a high chance of another c/s when I can just make things easier and can schedule a c/s. Here's what happened:
The morning I was supposed to go in to be induced (I was borderline pre-e) I went into labor on my own. My water broke at 4:30 AM. After 12 hours of labor, I was dialate to 6 cm and the contraction were really painful so I got an epi. I was checked a few hours later and I had not progressed so I was given some pitocin. 4 more hours went by and I still was only 6 cm. DS was ready to come out and he got his head stuck in my cervix which caused my cervix (and the rest of my body) to swell up. Not only that but he was pressing on a nerve which was causeing me excruciating pain in my upper back, shoulders and neck. It was seriously the most painful thing I had ever experienced. I was ok if I was on my side, but if I had to be on my back for any reason, it was extremely painful.
It had been 18 hours at that point and we decided that since I hadn't progressed in the last 6 hours and my cervix was now swelling it probably wasn't going to happen so it was time for a c/s. When they prepped me and put me on my back I was screaming and crying in pain. I couldn't even lift my head up on my own. They gave me a ton of pain meds and it didn't help at all. They finally said that if I can't lay still on my back they would have to put me to sleep. I didn't want that so I asked if they could prop my head up a little on a blanket or something which seemed to illeviate the pain a little. They did and I managed to get through the c/s.
The actual c/s was a piece of cake. I didn't feel anything from the waste down. As soon as they got DS out my upper back pain was mostly gone. I was still a bit sore but by the next day it was completely gone and I had no after effects.
My c/s was fairly easy and I had a pretty easy recovery with no issues so although I would like to try a VBAC I wouldn't be terribly upset to have another c/s.
The other problem is that my whole family has a history of big babies, my mom, my sister, all my aunts and cousins. DS was 9 lbs, 8 oz which is exactly how much I weighed when I was born so the chances that this baby will be big too is pretty high. I'm scared I'll have the same problems that I did last time. I know no one can tell me for sure if it will happen again but I'm trying to determine the odds so I can decide if I should try for a VBAC or just schedule a c/s.
WWYD?
This discussion has been closed.
Re: If you FTP the 1st time, do you know what the chances are of it happening again? (long)
This is really a personal decision. I personally would try for a VBAC. My DS was 10 lbs 2 oz (not the reason for the CS). My DD who I VBACed was 8 lbs, 5 oz. Big babies run in my family but I was willing to take the chance of having to push out a huge baby:-)
But this is your body, your baby, and your call to make the decision you and your DH are most comfortable with!
I think it depends upon at what point you FTP. I was just talking about this with my dr. this AM - because I FTP after pushing for 2 hours and DD was not large or in a weird position, my chances of VBAC are very low - around 10%.
But she said, if I had FTP at 4cm, it would be very different because all I would need to do is get to a 5 to make success more likely.
The thing is that FTP is a description of a result, not a description of a problem. You can FTP for many reasons, and some are likely to be a problem again (such as an abnormally small pelvis) and some are not (such as the cord being wrapped around the baby several times). Do you know what position he was in? I haven't heard of the nerve issue before, which makes me wonder if he was laying funny. I'm definitely not an expert or anything, but I know labor with my posterior baby was excruciating, and labor with my second (started out head-down facing the side, but corkscrewed into proper position) was SO, SO, SO much easier. They were essentially the same size (7 lbs. 8 oz., 21.5" for the first and 7 lbs. 9 oz., 21" for the second), but one couldn't fit and one could because of position.
I seriously just logged on after midnight to research this exact question. I'm interested to see if you get any helpful answers. I could have written this myself. My water broke, I was put on pitocin, FTP beyond 6cm.. etc etc.
I'm switching Dr.'s mid-pregnancy and intend to ask my new Dr. what his thoughts are about my chances of a VBAC.