hoping for a vbac...pitocin?....confused by some of your posts
mamamimi77
member
Ive read through a few of your posts and some of you have said you got pitocin during your VBAC. I am trying for a vbac (had to have csection with son due to his medical issues) and just signed the scary sheet they give you. However, I was under the impression by my doc, the scary sheet, and other vbac friends that pitocin is never to be given during a vbac. just wondering if your drs explained why you got it? I dont want it and hope to do this one all natural (had planned that the 1st time too), im just curious as to why some use it and others refuse to use it.
Also, my dr has not given me any restrictions so far regarding how long i can go past my due date, how long i can labor (obviously im assuming not past the 24 hr water-broke rule), how long im allowed to push etc etc. I never even thought to ask these questions truthfully til just now after reading a few articles. thoughts?
Re: hoping for a vbac...pitocin?....confused by some of your posts
There is some evidence that pitocin can raise the risk of rupture in some circumstances. Some doctors prefer to just say no to the whole thing and not deal with it, and some are ok with it in certain doses and circumstances.
I'm sure all of us that got it got it for one of two reasons: to induce or to augment labor. The doctor doesn't really need to explain that. It's just that different doctors are willing to do different things. Just like some won't allow VBAC at all, and some will.
I was given pit to start labor because the hospital (not my CNM) had a restriction that I could not go past 41 weeks. When I reached 41 weeks, my options were induction or RCS and I was not willing to have surgery just because I reached the end of the hospital's timeline.
Pit is safe in VBACs in smaller doses and if you are monitored. Obviously, I would have preferred NOT to have had it but since it was between that and a RCS, I believe I made the right choice.
Many doctors don't allow it because they seem to put a lot of restrictions on VBACs and that is one they just don't like to do. Yes, it slightly raises the risk of rupture, but it is such a small increase (according to research) I am surprised that doctors don't prefer it over a RCS, safety-wise.
I had pitocin with my first son and it took them a long time to regulate it (I kept contracting without stopping) and then my son wasn't tolerating it: c section. With my second son (different doctors, different hospital) they suggested it after I was laboring for over 24 hours without progressing. First they gave me a foley bulb, and then recommended the pitocin. After discussing it with the OB, I declined it based on my prior experience. Instead we opted to break my water. That progressed me further, but after some internal monitoring the OB said my contractions were not measuring strongly enough to change my cervix, and she once again recommended the smallest possible dose of pitocin. I took it that time, and eventually dilated completely and had my VBAC.
As has been said on this board before, I think it is mostly important that you do your own research and trust your providers. Then don't be afraid to speak up when you are in labor. As it turns out, they were right and I needed the pitocin. But I don't regret for a second my decision to postpone it and try to see what my body could do without it, and I was much happier with my care this time around since I felt like I made decisions with my providers versus being told what was going to happen.
I was induced for gestational hypertension, with pitocin. It worked very well for me, my labor was extrememly quick, started the pit at 11:30, broke my water at 4:30 and I progressed from a 1 at that point to pushing by 6:50 and she was born at 7:14.
I have one of the most VBAC friendly OBs in the nation I have been told. His success rate is really high. I think it's because he treats VBAC moms like moms. He does the pit slow, and will not use cytotec or cervadil. He does not normally induce until 42+ weeks, but thought that it would be safer for me. When he mentioned it, he told me it would not take my VBAC away, and it did not.
I honestly do not know if pitocin makes contractions worse or not, I have never had a contraction without. Until they broke my water, it only felt like menstral cramps. But they were also not dialating me at all. Once they broke my water, it was VERY painful, the contractions were regular, coming about 45 seconds apart, and this happened quickly. I was able to avoid pain meds though.