VBAC Question

Hi Sheza, wen i was talking to my mw after i had dd i ask how long i had to wait to get preggie again and she said she had just done a vbac on a lady who got preggie after 4 months of having her c section she said they just keep a close eye on you.

So not actually having been through it I now it can be done. Good luck and i hope you get ur VBAC

I started trying to get pg 6 months after having Spencer and the doc said VBAC would be fine. I've ended up with a 19 month gap and had a successful VBAC. I saw obs at 35 weeks and they didn't say anything about an increased risk cos of having them close together.

I'm not sure how it will work in you area and also cos of the circumstances of your first c/s but I think had I have wanted a repeat c/s I would have had to push for it as they were very keen for me to try for a vaginal delivery.

They will talk to you about tons of stuff at the appointment and some of it is scary, like what can happen if you do have a rupture etc. But mostly having a vaginal is still safer than a c/s overall.

Also they won't let you labour as long and they will be quicker to give synoticin (sp?) etc when you try a VBAC so if you do end up having a c/s it won't be after a 45 hour labour.

Good luck, it can be done

Thanks Girls, I feel more inspired now Im not sure if we are having anymore kids after this one so I would really love to try for a VBAC so Ive done once each way!
An yeah, just the awful recovery of a c section makes me cringe!

It was certainly easier recovering from my VBAC than my CS i have to say.

Still had stitches but was home in under 24 hours of having Joel and it was a lot easier dealing with a toddler as well.

One of the main things is to be certain of what you want and how far are you willing to push for that. Right from getting pg again I wanted a vbac and got a new MW who supported that (the old one told me hrs after Leah was born that any other babies would be delivered CS), she made sure the OB knew what I wanted and that a CS was absolute last resort.

Even if you end up with a cs, at least you tried. I didn't not want to try IYKWIM.

Sheena .. I actually have no idea how old Issy was lol .. umm

Well she will be 1.5 years old when Elias arrives so she was 9 months? .. (dont quote me though lol)

A VBAC can be a totally awesome experience! I think for my VBA2Cs the MOST important thing was remembering what DIDN'T work out in my previous labours.
For me it was posterior position with big babies (both over 9lb with big heads) & long labours.
With VBAC attempts they do not like to induce but they also don't like long labours either. The time starts ticking as soon as you get to hospital (if that is your birthplace of choice). Also they are very big on monitoring which can totally kill your back when labouring with a posterior baby as I found. Lying on a bed for 20 minutes while they took a trace horrid.

For Erika (#3) I really worked on the positioning thing. While pregnant I used a pelvic rocker, I used moxa & also had a session of acupuncture with my midwife (which helped definitely). I also got the Pink Kit to learn more about positioning, which I think really helped with the birth.
I also used a LOT of herbal & homeopathy remedies in hope of having a much shorter labour.
When I actually started getting labour pains, I used what I learnt from the Pink Kit to help speed things along. Sat for 10-15 minutes on the toilet until I couldn't bear it anymore LOL.


For #1 it was induction, epidural, failure to progress & fetal distresss. 31 hours of active labour.

For #2 it was epidural & failure to progress after 9 hours in the hospital.

For #3 (after all my efforts!) it was perfect birth. 4.5hours from first pain to baby pushed out. No tears or grazes & not a single drug or pain killer.

If you really want this VBAC then look at what went wrong & use your midwife to plan a way to try avoid it eg long labour = go to hospital AFTER in established labour, posterior labour = ask for monitoring to be done in a way that means you can avoid lying on your back on a bed (they can do this its just inconvenient for them) & I must really stress this one: The right support system!
For me that was my Mum. She was my rock during labour & I dunno what I would have done without her! Hubby proved in the last two labours that he was pretty near useless without someone to boss him around. He had always said he only wanted it to be me, him & the midwife but he could not do everything I needed for support. I ended up with my mum (support), my sister (to care for my two boys), my grandma (she just wanted to be there) two midwives (because it was a homebirth) and Hubby (chief in charge of setting up birthing pool & sitting by my head when our daughter was born)

Sorry about the huge novel (LOL) but I am really passionate about VBACs. Sometimes wish we were having another baby so I could experience that natural birth again.

Hahaha well there is a chance until Hubby goes & gets that snip he keeps talking about LOL.
In saying that my dear AF still hasn't arrived, I feel weird & honestly wondering if early menopause is beckoning.

Thanks Toni! Hopefully I can have my VBAC this time, if Im allowed to, depends what the specialist says i guess.

Im sure Ill have more questions for you

Sheza - your last birth sounds very similar to mine! I'm attempting a VBAC very soon :-)

Carys was 2 weeks overdue when I got induced, I got to fully dilated and pushed for ages (with epidural), she turned into posterior position and put her head up (deflexed). My obs that I saw at 30 weeks (with this pregnancy) was lovely and didnt see any reason why I couldn't try for a VBAC. With this baby I've had a 10 day discrepency in my period EDD and the scan date. I had a dating scan, then one at 12 weeks and then 20 weeks and they all put baby 10 days behind my LMP date, so the scan date is what we've gone for. My obs agreed with this and thinks that maybe DD wasn't really ready to come and thats why the induction didn't go very well and needed much more intervention.

And another midwife told me on saturday that the amount you dilated during labour is a good indication of how succesful a VBAC will be, ie if I only dilated to 4cm then it's a 40% chance i'd be succesfull, 6cm is 60% and so on! SO you have a pretty good chance if thats the case, not sure how accurate that info is though.
Just make sure you read up as much as you can about VBACs, knowledge is power thats what I say, lol! I don't want to be induced this time as it can inevatably (sp?) lead to more interventions such as epidural then a repeat c-section. My obs said they don't really like inducing previous sections as it can make contractions more intense therefore an increased risk of scar rupture.

Good luck hun, i'm sure you will be great!

Hi Pomikiwi!
Thats great you can use the doppler for monitoring, that what my midwife used for me with my VBA2Cs & it was a lot better!