VBAC support thread - Page 2

[sunflwrmoonbeam]

I had SPD and I think it contributed to her horrible malpresentation (OP asynclitic brow presentation). My midwife was able to startle her back center which did AMAZING things for the pain. Seriously, I went from convinced I was dying (at 2-3cms!) to confident I could do this and ready to go in approximately 30 seconds. It was better than any drug could ever be. Unfortunately that didn't fix the brow presentation or OP, so.....

My biggest fear this time around is another bad presentation. Why yes I'm obsessing over spinning babies techniques (as I type this with perfect posture :))

[tibris]

Do you have any friends/family that is near a friendly hospital? Maybe they'd let you birth there, or is it really about being at home for you? :) I said I'd stick around home as long as possible this last time and if she happened to pop out then so be it. I've now had three babies with the cord wrapped around their neck and in one case multiple times. I don't think i'm going to go with homebirth, but then again I've found a hospital I like that lets me do what I want to do :p I hope you can find a more cooperative back up plan!

[justKate]

Quote:

Originally Posted by azohri 

It's hard for me to believe in the power of (changing) positioning/spinning babies since I did all of that last time and still had a posterior baby.  But, still, I'm planning to go to the chiropractor more regularly this time and hope that that will help with any weird pelvic issues.  I'm also very closely watching my diet in hopes of having a slightly smaller baby who might be able to turn better.

In the end, I think we just have to do everything we can and try to reclaim that belief in the power of our bodies to birth our babies. :)

I hear ya.  DD was LOP (just learned from my med records that I got) and double wrapped in her cord, and I had a uterine synechiae up near her legs....it just wasn't going to happen.  I wasn't that in to spinning babies last pg, but I really hope that some of it will help, although I fear that the women in my family just have posterior babies.  My mother had 2, both of us with 20+ hour labors, big epsiotomies, and instrument extractions. TBH, I'm not sure which would be worse--the episiotomy (can't spell it today for some reason!) and instrument extraction or the section.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sunflwrmoonbeam 

I had SPD and I think it contributed to her horrible malpresentation (OP asynclitic brow presentation). My midwife was able to startle her back center which did AMAZING things for the pain. Seriously, I went from convinced I was dying (at 2-3cms!) to confident I could do this and ready to go in approximately 30 seconds. It was better than any drug could ever be. Unfortunately that didn't fix the brow presentation or OP, so.....

My biggest fear this time around is another bad presentation. Why yes I'm obsessing over spinning babies techniques (as I type this with perfect posture :))

Are there any spinning babies classes that we could take?  I can't get in to the website at this point, but I think it would be sort of fun to go have someone teach me these things--specifically, what order to do them in, and which are good for OP babies....  What did your midwife use to move your DD?  I've heard of like a buzzer type thing....

[sunflwrmoonbeam]

She used the air pump for the pool to make a loud noise right by DD's head. It startled her, she was center, and I was able to tolerate labor (with lots of swearing because I'm like that) until she got low enough that her brow presentation moved my bones in really bad ways. Also the OP meant back labor which meant I had no break between contractions. It was waves of less pain and more pain. And I dealt with it!

[justKate]

Wow.  I felt like the back labor was a cruel trick.  I never felt a "real" contraction once.  Just that constant unending back pain.  You know with your first, you read all about what contrax "should" feel like, timing them, etc., and I had none of that.  I think the shock of that and not knowing how to cope with it really contributed to my acceptance of the interventions.  I had no idea what to do with THAT type of pain.

[loudmama]

As a doula, I've seen mamas VBAC with & w/o pain meds. If birthing in a hospital, just try & go as long as you can w/o in order to allow for mobility.


And for whether spinning babies is helpful or not... I think it can be. I think OFP can be helpful & so can chiropractic. But I think that some babies are just persistently posterior. It could be the shape of your uterus, your pelvis, a short cord, etc. It's hard to know. And babies can birth vaginally when posterior, but labor can be longer & harder.

And for someone who asked awhile back on how I knew I was abrupting, I started bleeding at 28 weeks. Had DS at 30 weeks. Just sent him to kindergarten today!

L

[piratemere]

I honestly believe that you should go into each labour as it's own experience, as hard as that may be.  Understanding what happened in previous labours is important so that you can do things to prevent it from happening again, but, don't focus too much on the 'what ifs'.  You would be better off focusing on the positive things that are going to happen in the next labour.  I have had one successful VBAC, although it was certainly not the birth I wanted or imagined, so this time I am more concerned with making things different from that experience, not the cesarean. Could we call it a NBAVBAC (Normal birth after vaginal birth after cesarean?!)

I have had to work through a lot of my emotions around my second birth.  There are "birth story" classes you can take (Birthing from Within), and I've even talked with a psychologist friend who specializes in women's labour experiences.  It was incredibly interesting and very healing.  There are yoga classes around me that specifically focus on baby position and birthing positions.  I am going to register for one soon.  I am also going to talk to the woman who taught my birth class the first time around and see if she will tailor make a class for me.  I'm not sure I could sit through a birth class with a bunch of first time moms, but I feel it would be valuable for me and my husband to be reminded of some of those things.  Luckily I have two friends due with their 4th and 5th babies who will take it with me, so I won't be alone in a class.

I wish I had the assurance that everything would go perfectly, but all I can do is plan for it and roll with the punches if things work out differently.  My number one rule for this labour is that I am the only one allowed to suggest or agree to going to the hospital.  Everyone else is only allowed to tell me that I am doing wonderful and help me stay home.  I do not need to be told that "maybe I should consider pain relief options" or that "yes, maybe it's time to go to the hospital and talk about options."   As a doula I have seen that so many times, and it happened in my last birth, and while I know that the midwives are just trying to make the birth a positive experience for the mother, for me I feel that I need tough love and total honesty.  In the end I will be the one to decide if the transfer was necessary, regardless of the midwives position, so I need to be the one to make the decision in the first place (unless of course there is a real medical emergency, in which case of course I want the midwives to get me there.) 

Okay, so maybe I haven't completely dealt with all my emotions, but hopefully it will make me stronger in this labour!

[loudmama]

jennyvangy,

I just want a NBAVBAC too! Even though DS was a VBAC, he was 10 weeks early, a VERY fast birth & he spent 3 1/2 weeks in the NICU. A nice, vaginal, low key birth would be so nice. One in which I get to put baby to breast right away, skin to skin.....

And you make awesome points too. Learn what you can from past births & apply those as much as you can to future births. But I think we all need to be flexible. I don't think you need to compromise your birth goals, but be open to the idea that birth does not unfold as we plan. Have a birth team that will support your goals, but will support changes too. One of the biggest things I took from my c-section was that I felt in charge for the most part. It didn't go at all as planned, & in hind sight, there are things that I think the midwife missed, but I felt we had for the most part control of the situation.

What I have learned through my births & the births I have attended as a doula is: You need to feel safe, supported, & cared for, whatever than means to you. You deserve to make your own decisions about what is going on, with GOOD, ACCURATE information. You deserve to make any decisions without someone breathing down your neck. It is ok if things don't go as you planned, & if you felt like those changes were made with informed consent, in an environment that you felt safe, supported, & cared for & with adequate time to make any decisions, you usually feel better about what happened. Not that there still can't be regret or even mental or physical trauma, but I think it can make a big difference.

My birth plan will be simple. It will mostly say: I BELIEVE IN INFORMED CONSENT. Support that I desire a natural birth without pain meds. If something comes up along the way, talk to me about it. Give me the info I desire to make an informed decision. Unless the baby is in imminent danger, don't rush my decisions. I am not an adversary, just an informed mama who believes that I can make decisions WITH my care providers that will be good for everyone.

I haven't thought it all out yet, but that's what I got for now. I'm assembling what I think is a good birth team, who support my goals but will work well with any bumps along the way. I also have a great hubby who I have been with over 18 years, & he is a great support person & an awesome asshole to anyone if needed.

L

[justKate]

Hey ladies, I'm sort of stressing about my VBAC all of a sudden.  For starters, I feel like babe is already in a bad position, just like DD was (ROP or ROA), and spinning babies just gives me too much information, almost.  Ugh.

But first thing first, I'm having my anatomy scan tomorrow and god willing it will be my last u/s for this pg.  Any suggestion for things to ask/have the tech look for?  I'm pretty sure my placenta is high and posterior, because I've felt movement all along.  Is there anything else to check?  Cord insertion? Any thoughts?

[sunflwrmoonbeam]

Kate, it's impossible for the baby to be in a bad position at this point. In the 2nd trimester they tend to hang out transverse, which is totally normal for now, but the worst possible position for birth. So don't worry about it, the "bad position" is a total non-issue. Also, ROA is the ideal birth position. I've spent hours going through spinning babies in the past 2 years after DD's birth (OP brow presentation) and the site is awful to navigate. If you have any questions I'm more than happy to answer them.

At this point cord insertion is unlikely to be clear; cord issues are hard to see on the ultrasound at all. You want to look for general health and placenta location. And I a high posterior placenta is pretty much ideal for a VBAC. I have one, and I'm THRILLED.

[justKate]

I think spinning babies is just confusing me more, honestly.  It is a ton of good info, but really poorly organized (and some of it is just bad grammar).  I need to find something else to freak out about!

Okay, deep breaths and I will stop freaking out about this one's position for another 10 weeks.  Or at least I'll try.

[piratemere]

justKate: BREATH!  Sunflwrmoonbeam is right, at this point position is a non-issue, as it will certainly change.  My best suggestion, if you want to be doing something right now, is to start going to chiro and acupuncture.  Both can do miraculous things for your baby's position, and your pelvic position.  I did both vigorously when my first VBAC baby was breach at 37 weeks, and he turned at 38 weeks. This time I will go weekly from 30 weeks on.  Also, practicing squatting, sitting on your sit bones and other things to keep baby in a good position daily are good things to do. 

It's funny for me, after all the stress I had over my VBAC last time, this time I haven't even thought of the birth, but can't stop worrying about the health of this baby.  I've had a sister have a 15 week miscarriage and a SIL have her baby die after 7 hours in the past year.  For some reason I am so nervous about something like that happening, not the VBAC. I'm sure that will come as I get closer to the birth, but hopefully having had one successful VBAC will keep my mind at ease.

[Soilcycle]

I hear you.  I had a similar experience.  I am have a small athletic build and my little one was in the perfect position, held tightly by my muscles, for the entire pregnancy.  I began to get a little nervous when she still hadn't dropped by the 39th week.  She would engage in my pelvis, then float out in the night while I relaxed and was sleeping.  Then, she finally engaged on my due date, but had to spin posterior in order to do so.  She was OP all throughout my 51 hours of labor.  I was planning a home birth, so we labored here for about 39 hours or almost 2 days.  She was not in stress and we were monitoring her.  She was also a little sideways, she was asynclitic and deflexed.  

We tried a lot of rabozo work, hands and knees (I did this all throughout the pregnancy), and several other methods throughout labor to turn her.  I think at one point my midwife even tried to reach in my uterus and turn her manually.  Nothing worked.  She never progressed past a +2 in labor.  

I was devastated at first about not being able to deliver her vaginally.  But now, I'm just thankful we didn't have an emergency, or need NICU.  She is thriving.  Its mysterious to me.  Perhaps its the shape of my pelvis.  

Either way, I tried my hardest to help her come out of the canal.  

[trekkingirl]

I saw this on the main page and wanted to let you know that there is a vbac support group on MDC. On the top purple bar click on "groups" then scroll down to find our group there. All are welcome!

[trekkingirl]

http://www.mothering.com/community/groups/show/25/unplanned-c-section-after-long-labor-support-group

per Harmony96's request, here is a link to the group. Now that I think about it, it is more a c section support group. Somehow when I posted this I was thinking VBAC but I guess they go hand in hand.