Ladies that had a sucessful VBAC- a question about pushing

ghaber · July 2012

I am hoping for a vbac this time around, I had a c-section with my first for FTP and his heart rate started to drop with pitocin and contractions. I posted about this before, but I really think that it was more of my dr's impatience to wait out the labor, but I don't have proof of that. So I am hoping for a vbac, and I switched to a practice that is more vbac friendly. My question is, I never had labor or natural contractions so I really dont know what the urge to push feels like. Do your instincts just kick in? Even with an epi, can you still feel that urge? And if you have episiotomy/tearing, do you feel the stiching afterwards? I think now that its getting closer (almost 34 wks) Im starting to get really nervous that my vbac might really happen! Any advice on keeping my cool?

ChynaDholl · July 2012

For me, the urge to push was overwhelming and my body actually started to push DD out on it's own. I never had an epi with my VBAC so I don't know if you still feel anything. I had a 3rd degree tear and other than when they give the injections of anesthetic, I didn't feel anything. I think you need to start reading positive VBAC birth stories and accept that it is ok to be a little scared since you are going into essentially an unknown experience (somewhat). GL mama and I hope you are able to get your VBAC

Jena503 · July 2012

My successful vbac story: https://community.thebump.com/cs/ks/forums/thread/25074583.aspx

I had some urge to push, but not overwhelming. I wish my epi wasn't quite so strong at that point. But there's also a monitor showing your contractions, so even if you don't feel it, you can tell when to push. I had a 2nd degree tear, I felt nothing when stiched up.

Jen524 · July 2012

My epi didn't work the greatest to start with, so I definitely felt the urge to push. Your instincts kick in. My body was even trying to push when I wasn't. I felt the stitches until they realized that my epi really wasn't working. Then they gave me something to numb the area. It hurt until they did that. I had a 2nd degree tear.

iris427 · July 2012

I had an epi with my first and I pushed for 2 hours but never felt an urge to push. I had a c/s then and my daughter never got lower than 0 station/+1. I think my pushing stage was mismanaged and that since I didn't have the urge, they should have let me labor down for a while. Some people still feel the urge with an epi, some don't.

With my VBAC, I went med-free and the urge to push was intense. The best way to describe it is throwing up in reverse (but not nearly as unpleasant). There was no way I could have not pushed. I never lost my cool or became overwhelmed. In fact, pushing against the pain of contractions felt good, much easier to handle than the contractions before I was pushing. The best advice I can give is to try to stay relaxed and keep your breathing steady. I focused on deep, slow breaths, making low-pitched noises instead if high-pitched, and keeping my mouth and jaw relaxed. I got those tips from Ina May's book and they really helped me.

angelina477 · July 2012

I had an early epi so they could put in a foley bulp to open my cervix. About 8-10 hours after the epi it started to wear down. I was on pitocin the whole time. I started to have sensation of the baby descending and really could feel him down there. It really is a pooping sensation, where you feel the need to push it out.

I did have tearing that I could not feel at all as it was happening. The stitching hurt a little mainly because my epi was almost gone. I really wanted just to hold my baby and be done with all the doctors so I found the stitches the most annoying part.

The most important thing for me was breathing through my contractions. Even though I couldnt feel them I knew my body was working and needed the extra oxygen.

lostaspen · July 2012

I had a home birth, and a very low key midwife. I was never checked while in active labor, so I never knew what I was at 10cm. I just labored and moved and labored and moved. Things got really intense and I got into a birthing tub (which was fantastic). Then things got intense again and I couldn't help put push. I didn't want to PUSH (I had read Hypnobirthing and wanted to let my body do the pushing naturally), but it got to the point that pushing was the only way to get through a contraction. My body did what it did and I pushed when I absolutely had to!

I had a small tear that required 3 stitches. My midwife had a numbing spray, but I still felt them. They stung a lot, but were over fairly quickly and din't bother me much after they were in.

As for keeping cool--in the last couple of weeks of pregnancy and throughout my labor I read a lot of birth affirmations: https://www.rockymountainbaby.com/pages/birthaffirmations.php I also made a birthing focal point with the quotes, "I am not afraid, I was born to do this." and "Just breath." on it: https://sparrowlanequilts.blogspot.com/2012/03/red-mini-quilts.html

Geekchick921 · July 2012

My first C-section was for the exact same reasons as yours, and I too suspect my doctor was getting impatient (this was right before Christmas, too). I worried about the same kind of things you are. I had a successful VBAC 9 months ago.

I went into labor on my own with my son, and didn't need pit at all until after I delivered (both DS and the placenta). I pushed for 3 hours so they gave me some to help my uterus shrink down/not bleed as much. I honestly didn't even notice it. I had a very well placed epi that mostly just took the edge off for me to get through transition (I no longer wanted to vomit with each contraction). I could still feel a lot, especially while pushing. I absolutely felt the need to push at the peak of contractions when I was fully dilated. I had very minor tearing (my CNM just called them 'skid marks' and put one stitch in each to help them heal faster) and I barely noticed the stitching. I was too doped up on hormones and busy cuddling my baby to care.

As far as keeping your cool, since your C-section reasons were the same as mine, what really gave me confidence was just getting past where I stalled out with DD (6cm). That was also my minimum dilation for letting myself get an epi this time.

babyike · July 2012

I did not have an epi with my VBAC, so I can't speak to how that affects pushing. I can however tell you that without an epi, my body honestly was doing most of the pushing on its own... meaning I was told to stop pushing for a minute and it felt like that was out of my control. So, yes I would definitely say that your bodily instincts kick in at that point.

In regards to feeling the stitches for tearing... I had a very small side-wall tear that required 3 sutures. I absolutely felt them, so I kept asking for more lidocaine. The midwife must have done like 4 lidocaine injections, but to me those sutures were more noticeably painful than pushing IMO. Pushing was 99% pressure-based pain for me.

If you can, get your hands on some VBAC mp3's or CD's. I have the VBAC mp3's from Hypnobabies, or even the Earth Mama Angel Baby CD from ICAN are both fantastic for preparing your mind for your VBAC labor IMO! I put the mp3's and the CD tracks on my iPod, and I literally kept them playing on repeat my entire labor. I made a VBAC playlist with those tracks and a few songs, and that was what I used instead of affirmations or mantras. HTH and GL!

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