Sell me on a VBAC please!

[tangledblue]

(I also posted this under the VBAC board.)

Hi--I had a c-section (for a breech baby) a couple of years ago and it was much better/easier to recover than I thought it would be, so I'm really on the fence about whether to do a repeat c-section or a VBAC.  I have weighed all the risks of both and feel that they each have pros and cons as far as risk goes, so what I'm really interested in finding out about is this:  

What (other than of course, actually meeting your baby) was the best thing about your vaginal birth? 

And if you don't mind sharing, was this with an epidural or not? 

Last, if you did have a repeat c-section (non-emergency) how was it? Disappointing? OK?

Thanks! Can't wait to hear some good stories.  :)

[GradysMom]

Originally Posted by tangledblue 

What (other than of course, actually meeting your baby) was the best thing about your vaginal birth? 

And if you don't mind sharing, was this with an epidural or not? 

Last, if you did have a repeat c-section (non-emergency) how was it? Disappointing? OK?

Thanks! Can't wait to hear some good stories.  :)

The Best Part was the unbelievable "I DID IT" feeling that healed my soul.... It is a beyond words deep feeling of satisfation  ...I was in charge of my body and in tune with it's purpose etc

It was with an epidural, I received it at 7cm (instead of 4cm like with first) and it wore off enough that I delivered on hands and knees with it still in my back.

I know a lady who had an unplanned repeat C and she is very disappointed... it was her story of running out of gas that really inspired me to be open minded about what an epidural could help me achieve.

I can't sell you on VBAC if you aren't really into it.  It takes serious determination... a lot of MDs say they support it but it is really lip service, a lot of bait and switch ... so you have to be really assertive and really shop around for a provider who really means it... many do not.

It was kinda like losing my virginity... in the sense that I now KNOW what it feels like to give birth and I had wanted that since I was 16.

In terms of convincing statistics of ideas or stories... if you truely want to explore this more Ina May Gaskin's work is incomparable... especially her facts in the end of Spiritual midwifery and other instructive books.

[tangledblue]

Thank you, that is helpful.

I think my OB is actually sincerely encouraging of a VBAC...she says it's totally my call but she said I would be a great candidate for a VBAC (I went into labor a couple days ahead of my scheduled c-section date and was at 9 cm by the time I got to the OR...labor was fast! They did check but baby was still breech.) Heck, I think she even secretly wants me to VBAC.   :)  So no worries there. 

Mostly, I remember being very disappointed last time that I would have to have a c-section, (tried acupuncture, a version, etc. to turn baby) but then once it happened I felt really ok with it. I am also wondering if maybe I felt ok about the c-section because a) I did go into labor and b) I was mentally prepared for surgery. I think I might feel like a scheduled repeat c is more cold and sterile.

So now I guess I really just have a lot of curiosity about what I did not experience (more at a mental/spiritual level than a physical one) and that's what I am trying to figure out. 

[Devaskyla]

What (other than of course, actually meeting your baby) was the best thing about your vaginal birth?

Getting to hold my baby immediately. & How easy it was to move after. I could walk! My insides didn't feel like they were falling out. I could go upstairs, go out to the store, take care of myself & my baby. I didn't have to worry about my older son hurting my incision, because I didn't have one.

Seriously, you couldn't pay me to have a cesarean again unless someone would die without it.

And if you don't mind sharing, was this with an epidural or not? Natural (UBAC)

[AlexisT]

I had an RCS. It went pretty well. In retrospect I should have treated my anemia more aggressively because I turned out to have a hemoglobin of only 9.8 on delivery day and then lost nearly a liter of blood. Felt like crap and my BP went down to 89/48. But that was partly my fault--I slacked off on iron. Otherwise, it went fine, procedure wise. I had good pain control, the nurses were amazing and the OB did a good job. She knew I'd had a lot of incision problems with my first so she did a new incision in a better place, and did all internal stitches. Once I got over the initial problems with my BP, I recovered well.

That said, I can't lie. I would totally have had an easier recovery if I had VBACed.

I opted for an RCS for psychological reasons, basically. Which may or may not apply to you. If I didn't have my history to deal with, and the constant monitoring, and a bad emergency section the first time, I might've gone VBAC--which was my original plan. As my pregnancy progressed I realized that as much as I didn't want another section, I couldn't handle what had happened before it again.

[Monkey Keeper]

Why do it?  

- The slimy, naked baby on the chest moment STILL takes my breath away a year+ later.

- I left the hospital when my DS was 25 hours old and helped cook dinner for my family that night. The very next day, I picked up my girls from preschool, and the day after that I went to their soccer game. I only missed about one morning of their normal routine.

- You may always wonder what it would have been like, if you could have done it, how it might have been different if you don't try.

Honestly, I had a very easy c/s recovery as well. I did not labor first, my milk came in within 24 hours, and I was up and showering the evening of her birth (she was born at 9AM). I was driving at 2 weeks post-partum and back to my normal routine by then with an 18mo and newborn and zero help. Still, my VBAC recovery was infinitely easier. In the spirit of full disclosure, my c/s recovery was better than my recovery from my first, a vaginal birth, but I had 2 packs of sutures worth of tearing and post-partum pre-eclampsia, so that's not a fair comparison.

[happyblessedmama]

I haven't had a post c/s birth yet, but comparing the two experiences the big difference to me was the recovery and being able to move around faster. I had baby #1 with an epidural, #2-5 were unmedicated, #6 was an emergency C.

That said, I'm not leaning towards VBAC with this pregnancy for a variety of reasons.

[Mom2M]

I had a c section for DS1 and then a VBAC for DS2. I don't know if I just take a long time to feel better but after my c section, I hurt for months. It really just sucked and I got depressed because of it. With DS2, I felt great almost right away. I didn't have an epidural and they made me stay on constant monitoring in bed so it really hurt my back because it was about 12 hours of being in the bed but it was great afterward.

I had another c section with DD1 (breech) and it still sucked. I hurt for so long afterward but it was better than the first one. Then I had a VBAC with DD2 and it was awesome!! I had a great dr, and she put me on a telemetry monitor so I could get up and walk, lean over the bed, etc... No epidural and only a hep lock IV so I really felt free to move around. It hurt much less and afterward, even though it took a while to be stitched up (I tore a bit), I just got right up and walked all the way to the area for postpartum which was quite far, I felt terrific.

Both times, the best part was that my babies were with me immediately.

I hated the lonely time in recovery from c sections, just waiting to be able to feel my legs and then trying to hold them and nurse without feeling like my abdomen was falling apart. I also hate the feeling of being numb and hidden behind the drape while they are pushing and shoving, it was scary even though I knew what to expect and I got that panic over not feeling myself breathe.

The other cool thing (this may sound strange, lol) was that I love that urge to push feeling! It's just so overwhelming and for me, I didn't push until I felt, that so pushing was simple and quick.

Good luck with whatever you choose, I truly believe that the method of delivery isn't important at all compared to your baby and having him safely in your arms.

[Storm Bride]

I wouldn't try to sell someone on VBAC, personally. I think it's a good choice for women who really want to go that route (and I did, in a big, big way), but I think the important thing is that a woman is informed of the risks/benefits of both options.

Anyway...I've had a total of five c-sections. Three of those were schedule, repeat c-sections. I wasn't happy about any of them, but the last one (in 2009) was the best, by far, of the lot. Factors that made it better for me:

1) I requested, and received, stitches, not staples, for the skin closure. I can't even begin to describe how much of a difference that made, in terms of both increased mobility and decreased pain. My post-op experience was physically much better, just because of the stitches (despite having the worst gas pain I had in any of them).

2) I hate, hate, hate the spinal. There are actually no words for how terrifying it is for me - both getting it, and being numb from it, afterwards. With my last c-section, the anesthesiologist allowed dh to come in while the spinal was being administered. It made a world of difference to me to have dh standing there while they did the spinal, and being able to hold his hand, as well as that of the nurse. He was with me every step of the way until they took dd2 out of the OR. (I was on the table for a long time, because stitches take longer, the OB was excising scar tissue from my previous surgeries, and I also had a tubal.)

3) When I asked, I was told it wouldn't be possible, but I was able to breastfeed on the table while they did the tubal and sewed me back up. The L&D nurse who prepped me, and accompanied me to the OR, was a former midwife in the UK. DD2 was crying, and the nurse said, "she seems hungry - want to give feeding her a try?" I was so happy that I almost couldn't talk. It was the one thing I'd really wanted, and asked for ahead of time, and been given a defniite "no" on...and it happened, anyway. It was great.

Anyway - I think the VBAC/RCS decision is one that only the mom-to-be can make for herself. I opted for VBAC every time, except the last (and didn't get it), and opting for the RCS wasn't something I was happy about. (The reasons are complicated, and it would take a long, long time to type them all out, including a lot of backstory)...but there are things that can be done to make the experience better. I think it really depends on what's important to any particular woman, yk? (A lot of people suggest having the drape lowered to see the baby come out, and that's great for some women. It would make me sick, and I absolutely did NOT want that to happen...but the OB did lift dd2 up over the drap as soon as she was out, so that I could see her quickly.) 

[HypRN]

What (other than of course, actually meeting your baby) was the best thing about your vaginal birth? 

The incredible endorphin rush afterwards :-) and feeling like literally nothing happened moments later.  I was up out of bed walking around like I hadn't just given birth moments before. 

And if you don't mind sharing, was this with an epidural or not? 

This one was a natural birth without any drugs, IVs, or epidural.  I did have an epidural with my first (vaginal birth) and didn't feel as good afterwards.

[dakotablue]

Originally Posted by GradysMom 

The Best Part was the unbelievable "I DID IT" feeling that healed my soul.... It is a beyond words deep feeling of satisfation  ...I was in charge of my body and in tune with it's purpose etc

It was with an epidural, I received it at 7cm (instead of 4cm like with first) and it wore off enough that I delivered on hands and knees with it still in my back.

I know a lady who had an unplanned repeat C and she is very disappointed... it was her story of running out of gas that really inspired me to be open minded about what an epidural could help me achieve.

I can't sell you on VBAC if you aren't really into it.  It takes serious determination... a lot of MDs say they support it but it is really lip service, a lot of bait and switch ... so you have to be really assertive and really shop around for a provider who really means it... many do not.

It was kinda like losing my virginity... in the sense that I now KNOW what it feels like to give birth and I had wanted that since I was 16.

In terms of convincing statistics of ideas or stories... if you truely want to explore this more Ina May Gaskin's work is incomparable... especially her facts in the end of Spiritual midwifery and other instructive books.

its funny I know exactly what you mean. Its was kinda like a rite of passage.

I can't tell you my VBAC was prefect or short. I hadn't slept for days, was a slow progressor and pushed for almost 3 hrs. I can't wait to do it again!!

It was amazing. I still think about it pretty often and DS2 is now 10 months. I'm forever grateful to my MW without her I would have had a c/s.

Big things for me,

*I want to option to have as many children as I want (we want somewhere between 4-7..I'm thinking 6 Dh is still thinking 4....we'll see) I don't feel comfortable with the risk increase that comes with each c/s.

*Coming home after only 12-24hrs. I didn't want to be away from DS1 every long.

*Recovery time, I was up and about quicker, but sex took longer.

*Future possibility of non hospital birth, I'd love to give birth in a center one day.

hope this helps!

Oh and here is my story if you want to read ithttp://www.mothering.com/community/t/1299213/hosital-vbac-of-ds2