Not trying for vbac

lemonlimes · February 2014

My doctor has given me the option if a vbac. I know vaginal births are generally better. Is there anyone who decided against a vbac and if so, what were your reasons?

greeneyed_bride · February 2014

We're about 90% sure that I'm going to go with a repeat c-section instead of a VBAC. My doctor gave me the option (and she generally leans more towards doing things as naturally as possible, so she's not one to pressure someone into a c-section,) but because we're 100% sure that this is our last child and we were on the fence about VBAC vs RCS, she said that in her opinion, we might as well not take the risks associated with VBAC. To be clear, the risks of uterine rupture are pretty low, but the outcome when it does happen can be devastating. If we were planning to have more children, she said that it would make more sense to try for a VBAC because your overall risks increase with each c-section.

Other things that we needed to consider were that our closest family is four hours away and we (obviously) have another child, and that my husband works a job where he can't just pick up and leave if I go into labor. He's an ER doctor, and the places he works are single-coverage hospitals (meaning he's the only doctor there when he's working.) So he would have to wait for someone else to come in to cover him before he could leave work, and one of the hospitals he works for is an hour away. Not having family in the area means that it would be a little tricky to find someone to watch our son on short notice, especially at night, because most of our friends have young children. Those reasons wouldn't be enough to make a major medical decision one way or the other, but they did make us feel more comfortable with the idea of a repeat c-section.

ETA - fixed a word

Brissett · February 2014

Leaning towards a repeat c-section but, keeping my options open. Time between deliveries will only be 14 months so that is not ideal and my doctor would much prefer to try for a VBAC if my body goes into labor naturally. If I have to be induced for perclampsia (like last time), I will go with the section.

Worcbride · February 2014

I did not do a vbac--I knew what to expect with the c-section (even tho my first was unplanned); I had a great experience with my first and was fine repeating it. I know some women have felt "cheated" when they have had to have a c-section....I never did. A healthy baby was always my goal and I achieved that....2x. In fact at my first OB appt with my second pregnancy, the moment the dr walk in I said "not going vbac/don't ask" :-)

capulet · February 2014

I had a rough labor with my first and a decent c/s recovery. I was a VBAC candidate with DS, but when it came down to it, I felt like I would only have done it out of a sense of obligation, and a sense of obligation wouldn't have gotten me through another labor (in retrospect, having experienced a few hours of labor with DS since my water broke before my scheduled RCS, I think I could have done it, but my second c/s went well and I have no regrets). The risks are about even and not that high either way, all other things being equal.

slwprincess · February 2014

My doc/hospital still don't really encourage vbac. If I had really wanted one, they would have allowed me to try but since this was my third and last (had my tubes tied) and I've had positive c/s experiences, I felt strongly that c/s was the right choice for me. I'm pretty convinced a vbac would have been unsuccessful.

bitsybubbles7 · February 2014

With lo I was in labor roughly 29 hours, never progressed past 4cm (even after a round of pitocin), and ended with an emergency c/s. I asked about my chances for a vbac on my 6 week appt and my ob told me that he thought the same thing would happen again; but if I wanted to try, he was game. Now that I'm pregnant again, I decided going through what I went though with lo is not what I want, so rcs it is. Plus I will have a due date that I WILL have a baby on and we will be able to plan so dh is off from work and lo is at the grandparents.

InLovewSB · February 2014

My doctor gave me the VBAC option for Baby#2. However, after my son, I was diagnosed with cephalopelvic disproportion (a small pelvis) because G was only 7lbs 6oz but would not descend past -0- station when I was pushing. I had labored unmedicated with him about 20 hours and pushed for 2 hours before having the c-section, and I felt the recovery was made more difficult because I was so completely exhausted from labor.

So as I mentioned the doctor gave me the vbac option for #2, but he said because I had a small pelvis he felt that the odds were about 1 in 10 that I could have the baby vaginally, with a 90% chance of ending up back in the OR for a c-section if I reached the pushing stage. Those being terrible odds and knowing the pain and recovery ahead after laboring first, I easily elected a repeat c-section.

My friend recently went forward with a VBAC plan, but when she reached 42 weeks, she and her doctor agreed upon a repeat c-section. It was lucky for her that she did because after the procedure began the doctor discovered that the uterine scar tissue had adhered to her abdominal wall, and he felt that if she had labored/contracted that she may have very well ruptured.

slwprincess · February 2014

I forgot to say that I also feel like VBAC is something that you need to really want. I think the mental preparation for a vbac is even more intense than for a first time vaginal L&D. If you are iffy on it, it seems likely that you will be swayed to c/s at some point. At least that has been the case for those I know who attempted it. Those that REALLY wanted it and prepared themselves mentally/physically were either successful or very comfortable with the RCS b/c they had at least tried. But for those that were like "yeah, whatever- vbac would be fine." They all ended up with a c/s anyway.

lemonlimes · February 2014

Thank you everyone

HotChocolate79 · February 2014

Me. Less than zero desire to experience vaginal birth and I am a lot more comfortable with risks of RCS over those of vbac.

callalilly323 · February 2014

HotChocolate79 said:

Me. Less than zero desire to experience vaginal birth and I am a lot more comfortable with risks of RCS over those of vbac.

This!

beaniousmaximus · August 2014

I had planned to try for VBAC and felt excited about it. But the more I think about it, the more unsure I feel. I have this feeling like I'll just end up with another csection in the end. I've read that the recovery is worse when you labor before a csection, so I think I'm just going to have a rcs. Then we can also plan for my boyfriend to take time off work to watch our 2 year old while I'm in the hospital and maybe even coincide it with his winter holidays (the baby is due for December 22). I'll also know what to expect and there isn't this huge guessing game going into it. I feel a lot more comfortable with this.

Not trying for vbac

Re: Not trying for vbac

Choose Another Board

Search Boards