[babyloves]

Ok so my first section was due to having a "big baby" 10 lb 5 oz at only 39 weeks! They said my pelvis was too small and if I had him naturally I would probably go over due and he would weigh 11-12lbs! I didn't like the sound of that so I signed on the dotted line. Only 6 months later I fell pregnant again I was told a section would be best as I am at higher risk of UR as my last section was only a year ago they also said my daughter was measuring big so again stupid and uneducated I agreed. She was only 7 lbs 9 oz at 39wks so she wasn't big compared to my son. I fell pregnant again with my third 13 months later (that will be 3 babies in 3 years lol) I told my midwife I am want a vba2c she was seemed very shocked. She said I have never heard of this been done before at this hospital. This time I didn't give up so she booked me in to see the specialist in January to discuss it. I have read my hospitals rules and regulations and I know that they cannot deny me vba2c so I'm going to stick at it no matter what!

Now I need some advice!! How long did you labor at home? How was your overall experience? Did you have an epidural if so how was it? Any advice would be great TIA!!

[kelly77]

You will probably have to 'fight' the hospital for you VBA2C. Be prepared for them to tell you all the scary statistics but if you are well informed you will be able to compare them to the risks of repeat CS which are also significant. You can also ask the specialist OB to explain all the repeat CS risks or put them in a letter for you. It's about what risks you are willing to accept and for me repeat CS held more risks than VBA2C. You will have conditions put on you for VBAC like continuous monitoring, cannula, present to hosp as soon as labour starts which can impact on the success of VBAC. I wrote a comprehensive birth plan which I gave the hospital and signed to say I accepted that this was against the hospital policies.

My birth story is in the VBAC birth stories at the top of the forum. I was lucky enough to have a reasonably quick birth - 5.5 hours. Because you haven't labored before it may take your body longer to find it's groove. My doula explained that most women know when they need to be in the place they will birth their baby and that was true for me. When I started being noisy I knew we had to go.

I was told by the head OB that epidural was not an option due to it masking UR symptoms. Also my 2 previous CS were under general as epidural didn't work so wasn't really an option for me anyway.

Happy to answer any other questions you have.

[mumma-duck]

Hi there!

I have had 2 vba2c births. I'll give u a run-down of all the positives and negatives of my experiences:

DS1 was an emergency c-section in June 06 for fetal distress, pre-eclampsia, pro-longed labour *cough* (c-section friendly ob) etc

DS2 was another emergency c-section for Failure To Progress (and mostly cos I didn't believe in myself) after attempting a vbac in October 07

DS3 was a planned homebirth with an Independent Midwife.. I laboured at home for about 15 hours then my midwife discovered that I had a BP reading of 150/100 and protein & ketones in my urine so I transferred to hospital, arrived at 8 am, had an epidural administered to lower the BP, then 15 hours later (11pm) finally gave birth vaginally to a big 9 pound 8 boy in December 2008.

No problems with the scar or anything. Just a long drawn-out labour to which I had to fight to keep going. I made it clear to the obs that I would not agree to a repeat c-section for FTP again, unless the monitors showed TRUE signs of distress for the baby or myself. I did MAJOR nipple stimulation to get my labour going as it was start-stop after I had the epidural, my midwife & DH massaged my feet & pressure points with certain essential oils to help keep it going. The hardest part was the stress/pressure of the obs keeping me on the clock, which they tend to do when you have a long labour but particularly if you are a vbac/vba2c birther. It was worth it though and I was actually the very first person ever to have a vba2c in that particular hospital. Since then there have been several other women who have had vbac/vba2c's at that hospital, and even a vba3c! So I guess I started a trend lol nah they've just lightened up a bit I guess, and have a more relaxed & educated obstetric team.

4 months ago now I had my 2nd vba2c which was for my twin girls. They are identical (mono-di) so more "high-risk" as they shared a placenta. But there were never any pregnancy complications whatsoever (apart from the pain/discomfort from carrying so much extra weight) and I went fullterm with them (38+2) and Twin A was 8 pounds, Twin B was 6 pound 8.

From the very first contraction it was about 13 or so hours of labour but it was still the shortest easiest labour/birth out of all, apart from a few glitches with the epidural that I regretfully requested myself. But the birth itself was beautiful, DH delivered both twins himself with no help/assistance from the obs & midwives. It was amazing.

I did however have a massive postpartum hemmorhage, losing about 3.5 lts of blood, needing to be put under general anesthetic, have a D&C, balloon catheter, and many blood transfusions. But that had nothing at all to do with my c-section scars, it was purely the fact that the large twin placenta came off the uterine wall leaving a raw patch causing a blood clot.
In the days following the birth I had several other blood transfusions, and also 2 blood-patch procedures (spinal procedures) to correct the epidural eff-up that happened during labour. It was a real rough few days and the first 3-4 months of my twins lives were difficult as I've required Iron & B12 injections regularly to recover from the hemmorhage.

But just to clarify, the vba2c's were successful & no complications with the scar. Oh and there were only 13 months between the 2nd c-section and the first vba2c. So anything is possible if you just believe strongly in yourself & do your best

Sorry for the dragged out msg lol hope that helped. If you want to read a more in-depth version you can go to http://lisaroseuhlmann.webs.com/apps/blog/...6-my-twin-vba2c


That has my birth story on there

[Hannahbanana]

I had a VBA2C after 2 elective CS, so it definatley can be done
I laboured at home for as long as I could. My aim was to get to 8cm at home then head to hospital even though I was told to come to hospital as soon as I thought I was in labour (I had an IM at home to check my progress).
I laboured for a long time, it was 3 days from first contraction to birth, but I accepted that it would take a while because my body had never done it before.
I did it drug free but at the end I asked for drugs but it was too late as I was fully dialated.
You can read my birth story if you like for details, it is linked in my sig. Or if you have any questions, I would be happy to answer them.

[Belly82]

i had one in March last year.... link to my blog for my birth story etc

It can be done!!

All the best... for your vba2c and am happy to answer any questions as well you might have.