Do I need a new doctor?

choogasian · November 2011

I want to start by saying I LOVE my OB/GYN. She was the most supportive, caring doctor throughout my pregnancy. As I got closer to my due date, the baby started measuring big and I had extreme anxiety about having a huge baby, my doctor & I decided to do an induction at 39 weeks. Well, induction failed. I was contracting great, but never got past a 3 in over 24 hours. Thankfully my c-section recovery went pretty well.

Flash forward to today. I called my doc because we are already talking about TTC baby #2. I asked her about how long to wait to get pregnant in order to try for a vbac. She said to wait at least a year (that's fine) but she seemed hesitant. So, I pushed and asked more questions. I asked if I was a good candidate, she said that it does make it more difficult because I didn't dialate. I then asked her if it was just doubtful. She said it may have less of a chance than others, but there's no way to really know. I asked her if she did a lot of vbacs and encouraged them. She said she absolutely encourages them, but she always wants to make sure that a patient is educated about the potential risks of vbacs. She said that when vbacs go wrong, they go "very wrong." She said that when they go wrong, there are only seconds to try to fix it, and sometimes, "it's not enough time." There are risks, and you need to know the risks, "especially with a little one at home."

So, is she basically saying that I need to know that I (or my baby) could die and I shouldn't risk it with a baby at home? Is she just being honest, or is she a doctor I should walk away from?

cjpreuss · November 2011

Sounds like she is just a caring doctor. BUT.. it's funny that she does't give you the same warning about a RCS.

VBAC ladies who know more than me: Correct me if I'm wrong.. The chance of you dying from a uterine rupture during a VBAC is a third less (about) than the chance of you dying from a RCS. And the risk to the baby during a uterine rupture is about the same as it is to you during a RCS. SO, if she is worried about your little one at home being motherless, a VBAC is definitely the safer option.

Again, I may be way off base here, so please correct if needed!

cchill01 · November 2011

I might give her some more time. Even my very supportive provider gave me the "you and the baby could die" speech. I would have your first appointment with her and ask lots of questions about their restrictions and procedures. How long will they let you go? What type of monitoring will they do? Do you have to have an epidural and heploc in place? Will they use any pitocin?

As for the death issue, we could also die during an RCS or during first time labor or while driving to get lunch today. We all need to be educated and decide what risks we are comfortable with. There's no one answer for everyone.

babyike · November 2011

Honestly, I am having a similar dilemma with my OB. Long story short... Now that we've moved back to Texas, I'm back to seeing my same OB I had for my c/s with DD (my VBAC was with a hospital midwife group I saw when we lived in Colorado last year). She is amazingly nurturing and I do not hold her responsible for my c/s with DD. I do, however, hold the on-call doc and my labor nurses fully responsible for not letting me move around during labor, starting pitocin without my consent/acknowledgement, forcing all kinds of interventions, etc... the list is awful and very very long.

Anywho... my OB brought up VBAC for baby #3 (we're TTC right now) and let me know she was on board a couple of months ago when she removed my IUD. Now, she is coming across as very anxious/unsupportive/judging when I went in for a f/u appt for a long cycle. Her supportive candor had been replaced with "20 questions" regarding my VBAC choices for DS, and her confidence had been replaced with doubt and skepticism.

I've decided to start interviewing other OBs in the area (as there are no hospital midwife groups that do VBACs here) to get some other perspectives. I did this prior to moving to CO, but I'd like a fresh start if you KWIM. I was also invited back to the hospital midwife practice in CO for our next baby as long as I could be up there around 36 weeks and remain there until delivery (which is doable... not convenient, but doable).

IMO, even the "nicest, most supportive" OBs can pull a bait and switch. Their intentions may be good, but they lack the ability to see situations from their patients' perspectives when it comes to VBACs versus RCS. Do you have other providers you can meet with to perhaps get 2nd/3rd opinions from regarding VBAC? GL to you!

chicsub · November 2011

I disagree with pp, a true supporter wouldn't sound like this, imo. I think she's giving you all the signs that she isn't supportive unless the stars align and may be fidgety at the end b/c of her conservative stance on it. How big was your first baby? One obvious reason you didn't dilate the first time was probably b/c you were a first time mom that was induced early and your body wasn't ready. The fact that she doesn't take that into account means that she's putting the blame on your body failing already. Of course it's all about your comfort level, but with my VBAC pregnancy I ended up switching providers at 25w b/c I didn't want to be looked at as just a scarred uterus.

I will add that just b/c she isn't supportive of a VBAC (consciously or not), doesn't mean that she isn't a great OB. Just not someone that I would go to if I wanted to have a VBAC. I switched back to my old practice after my VBAC b/c I really like them, but this was my birth experience and I don't regret that I did it.

nosoup4u · November 2011

Walk away! Anyone who plays the "dead mommy" card is a jerk.

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