VBAC vs repeat c-section?

runnerbikergirl · July 2014

Anyone out there faced with this choice this time around? My first labor was 40 hours long and included 7 hours of pushing. The whole thing was unmedicated and ended in a csection due to baby's position. Recovery was horrible. My doc says I'm a good candidate for a VBAC this time but I'm 50/50 on the fence bc I can't risk a long recovery with a 3 year old and newborn to care for. Anyone figured out a way to work through this decision? I know a lot depends on how the baby is positioned at the end of the pregnancy but my doc seems to want to talk about it at every apt. Thx!

nevah18 · July 2014

My sister in law had a csection with her first and was able to have a vbac with both her other births after. The girls are about 3 years apart each and she was 38 when her youngest was born. She had a much easier recovery with the vbac.

Cheekers2010 · July 2014

Your first birth sounds incredibly difficult. I'm sorry. My first was also malpositioned and I narrowly avoided a c-section. I intend to start chiropractic around 25 weeks to try and prevent a similar problem this time. Have you considered anything like that? You could also set some pretty tight parameters for this labor. I.e. you won't labor more than x amount of hours. And you won't push more than x amount, etc. I've had a client do something similar and it worked out very well for her.

Zelda925 · July 2014

I was induced almost 4 weeks early due to pre-e and since it has been less than 2 years my dr won't do a VBAC. I'm actually ok with it. I dilated to 10 and pushed for 3 hours and she didn't come out. So C section it is.

bumpuser7846882 · July 2014

I didn't have a vbac, but recovery from a vaginal birth was really easy compared to what I've heard about c-section recoveries. My baby had been breech until we did an external cephalic version so I could still have the unmedicated birth I wanted. They can check positioning ahead of time. My inclination would be to do the vbac if the cause for csection last time was just bad positioning. That's not something that would necessarily happen again. I can totally understand why you're hesitant after a 40 hour labor and 7 hours of pushing though. I am not a patient person and I'm not sure I would've lasted that long!

byrne15 · July 2014

I wanted a VBAC more than anything after ds#1's emergency C-section.

It ended up not working. Baby was measuring big (he was a lb bigger than ds#1 who didn't come out even with forceps), his was positioned posterior and then I never went into labor despite being at 5cm for a week.

They will not let me attempt VBA2C this time around. However, if they would have let me and things lined up correctly, I would always try for a VBAC. But that is my own personal opinion.

Pros521 · July 2014

I had a c sec bc DD was breech. For this time, I'm going to schedule the c-sec, but if I labor prior to it's schedule and he's not breech I will do vbac

kim1730 · July 2014

I had an emergency c/s with my first due to placental abruption, and a failed vbac with my second. The second time around I had told my doctors to schedule the C-section but if I happen to go into labor on my own before that date and I was comfortable with proceeding with attempting the vbac at that time, I wanted the option. And that ended up working out, but my water broke before labor started and my doctors don't use Pitocin on vbacs. I didn't dilate fast enough (within 24 hours) so I had another C-section. My recovery from the 2nd C-section was a thousand times easier than the first.

mlee116 · July 2014

I had a c-section with DS after 2 failed inductions (was induced due to HBP). After 2 days of being maxed out on pitocin, I barely dilated 3 cm. The OB that delivered DS said that if he were to deliver my next child, he would want to do a RCS because I had a "rigid" cervix and that I probably wouldn't dilate normally.

I don't know though...I'm still on the fence. I talked to this OB about it and he's willing to see how things look down the road. But honestly, I'm leaning towards a RCS because I just don't want to go through all of that again to just have another c-sec. And my recovery was rough since I labored so long and I don't want to go through that with a toddler and a baby.

kimba1976 · July 2014

If a VBAC was an option for me, I would do it. Unfortunately I will always have to have C-sections. I've heard many stories where women had extremely difficult deliveries followed by very easy ones and vice versa, so there's no guarantee this delivery will be as tough as your first one.

weezy29 · July 2014

I could have written this post myself! My Dr does not think I am a good candidate for VBAC because of my failure to progress with my other two that ended in C-Sections. Granted, my first doc was a quack who wouldn't even let me try to dilate. Both my babies were posterior so I had horrible back labor and from what I understand I have a narrow pelvis on the inside though you would never know it from looking at my hips. My current doc gives me about a 30% chance for a successful VBAC.

I had a horrible experience with my first section. Scar opened up a few days later and my DH had to stuff it with gauze for SIX weeks, letting it heal from the inside out. Thankfully, I had no other kids at the time. My 2nd was better but still not fun, especially since I had labored before. I've heard RCS are so much easier to recover from vs laboring and then surgery.

Now however, I have two other kids to care for and no family within a two hour drive so the recovery from a section would be so much more difficult trying to take care of them, get them to/from school and everything in order for Christmas. I really want a VBAC and a short recovery but at the same time, I have my doubts that it will happen. I'm so torn on what to do.

sarasarat · July 2014

My friend had the opportunity to do a VBAC and she is so glad she did. She spent a LOT of time discussing plans with her doctor "if this happens we do x" and so forth. She also hired a doula, and she said having a doula there made all the difference for her.

sherbieface · July 2014

I'm in the same boat--1st c/s was due to positioning, and I labored and pushed and she got stuck. I'm a good candidate for a VBAC, but I haven't made a decision yet, and won't for awhile. I go back and forth on a daily basis.

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