Advice needed

I had DS in Jan this year, everything started off great and I was coping through the contractions fine at home, it started getting a bit much so thought it was time to go to the hospital.
Anyway, on getting in, I went to the toilet and was really suprised to find LOTS of blood and the midwife was a little surprised too. Had an internal and the midwife said I was 7cm dilated, she then hooked me up to the machines to check on bubs and much to everyone (except me, I couldn't see!!) horror, his HB dropped waaay down to I think about 60. The midwife rushed out and was yelling stat stat, phone Derek, get the anaesthetist, get another midwife ... now ... NOW! (I only know this coz mum told me what happened, I had no idea what was going on), then she came in and said that my baby was in trouble and that she thought the placenta and torn and we needed to get bubs out right away. Turns out that yip, placenta had abrupted coz of the super short cord, basically there was no way I was giving birth naturally and it is kinda of lucky the placenta did start abrupting coz it would have been even more emergency if labour had continued.

So basically, I went from having this lovely (ok it did hurt) labour where I hadn't taken any drugs and was looking forward to trying the tens machine out, to suddenly having to have a c sect.

Now it gets me upset thinking about everything but only coz it freaks me out that something could have happened to DS, it doesn't bother me that I had a c sect and straight after he was born I thought that is how I want to do all my births now because I would just be terrified of it happening again.

So what is my question? Not that I am pregnant yet, but I figure I might want to start thinking about this now since we are trying. Well, as I say I am scared of the same sort of thing happening again and I can't find any information on this sort of thing...my Dr I find hard to talk to and we live a long way from any specialists that I could get referred to. I wondered if anyone had that sort of thing happen or had read up about this stuff in their research on vbacs?

I kind of feel that if the chances are really slim, and I went into hospital and was monitored, that it would be a pretty good chance that I would have a successful VBAC....since it didn't seem to be anything else holding it up...I also went into labour naturally tho I was overdue. And I am guessing that recovering from vbac would be a lot easier than a csect.

I guess I kinda feel silly about thinking I want a c sect and wondering if I should try for a vbac...but then also in the back of my head is that if I feel nervous about it, would that also affect labour and make me a little panicky??

Anyway, this is mostly just ramblings but I just wondered what others thought...if anything lol. Do nerves affect labour???

Consider a 2nd c/s vs a VBAC is really quite scary. It is routine for you to be referred to an obstetrician at the beginning of the 3rd trimester to talk about your options for delivery and the pros and cons of that. Primarily you need to consider whether the cause for the c/s is likely to recur for the 2nd baby. Rupture can happen to anyone so chances of that occurring for your 2nd baby are the same as anyone else and not affected by the c/s. I'm not sure about the short cord, I think cords can vary in length from baby to baby and are not likely to recur also. The other thing to take into consideration is how many children you may wish to have. If you want a big family, there may come a time where you reach your c/s quota (and that can vary from woman to woman) and can't have any more. You really only have one chance at VBAC; if you have 2 c/s it's really unlikely to be allowed to go for VBAC (though not unheard of nowadays).

I decided for a VBAC with my second baby. I had some sort of rupture and haemorrage as well, and the plumet of the baby's heartbeat. I wanted to extend my options for a big family and I also didn't feel ready to decide that all my subsequent births would be c/s. It's a huge decision! I got extra monitoring during my labour and found it no real hassle, because I was a little nervous too. Even at about 37-38 weeks I was having doubts. But in the end the VBAC went great and I've had two even better births since then.

The biggest and most surprising plus for me is the recovery time. A c/s takes a long time to recover from. A VBAC sounds more traumatic but it's just different, and the recovery is so much quicker. The best thing about this for me is that I can still lift and cuddle a toddler after the baby is born and aren't out of action as a mum for a couple of weeks each birth.

I dont really have any helpful advice for you, apart from talking to my MW after DD was born, she got me to request my delivery notes from the hospital and went over them with me, then at the end of my notes there is the notes from surgery and whether or not the surgon thinks you can have a 'trial of labour' or not.  Im not sure how it works in Oz, but you could get a copy of your notes and see waht tehy say? If you do want a VBAC (or possibility of a VBAC) then you would need to know more when looking for a MW etc at the beginning of your pregnancy (well thats what I figrue anyway since you will want someone who will support your decision) so they know whats going on, whether a VBAC is possible etc?

Hope that makes sense?

I had a rough run of it with DS's labour/delievery, and in the end it was rushed because his HR started dipping far too low, and not recovering enough inbetween, so they made the call, and 5 mins later he was out, with an apgar of nil. It took those first 5 mins to get him breathing (I only know this from reading my hospital notes later on) and I never saw him until the following morning...

When my current partner told me he wanted a baby I just about ran away, I didnt want to go through ANY of that again, I went through hell and back afterwards (which I am still paying for now!) and decided the only way I would do it was an elective c-section. I did my damnedest to have a 'normal' labour and birth with DS, but after 3 days of labour, and the panic that followed, I was never going to be 'ready' to try it again. I dont care that i have 'missed out' and that all future babies will have to be c-sections, I much prefer the known (recovery after c-sect) than the 'possibility' and the unknown.

I would think in your case if its known a short cord was part of the reason things went pear-shaped, then thats one of the things they would closely monitor via ultrasounds next time??

Good luck for when it does happen!

Good on you for asking around - I always say it's best to ask, ask, ask! Get second, third, fourth opinions, whatever is required to set your mind at ease.

Best of luck for #2 either way!