Vaginal Birth After C-Section (VBAC)

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Comment by Crystal Gomez on September 29, 2012 at 6:56pm

Hi mommies!  I'm new to this group!  I had a c-section this year with my first baby.  I plan and pray that in my future pregnancies that I will have a vaginal delivery.  I look forward to reading your experiences about VBAC.  I pray the best for all the mommies anticipating there baby's arrival in the near future!

Comment by smw on April 28, 2012 at 3:51pm

Hi Sara!  Thanks for sharing your experiences.  How come you don't try for another vbac?

Comment by Sara Maccharles on April 28, 2012 at 12:04am

My name is Sara and I just turned 27; i am new to mommy networking, but really hope to make some connections.  I am about to have my fourth..  my son is turning 1 tomorrow, my oldest daughter will be 10 on May 13 th, my expected lil girl will be here around June 1st, and my 2 nd daughter will be 9 July 24 th.  I had origionally planned to have my oldest daughter through induction, but ended up having an emergency c-section, the second daughter was a c-section, and my son was a scheduled c-section, but was born 20 min. after my water broke, so, he was an all natural birth, and my lil girl that is due at the end of May has a scheduled c-section, but we think she'll also be early.   Their dad and I are trying to reconcile after 8 and 1/2 years apart and it truly has taken a toll on our kids.  I look forward to sharing and reading further.

Comment by Becoming SuperMommy on March 26, 2012 at 5:33pm

Hi there!  I just joined the site.

I'm planning on a VBAC- right now I'm 29+ with my second pregnancy, third kiddo.

I never really wrote my twins' birth story, but I allude to it here:

http://becomingsupermommy.blogspot.com/p/about-me.html

Emergency c-section with transverse twins... I never had much of a chance to have that first vaginal delivery.  I'm confident that this time will be different!

Comment by Erika, Star Mom on January 11, 2012 at 7:42pm

Oh yes it's AWFUL! It's near impossible to stay "completely still" like they tell you to, sitting up on the edge of the bed with a nurse pushing on you when you're contracting about ever minute.

Comment by smw on January 9, 2012 at 7:57pm

A little clarification since epidurals have been mentioned in the last couple of posts.  Women who have c-sections usually get epidurals or combination of a spinal and epidural... I have had both and thankgoodness that they worked.  On the other hand... women who have vbac's or even a vaginal birth sometimes request an epidural for pain when it becomes unbearable or when they are about half way dilated so it's recieved in time before pushing.  And for some women that's what they needed inorder to get dilated the rest of the way b/c they were in such pain and exhausted from labor.  An epidural is not always a good thing b/c it can cause a labor to stall or not progress and you may become on someone's time clock if your water is broken.  Just a little FYI.... 

I totally understand what you are saying Erika and if that had happened to me with the epidural and especially since I was not in labor and contracting... I would never want another epidural again either.  It is I would imagine hard to be still while contracting and getting an epidural.

Comment by Erika, Star Mom on January 8, 2012 at 7:12am

With my first child I wanted a natural delivery, but had to get induced a week early due to some slight blood pressure issues. I didn't want an epi, I went 8 hours without it and gave in.

Well, when they did the epi, instead of talking me through it, it was shoved into my back without warning, I jumped a little, you're not supposed to do that, and the needle I guess went in a little too far. 

This caused a spinal fluid leak that gave me the most debilitating headache of my life. I've had migranes and these are a zillion times worse, and the only relief from them is lying down, which isn't easy when you have a newborn. 

I went home with this headache and went back to the ER to have it diagnosed, they did a blood patch, and within hours, the headache I had been suffering with for four days was gone. 

I want a VBAC, because I never ever EVER want an epi again, so my point is, there is more than one reason to have a VBAC, and this is the reason I want one.

Comment by Lynette Dee Mccloskey Horner on January 4, 2012 at 12:24pm

I had a VBAC in Sept. Other than my epi not working, I had no problems he was born at 9lbs 2 ozs. I had to have a csection with the one before that because he refused to turn. I had 4 previous vag before that so I was upset, I was so miserable after my C section I knew I wanted  a VBAC, I had to go to a whole county away to do it.

 

Comment by Bridget W on December 27, 2011 at 12:09am

Tiff - I am sorry you had a hard labor and would have prefered a c-section.  You seem to have faced the opposite problem that most who attempt a VBAC face.  Many women have to fight for a VBAC, whereas it seems that you would have prefered a c-section but you had a provider who was gung ho about you having a VBAC.  In either case the real problem is medical professionals not listening to their paitents and not abiding by their wishes.  Having a VBAC is not just about the experience, although I do think how a woman experiences birth CAN make a difference.  Women also do not have VBACs just so that we can "feel like good people." 

My first was a c-section for failure to progress and she was 9lbs 1oz.  I was on labor for 30 hours before the c-section.  My recovery was aweful, it took me weeks to feel even somewhat normal again.  I also felt like I missed out on what I saw as the normal birth expereince of pushing my baby out and having her placed on my chest right after birth.  It took me awhile to get over the dissapointment of not having that experience with my first, but I was still grateful to have my little girl.  I wanted to have a VBAC for several reasons, and the birth experience was just one of them.  A huge factor for me was that I want to have more children and every c-section you have puts YOU at more risk for complications AND puts any additional pregnancies at greater risk for complications.  So, multiple c-sections would mean more risks to your baby because each pregnancy would involve greater risk.  Plus, I know no one wants anything to happen to their baby, but what if something happens to the mother??  Why does no one seem to care about the risks placed on the mother?  Because all that matters is a healthy baby?  I just don't understand that.  I also really wanted a vaginal birth with my second because I had an almost 2 year old and with how hard my recovery was the first time I couldn't imagine having to recover from another c-section while taking care of a newborn and a toddler.  A vaginal birth was supposed to be an easier recovery.  With my second I had a totally unmedicated VBAC.  I was on labor for about 28 hours and I pushed for over 4 hours and IT WAS AMAZING.  Yeah, it hurt, but having that little baby placed on my chest right after she was born was totally worth it.  She was 9lbs 5oz.  My recovery was so much easier with my VBAC than with my c-section.  I was able to get up an walk around right after the birth.  I could hold either of my children with no issues.  As soon as I got home I was able to take my girls for walks around the neighborhood.  I wasn't able to do that until weeks after my first was born.  So for me it was a night and day difference. 

I'm sorry that you had a bad experience, and it sounds like you would have chosen a c-section in the first place had you been given the choice.  And that is fine.  Every woman needs to decide what is best for them and their family.  But what most VBAC advocates are fighting for is the woman's right to chose how she wants to give birth.  Be it a c-section or a VBAC, the important thing is that a woman should be able to decide what she is comfortable and what is best for her and her family.           

Comment by Tiff on December 26, 2011 at 2:41pm

I had a c section the first time after being in labor for a long time and pushing for a long time.  My boy was 8lbs 13oz and they thought he was too big.  This new doctor assured me that the second baby wouldn't be as big and I wouldn't labor as long.  She was a VBAC specialist (I ended up with her not out of choice but by accident).  She told me we could measure the baby ahead of time and if she was too big, we could do a c section.  We did measure her and I knew she was going to be big based on the half pound per week theory.  My doc insisted she wouldn't be that big and it would be fine.  She was 9lbs 9ounces.  I begged for a c section when the nurses were frustrated with my lack of progress pushing after an hour.  They refused.  They kept telling me to take a deep breath before each push and I would absolutely get too winded to push.  They turned down the epidural to pretty much off as many hospitals do. The nurses kept telling me to be quiet every time I made a noise.  They said I should "use the energy to push."  In the end, I stopped listening to them and just started screaming at the top of my lungs which actually helped.   It was horribly painful and I was so angry.  I am still recovering from the birth.  I don't see healing happening any time soon.  I just don't know what the advantage is over a c section in terms of healing.  Too many people place such high importance on the "birth experience"  I think this is totally irrelevant and what is important is that you have your new son or daughter and your life with them.  There is no extra risk for the baby with a c section.  What is the point of VBAC?  So that we can feel like good people?  I just don't get it.  In my experience, the only purpose was to add another experience to my doctor's resume for her weird political bragging rights. 

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