feeling nervous...need a midwife!

[shenanegans]

I am 18 weeks pregnant and hoping to have a home birth. I am in Canada, where midwife care is covered by our insurance but there is a small budget and many people who want to get a midwife so I am on the waiting lists. It is becoming more and more stressful to wait. My son was born in Japan with a super healthy pregnancy and a planned natural birth which eventually led to a c-section due to my water breaking and labor not following. I really feel this could have been avoided if I had been with a midwife and is the big reason I don't feel comfortable at all in a hospital with the endless unnecessary interventions.My doctor is quite nice and supportive but in the end, he is still a doctor. I am starting to research private midwives that may work outside of the system, or I am also considering travelling to elsewhere in Canada or the US. I just started to consider this option today, I would much prefer to give birth at home or at least close to home. Since I am due in July it is even more difficult to get a spot because all of the midwives are on their summer vacations and they don't hire replacements. I spoke with one midwife today at a birth center where my friend gave birth and it doesn't look promising. so disappointing. Basically I just have to be patient, but it is getting harder every day. I can't imagine going to the hospital to give birth and don't know if I could handle the trauma of another c-section. I know I can have a normal birth if I am not pressured by time lines etc. but I am so afraid of a hospital birth, I don't know what to do.

[cairomama]

You can have a great VBAC in a hospital, I did. It just takes a little more planning and persistence. You got yourself on the waiting list so keep calling to check on your status and put the word out that you are looking for a midwife. Continue to explore your options, but plan for an awesome hospital VBAC with your OB in the meantime. Everything you do to plan for a good hospital VBAC will be good for a homebirth or birth center birth if you get to have one because it will keep you positive and reduce your stress in your pregnancy. If your other options don't work out, you will still be in the best frame of mind to give yourself your best shot at VBAC.

Some things you can do for a better hospital VBAC:

1. Get the most supportive provider you can.
2. Hire a doula.
3. Write a birth plan, discuss it with your provider and bring it to the hospital with you, along with a very short version for the nursing staff.
4. Focus on healthy pregnancy with good nutrition and exercise.
5. Work on Optimal Fetal Positioning to try to help baby be in a good position. http://www.spinningbabies.com
6. Prepare for labor by choosing a method and practicing regularly. I loved Hypnobabies for my VBAC: http://www.hypnobabies.com It is also good for keeping you positive during the pregnancy.

[shenanegans]

thanks. I am trying to stay positive, its just that after what happened last time I feel that I don't have a chance in a hospital no matter how good my birth plan is. I think the environment there is just not geared for natural birth. My Dr is supportive but he is still a Dr. they still use pitocin etc in VBAC labor, which seems crazy to me. I will definitely check out hypno babies, I keep hearing good things about it.

[kltroy]

One good option may be to see if there are any Family Practice/General Practice doctors who take/are supportive of VBAC. Family doctors are NOT surgeons. They tend to practice with more of a midwife-model of care (this is a generalization of course). They have the same interaction with OB/GYN doctors as a midwife does - that is, as long as everything is normal and healthy, they will be your primary care person for the birth (and as a bonus, they can be your baby's doctor too). If complications arise that are beyond their training, they collaborate with an OB/GYN on the care.

Personally, I had my VBAC with a family doctor and it was a really great experience. Like you, I had originally planned/preferred a midwife, but due to various circumstances I was unable to use the MW group that I wanted. This was a good alternative.

[soso-lynn]

Midwives in Quebec are not legally allowed to attend VBACs. You should start looking for a better dr. What hospital are you planning on going to? That makes an enormous difference.

[shenanegans]

Really? All of the midwifes that I have spoken to who work at the birth centers here in Quebec spoke as if a VBAC was absolutely not a reason not to get in. interesting. they did say they would need my medical records from my last birth which I am working on trying to get from Japan.
My doctor is a family doctor, he works at St. Marys family medical clinic so if I am to stay with him the birth would be at St. Mary's hospital. They have a lower rate of interventions and c-sections than the Jewish general, but the numbers are a bit swayed because the jewish gets all of the High risk pregnancies.