OK, sell me on a VBAC please! Tell me about your awesome vaginal birth. - Page 2

[Lynann]

I had an easy recovery for my c/section as far as recovering from surgery was concerned. Once the staples were out I never needed any kind of pain meds.

With my VBAC it took my a good 6-8 weeks to recover because DS2 had a nucal arm that caused a skid mark in a very sensitive spot, so it was painful to pee for more than 4 weeks.

I would do the longer recovery every time because for me the benefits were more than worth the discomfort. DS1 ended up with a lot of issues including a lot of difficulty nursing & sleeping. DS2 was never away from me (HBAC) has had no issues nursing or sleeping and has had a much less stressful life so far (4 months old) His peaceful introduction to the world and lack of medical interventions are worth a few extra weeks of recovery to me, even with a toddler running around at the same time.

[Storm Bride]

Originally Posted by tangledblue 

Well, I still haven't made up my mind...but the stories are helpful, keep 'em coming! If I knew my vbac recovery would be as easy as my c/s I would do it for sure...it's not the pain of  delivery I fear but the aftermath. I know some people recover really well from vaginal birth but I have also heard horror stories. Wish I had a crystal ball!

I have no desire to sell anyone on a particular birth choice. I think that decision has to be made by the mother to be.

However, I will point out that what you said above also replies to a repeat c-section. You have no way of knowing if your next recovery will be as good as your first one, even if you have a c-section again. I've had five, two emergency and three planned, and my recoveries were all different. (The one that was the easiest initially ended up being the one that caused me permanent nerve damage.) Whether they were hard or "easy" recoveries is entirely subjective. When I had my first, I knew a mom who was back to doing  ab crunches two weeks post-op. I knew another mom who was in awe at how well I bounced back. Personally, I think they all sucked, but a couple of them were probably "easy".

Oh - and if you do have a repeat, ask for stitches for the outer closure. Staples suck. I had no idea how much staples suck until I requested sutures for my last one. The difference was remarkable. I was expecting a difference, but I wasn't expecting it to be as profound as it was.

[Blue Eyed Baby]

Wow, you are very lucky. Going through labor makes a CS more dangerous and usually makes for a worse recovery, I've been through 2 labors, both baby girls, my son was a RCS (CS #2) that I was pushed and goaded into by a very pro-CS OB, he was bby far the easiest because I didn't go into labor with him.

 

Originally Posted by tangledblue 

Thanks! Those are all helpful stories to hear. 

I think one of the reasons I had such a decent c-section experience is because I actually did go into labor (9 cm by the time I got to the OR, and they check but baby was still breech). So I doubt that it would be the same with a scheduled rcs.  (@kltroy, your last sentence made a lot of sense to me--I think I would definitely have that feeling with an rcs.)