VBAC-tavist

i think one thing to remember is that your second labour will not be the same as the first. I made that mistake with mine and expected it to go the same way and take the same amount of time... Intervention doesnt always end in c section so long as it is handled well. I was given way too much synto and it was completely mismanaged with eden's birth and that didnt help the end result. but with gabriel it helped things along really well and stopped when it ceased being a help. Constant monitoring is not helpful too. Being stuck to a bed and unable to move about and help labour naturally was one thing that really hindered things IMO.

and i agree too that a positive frame of mind is a huge help. Planning out and considering different scenarios and how you would handle them and making sure both your partner and midwife know what you do and dont want.

Emmi - re the twins questions, it's unlikely. A twin pregnancy is a highly monitored pregnancy, and it is recommended that you don't go past 38w as the placenta starts breaking down from that time (this is for twins with one placenta, not individual ones, although they still class 38w as full term for fraternal twins). You are usually booked for induction or an elective c-s at that time. There would also be a LOT of stress on your scar due to the increased wright of 2 babies, plus your body is under more pressure in any case. What I found, for me personally, is that I didn't really care how they got out as long as they were out, because the strain on my body was overwhelming (and they were born at 33w4d by emergency c-s) and as long as they were healthy I didn't really give a toss.

Thanks Toni Im planning on getting the pre Birth spray and the birthaid one, and EPO etc, rasberry leaf tea..

Great tips, thanks guys!

My MW has given me the best practice guide for VBAC, its quite interesting! I have a few questions to ask her next time I see her. Def worth a read if you can get your hands on a copy. Its quite pro TOL and has some cool stats in it

Girls rock this isnt about being against c sect more about these mums wanting a VBAC. Im sure as I am they are thankful for the csect they had as they do have their babies. My DD 16 would not be here if it wasnt for an emergency csect as I had to have a GA cos there was no time for spinal as my baby was dying and I am greatful everyday she is alive and well, However after that experience I was determined that I wanted a vbac,  in saying that if my DD10 (my vbac) was in any sort of danger to her life while labouring then for sure welcome the csect but without medical intervention (epi) and staying at home as long as possible my body did know what to do. Maybe even without the medical intervention of my 1st birth while in labour it still would have turned out the same, we will never know. No one here is against Csections they are wanting a chance for successful vbac/vba2c.

Emmi i am the same my csect was so traumatic and it took me nearly a year to recover. With my vbac I was up and out of there 4 hours after birth. With next NVD I had him Sunday night 10.10pm and the next morning I was down at the school dropping the kids off. Recover is way faster in all aspects.

ooohhh I found heaps more links!! (Joyousbirth.com is FANTASTIC!! Well worth the effort of signing up!!)

http://www.birthrites.org
Birthrites: Healing After Caesarean aims to provide support and information for women who have had or who will have a caesarean birth(s), and to increase the awareness of these women's specific needs among maternity healthcare providers.
A brilliant Australian site with a great newsletter.
Make sure you subscribe!


http://www.gentlebirth.org/archives/hbac.html

www.egroups.com/community/HBAC
Online support for home birth after caesarean birth

VBAC and other resources online


Hospitals & Midwives
http://www.socalbirth.org/resource/question.htm Questions to Ask Possible Birth Attendant


Websites on the Safety of VBAC:

http://www.ahcpr.gov/clinic/epcsums/vbacsum.htm
http://www.childbirth.org/section/resVBAC.html
http://www.storknet.com/cubbies/vbac/4studies.htm - Summary of the 4 largest VBAC/Cesarean Studies

http://www.vbac.com/uterine.html
- Info on uterine rupture

Finding Your Own Studies:

www.pubmed.com
www.medscape.com

After the Cesarean:

http://www.plus-size-pregnancy.org
http://birthrites.edsite.com.au/ Birthrites - Healing After A Cesarean
http://www.ican-online.org


General Info. About Cesareans and VBACs:

www.VBAC.com
http://www.gentlebirth.org/archives/icanvbac.html Midwives Archives (ICAN/VBAC/CSEC)
www.ican-online.org Int'l Cesarean Awareness Network
www.midwiferytoday.com
www.birthlove.com/free/safe.html Birthlove - VBAC is Safe!
www.plus-size-pregnancy.org/
http://www.midwiferytoday.com/articles/pelvis.asp

Planning Your VBAC:

http://www.motherstuff.com/html/midwife-cesarean.html - cesarean info in the interest of prevention
http://www.naturalchildbirth.org/mam...emid=3&topid=3
http://members.aol.com/MthrluvOK/labortim.html - Pain in Labor Doesnt Have to be Intolerable
http://www.midwifeinfo.com/topic-epidurals.php - Risks of Epidurals
www.unhinderedliving.com/childbirth.html - Online Childbirth Class
www.childbirth.org/section/VBAC.html - VBAC checklist
http://www.midwiferytoday.com/articles/pelvis.asp
http://www.gentlebirth.org/archives/herpes.html - more about herpes and birth
http://midwifeinfo.com/topic-episiotomy.php - Get through Childbirth In One Piece!
http://www.homebirth.org.uk/ofp.htm - Optimal Fetal Positioning
www.spinningbabies.com - Correcting your babies position
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HBAC/ - email support list for homebirth after cesarean

Random Articles:

http://www.maternitywise.org/listeningtomothers/ - Listening to Mothers Survey
http://www.aimsusa.org/CareInNormalBirth.htm - Care In Normal Birth
http://www.midwiferytoday.com/articles/vbacprimer.asp - A VBAC Primer: Technical Issues For Midwives
http://www.radmid.demon.co.uk/csgood.htm - Planning A Good Cesarean
http://www.aafp.org/afp/990501ap/2487.html - Interpretation of the Electronic Fetal Heart Rate During Labor
http://www.midwiferytoday.com/articl...nformation.asp - Assault on Normal Birth-the OB Disinformation Campaign
http://www.hencigoer.com/articles/vbac/ Research based article from Henci Goer that is a rebutal to OB's and hospitals that would deny women VBAC's.
http://www.birthingbetter.com The Pink Kit - vital to VBACers!

www.activebirthcentre.com
The Active Birth Centre, UK, the body knows best how to birth.

Research tools – be a truly informed consumer

http://www.maternitycoalition.org.au

http://www.radmid.demon.co.uk/
European Midwives site. Stories, research and links from all over the world.. They advocate a woman-centred, evidence-based approach to birth.

http://www.maternitywise.org/mw/top...g/evidence.html
Information on choosing a birth setting. US but internationally applicable information and studies.

http://www.acegraphics.com.au/articles/maggie01.html Maggie Banks on reclaiming midwifery.


http://www.birthinternational.com.au
Provides support and resources for midwives, childbirth educators and expectant parents.

http://www.birthingalternatives.com
Information, resources and support for empowering child birth. A site for parents and alternative birth professionals. Links to Ina May Gaskins Work.
http://www.birthingthefuture.com
If we want to create a less violent world, we must begin with the "primal period"

http://www.midwiferytoday.com
Professional journal – the heart and science of midwifery. International links to articles, conferences, education. Unmissable!

http://www.communitymidwives.org.au
Community midwifery programme Fremantle, Western Australia.

www.cochrane.org.au
Cochrane database of research. The Centre aims to promote the equitable provision of effective health care in Australasia by facilitating the preparation and maintenance of systematic reviews and their dissemination and application to influence service provision and clinical practice.

www.bmj.com
British medical journal. Free electronic subscription to your choice of articles.

www.capersbookstore.com.au
Books for parents, midwives, doulas, birth attendants on health, birth and related topics. Also an online forum.

www.aims.org.uk
Association for Improvements in the Maternity Services... at the forefront of the childbirth movement for more than forty years. Working towards normal birth, providing independent support and information about maternity choices and raising awareness of current research on childbirth and related issues. Database of articles on all aspects of pregnancy and birth.

www.maternitywise.org
Maternity Wise is the US Maternity Centre Association's long-term national program to promote evidence-based maternity care. "Evidence-based maternity care" means using the best research about the safety and effectiveness of specific tests, treatments, and other interventions to help guide maternity care decisions.

www.childbirth.org/section/ICAN.html
International Cesarean Awareness Network & VBAC Information This is a collection of fact sheets and information put out by the International Cesarean Awareness Network (ICAN) and other sources. Information includes how to prevent an unnecessary cesarean, Vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC), how to find resources in your community, information about ICAN, and how to become a part of ICAN.

Birth educators and activists and midwives

http://www.joyousbirth.info/
Australian home birth network for parents, doulas, birth attendants and midwives. Lots of links to all over the world as well as within Australia.

http://www.freestone.org/
Jeannine Parvati Baker and Family invites you to know conscious and healthy parenting as a spiritual path. This web site explores and affirms the value of Conscious Conception, Prenatal Yoga, Free Birth, Gentle Parenting, Home Education, Lotus Birth, Home Business, Herbal Health, Gender Balance, Eco-Activism, EarthBirth and much more.

http://www.glorialemay.com/
Childbirth educator and activist.

http://www.hencigoer.com/
Ditto.

http://www.inamay.com/
Ina May Gaskin – writer, activist, innovator, midwife.

http://www.childbirthinternational.com/
International links to training for doulas and birth educators.

www.sheilakitzinger.com
Pioneering and influential birth information.

http://www.pregnancy.com.au
Pregnancy, Birth and Beyond web site run by independent midwife, Jane Palmer. Loads of great pregnancy info and links.

http://www.womenofspirit.asn.au/sarahjbuckley.html#top
Essays by Sarah Buckley, pro-natural birth and parenting doctor in Brisbane.

http://www.birthworks.org/
Michel Odent’s site.

http://www.lamaze.com/
Gentle birth information.

http://www.maternitycoalition.org.au/mippslist.html
Midwives in Private Practice – Melbourne, Australia

http://www.birth-sex.com
Exploring the sacred feminine with Elizabeth Davis.

http://www.birthingwisdom.com.au/home.html
Rhea Dempsey, birth educator and attendant. Melbourne, Australia

www.activebirthcentre.com
Janet Balaska’s active birth site.

Water birth

www.waterbirth.org
International waterbirth site
http://www.waterbirthinfo.com/
Videos and information on water birth in home, hospital and birth centres.

Support and Advocacy and Recovery

http://www.joyousbirth.info/forums
Australia's home birth support network for families, women, midwives, doulas and birth attendants past and present. Includes a forum devoted to HBAC.

http://www.maternitycoalition.org.au/default.html
Australian information and advocacy for mums and babies in the health care system plus links to groups all over Australia.

www.birthrites.org
Australian. Loads of useful links. Includes info on recovering from traumatic birth. Very empowering. Encouraging of a consumer-type attitude to your health care.

http://www.cfmidwifery.org/
A US community site organised around improving women’s access to midwifery.

http://www.eheart.com/cesarean/index.html
A site by, for and about those born by c-sec.

http://www.postpartum.net/
International site on postnatal depression also known as postpartum depression.

http://www.tabs.org.nz/
New Zealand site on traumatic birth and recovery – PTSD and PND.

www.egroups.com/community/HBAC
Online support for home birth after caeserean birth

http://www.sheilakitzinger.com/Birth%20Crisis.htm
Kitzinger on birth trauma.

http://www.birthlove.com/petition/womens_rights.html
Petition and declaration on the rights of birthing women.

http://www.birthlove.com/
A US site devoted to improving women’s experience in birth. Excellent for birth trauma.



Some of the links (not many of them) have been shortened so wont work, you can either join up to joyous birth to get them, or let me know if you want me to get the full url

Jeepers Emmi!! Home alone are you?

Thanks chick, will definitely be having a trawl through some of them when I find the time!

Whats 5W?

Emmi I have a lovely friend who had C/S, then vbac, then hbac, then twins who were vb then emergency cs so it's doable with twins, just need the right midwife support - and of course no other pre-existing obstacles taht would indicate a vbac would be unsafe. (But after chatting to you I'm sure you'd be fine )