Successful VBAC after previous stalled labor?

eandk18 · September 2013

Hello! I delivered twin girls 6 weeks ago via c-section at 38 weeks. I had to be induced due to pre-eclampsia. I started labor at 2 cm and then got pitocin and over the course of 16 hours progressed to 8 cm and one of my daughters got "stuck" in my pelvis. However, my OB told me she was "sunnyside" up so that could have been the reason things stalled. Then I developed a fever, so, I had to have a c-section.

I went for my postpartum visit today and asked if I would need to have a c section for future pregnancies and my OB said probably. He said since my girls were only 5.5 lbs and got "stuck" it's likely to happen again, especially since the baby will likely be bigger. I really want to have a vaginal delivery so I've been researching and it seems that I may be able to have a vaginal birth even if this was the reason I had to have a c section to begin with. I think my OB would let me try it.

Just curious if anyone else was successful in this situation? We aren't even thinking of TTC soon, I'm just trying to prepare myself. Also, I think I'm still really bothered by the fact that I had a c-section. My physical recovery was so easy, but I didn't realize it would be harder on me emotionally!

iris427 · September 2013

I had a similar situation. My first baby was average sized and sunny side up. She got stuck (although I also don't know how patient my OB was at letting me try) and I had a c/s. I asked my OB afterward if the reason she got stuck was because of her position, and my OB said basically what yours said. That my baby was only average sized and so it probably wasn't her position but rather that my pelvis was too small. She told me unless I had a preemie next time, I most likely would not be able to deliver vaginally.

I did some research and found that even when your c/s is done for cephalopelvic disproportion (pelvis too small), you have over a 60% chance of having a successful VBAC. I also discovered that when a baby is sunny side up (occiput posterior, or OP position), the mother's chance of having a c/s go up significantly, but it doctors rotate the baby to the correct position, most mothers can deliver vaginally. This suggests that it is often the baby's OP position, not the mother's pelvic size, that causes a c/s in these cases. Most babies enter the pelvis with the smallest part of their head, but OP babies enter the pelvis with the biggest part of their head. It's not that the pelvis isn't big enough, just that you're trying to fit something through it the wrong way.

I found a new doctor who believed I would have a good chance at a VBAC, and I had a vaginal birth with my second who was not a preemie, and in fact was 2 oz larger than my first. So yes, you may be able to have a vaginal birth. Many women do. The only way to know for sure is to find a supportive doctor or midwife and give it a try. GL!

annabelle.27 · September 2013

I had a section with my first, who was also OP, after three hours of pushing with no progress. I had my second baby, a bigger baby than the first, in a successful vbac, and was only in labour for two hours from first contraction to birth.

Yes your babies were small, but their head circumference probably wasn't much smaller than average, and that is the part you had problem with (due to their positioning). I don't believe size matters nearly as much as they make it sound.

Successful VBAC after previous stalled labor?

Re: Successful VBAC after previous stalled labor?

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