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D.C. Area Babies
Really discouraged :(
I'm 38w2d and I am REALLY hoping for a VBAC. I had my first ever cervix check today (never had one with DS since we knew he was c/s since about 36 weeks). I've been having contractions a lot for the past week, and my doctor even felt one when she palpated my stomach. So she said "this is a great sign" and she said she could feel the baby's head down low. So then she checked my cervix and her tone changed a little. She said I am completely closed (0cm) and 50% effaced. She said there is still time but I do need to mentally prepare myself for another c/s. I feel like my body sucks. My body couldn't get it right with DS, my body couldn't get it right with my miscarriage (I did FOUR rounds of the drugs to induce a m/c and nothing worked and I had to have a D&C). I feel like my cervix is Ft. Knox or something. She said the baby's head is not in a good position (yet). After sitting on the monitors for 15m, I did have a couple contractions, but clearly they're doing nothing for me!
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Re: Really discouraged :(
Don't fret just yet! I pushed to get my VBAC deadline set at 42 weeks. My OBs agreed (sort of at the last minute). They had to put my repeat section on the schedule and as it turned out, on 42 w 0d they were fully booked, so I had to schedule it for one day earlier (Thursday instead of Friday). I went in for my check up on Monday. I was barely 1 and maybe 50% effaced. I left in tears, convinced that I would end up with a section because I only had three days to get things going. That night I did an EPO insert before I went to bed. I don't know if it was the insert or just plain luck, but my water broke at midnight and DD2 was born at 11 am on Tuesday via VBAC.
How long will your OBs let you go? My OBs originally told me I had until 41 weeks, but I convinced them to let me go another week. Any chance you can do that?
This probably sounds hokey, but I'd really try as much as possible to think positive thoughts and boost your confidence in your body's abilities - you CAN do it, and you definitely have time. I've heard some powerful stories about visualization and other techniques that can help.
I'd try doing as much physical activity like walking as you can - I think that gravity helps put pressure on your cervix to help it open.
Also didn't someone post just the other day that they were able to get their baby to turn with some non-traditional techniques? maybe that could help too.
ETA: PP reminded me, I used evening primrose oil as well - I didn't know there was an insert so I took capsules I bought at whole foods, starting at 37 weeks (DS was born at 38w 5d).
My experience is limited to just one pregnancy but after pre-term labor, bedrest for over 2 weeks and an appointment on a Friday telling me I was no longer dilated and I could return to work on Monday. DD was born on Sunday and I was at 6cm when I arrived at the hospital.
So, think positive thoughts, walk a lot and I hope everything works out the way you want!
I know how you feel when you think your body is failing you (IF treatments, 14w of bedrest for short cervix, slightly premature babies, now they need speech therapy which makes me feel like I've failed them), and it sucks. But, look on the bright side and think of all your body has done--a healthy DS, a cervix has kept your LO safe and cozy for the past 38w, etc. I would have killed to have a cervix of steel like yours.
I don't have experience with a VBAC, but I can tell you that with both of my pregnancies, it seemed like my kids were never. going. to. leave. With DD#1, I was barely a 1 cm dilated and was not at all effaced 48 hours before she arrived, au natural, 6 days late. With DD#2 I was between 1 and 2 cm and barely effaced for a couple of weeks before she made her entrance, 10 days post EDD. In both cases, NSTs were done and I was definitely having contractions, the babies just weren't ready to come out. As hard as it is right now, as pps have said, just try to think positive thoughts, keep busy with whatever else you can and wait for the LO to arrive. A lot can happen in a short time and you are still over a week away from 40 weeks. If you can push back the date set for the C/S, that will give you and the baby some breathing room.
Hang in there!!!
I'm sorry you are feeling this way. I know that it can be really hard when you are hoping things go one way and then it doesn't seem like they will. I hope you get to have the VBAC.
With all of that being said, I wanted to say that recovering from my second c-section was so much better than the first time. I knew more of what to expect and for some reason, it wasn't as hard. Also, I started wearing a post-partum support band on day 3 and that helped tremendously.
I wouldn't give up - your body IS designed for this. How long will the OB let you go before performing a C-section? I was with MW so maybe a bit different but I was finally induced at 42 weeks - DD was NOT coming out. It turned out that she knew what she was doing - if she had been born at 40 weeks, she would have weighed 5lb something instead of the 6lb 13 oz she was at birth.
Your LO may just be nestled in for the duration to grow as they need to - and i know plenty of women who have gone from 0 to over 5cm within a day or two. Don't get too discouraged - and, it took me a long time to TRULY believe this because I didn't have the labor experience I wanted, but, as long as you and bebe make it out healthy and happy, it really, truly is all that matters.
Good luck to you, mama!
Thanks for your support
I can push the date back a week. My primary OB is in the hospital on Mondays. My dd is March 4. I think I could get an induction on Monday the 5th (my OB is in the hospital then!) if I have ANY progress in the dilation department. The other OBs in the practice are not as progressive as mine and probably wouldn't agree to go as far as my own would. Maybe I can try my best to get dilated somehow by the 5th with the understanding that if the induction fails, I'll have to get a c/s that night. I guess I could live with that. Or, do I wait until Monday the 12th? I feel like that puts me at risk for a macrosomic baby since DS was 8.8 at 39w...
I like stories like this
I don't have VBAC experience, either, but I was 50% effaced and 1cm at my 36 week appt (which was at 36w3d) and J was born at 37 weeks exactly. So, you never know.
And I know it's hard, but try not to blame your body. Easier said than done, I know--I still feel like my body failed when I had the m/c. But this is something that is out of your control, you know? Medical science doesn't really know what causes us to go in to labor, so it's not something you're doing right or wrong.
TTC #2: BFP 12/17/11, m/c 1/7/12 and D&C 1/12/12
baby blog/cooking blog
I know what you mean, but you of course know you didn't fail your kids in any way! I owe you an email - I'll send you one later this week. I don't have any updates, but we're FINALLY starting speech on Thursday. I'm actually looking forward to it. Have you started yet or just done the evaluation?
OP - I don't have any advice, but I really hope things work out the best for you. It's miserable to feel like you have no control.
No VBAC experience here, either, but I was not dilated at all, and 0% effaced at the last appointment I had with DD. I was sure I was going to be induced at 2 weeks (or whatever day we had picked; I can't remember) because she did not seem like she was ready to emerge.
Low and behold, out she came on her the day after her due date! So, as all the PPs said, you just never know.
I'll be crossing my fingers for you.
I'm with the others - your body is designed for this and knows what it's doing
Don't prepare for another section - mentally and visually prepare for the vbac you KNOW you can do!
My best friend just had a vbac - she was completely closed (not effaced or dilated) at her 40 week appt and went into labor 5 days later.
GL mama! You can do this!
growing a foosa
so i'm a little late to the post and i haven't read the replies, so apologies if anything i say is covered.
my most favorite quote regarding pregnancy and birth is from Ina May Gaskins: "your body is not a lemon." i know it's easier said than done, but give your body the opportunity to perform. due to unfortunate circumstances, you have had two previous issues that have absolutely NO bearing on what will happen with this pregnancy and birth. this is a brand new birthing opportunity - a new baby and a new experience (vaginal birth). give your body an opportunity to do this before you shut it down.
the contractions you are having now and are just your uterus warming up for the big day. see, your body DOES WORK! not all women experience pre-labor warm ups like you are, and even then, not all women dilate from them. for all the women who were dilated before going into labor, you'll find just as many who were not...just as many who, like you, were told that they weren't open at all at an appointment, but then went into spontaneous labor and had a baby within 24 hours. it happens. dilation is not a necessary precursor to labor. i understand the frustration surrounding dilation though - with my first, i was 4cm for weeks before i went into labor, which spurred all kinds of self-doubt. for this reason, i declined internal exams with my second pregnancy. IEs tell you absolutely nothing about pending labor. they are a singular snapshot of one piece of information in a much bigger picture. they give you current information, but no prediction on anything else. IEs are medically unnecessary, so I figured i wouldn't worry about the information they provided and just not do them at all. perhaps you might consider that, too.
i also have pregnancies on the longer end of gestation - since your DS had to be born early, you don't know how long your body/babies really need to gestate. my DD was born, via spontaneous labor at 41.6. as long as you and your baby are healthy (and there are multiple, non-invasive methods of determing baby's health and the condition of your placenta - the #1 reason why OBs don't want you to go past some artificial gestation period). IMO, there is way to much hype placed on not going past 40 weeks for reasons that are not supported by medical evidence and instead women are pressured into inductions before their babies are ready to be born (and before their bodies are ready to birth, causing unnecessary c/s), resulting in pre-term babies with a host of birth problems and underdeveloped lungs. there is not enough emphasis placed on allowing women's bodies to do what they have done for eons, birth without augmentation. yes, there are some women who need support because their health or their baby's health was at risk, but for the most part, women's bodies work.
macrosomnia is a serious condition, but the reality is that the majority of women will not produce a baby that is actually too big to be born vaginally. this is a myth that is propelled by obstetrical practices that call for mandatory inductions at 40 weeks, that recommend sizing screenings when it is fact that u/s sizing screenings decline in accuracy up to +/-2lbs by the 38th week (and so why even do them at that level of inaccuracy?), and propelled by OBs who are often constrained by insurance and an extremely letigious society. unfortunately, it's moms and babies who ultimately suffer when they are forced into inductions and c/s that they didn't really want (and most often didn't need). look up the risk factors for macrosomia. having one previous big baby is not a risk factor. it is much more likely that your baby will have a smooth birth than it is that your baby will have a difficult birth and require intervention or sustain a birth injury.
is your baby vertex (head down)? what did she mean when she said her head was not in a good position? at 38 weeks, your baby has plenty of time and will shift into an optimal fetal position (OFP). check out www.spinningbabies.com for tips on encouraging OFP.
i work with women all the time on preparing for labor. i'd be happy to talk with you off the board and help you get your mind right around your vbac. it's so important to embrace this opportunity and not put up mental barriers! PM me or email me at Lindsey AT SunflowersHealingandWellness DOT com, if you are interested.
Thank you
and I will e-mail you.
Just as an update, I went to a new chiropractor this morning and had the Webster technique done. That definitely didn't feel great, but I think it was a good kind of pain. I hope it did something. Plus, my right side was not properly aligned at all, so hopefully I got that a bit remedied. I'll go back every few days until the baby is born (or I run out of money, stupid Tricare not covering chiro visits!!)
DH's cousin's wife, a doula, is on her way over to help me with some techniques and movements, so I'm looking forward to that. I'm also keeping up with my EPO and raspberry leaf tea and will hope for the best.
Thanks everyone for your support. I love this board.
PM sent!