Success stories for VBAC over age 40? (xp from vbac board)
JKohio
member
(I posted this on the vbac board for their input, too.)
I'm 42 and pg with our 2nd. My son's birth was an attempted induction
on my due date (because I was 38) that turned into a c-section
(non-emergency). The reason for that c-section was that the baby's head
was apparently larger than my body could accommodate and that the cord
was wrapped around the baby's head. So, he was basically stressed. There
were zero complications with the 1st pregnancy and so far, there are
none with this one either. I'm 18 weeks along right now. All I know is
that they won't be inducing this time around. At the moment, we're
figuring it would have to be a scheduled c-section, which I guess is ok,
but part of me wonders if a v-birth would have a more straightforward
recovery and such. (My son will be 4yrs old when the baby is born.)
My doc isn't encouraging me regarding VBAC for this one because
of my age, but I was wondering if anyone out there has had a successful
VBAC at an older age and what the circumstances of your c-section and
subsequent VBAC were. What was the reason for your 1st (or multiple) c/s
and what made you a good candidate for VBAC? How did the VBAC turn out?
Re: Success stories for VBAC over age 40? (xp from vbac board)
My 3rd baby was csection - he was breech, head down, transverse - all over the place the last week or so & DURING early labor. We decided to do a Csection because the on-call OB (we use a mw) felt that since baby was moving so much, there was a strong possibility that his head was bigger than usual and he simply couldn't get into position - add to that the fact that he kept turning, and the OB was also concerned that if we went ahead and tried to augment labor with pitocin, he might turn again just at delivery and we'd end up in an emergency cs - so we went ahead. I think it was a good call, his head was 15 1/2", and he was just shy of 10 lbs.
what made you a good candidate for VBAC? How did the VBAC turn out?
The VBACs I've had were not over 40, but at 37 & 39, and this time I'll be 41. I was a good candidate because there was no MEDICAL reason for the cs (diabetes, issues that would make delivery dangerous for me or babies,etc.)
Both VBACs were wonderful. Both times I had an 8lb 20in lo. One was even delivered sunny-side up - ouch! And, I did end up with GD with my last one, and still had a VBAC cause his size was good.
Keep in mind, with a VBAC, you stay pregnant until your body decides it's ready for labor because it's too risky to induce & have the harder, unnatural contractions of an induction.