Anxious VBACers support thread « Back to Group Discussions

[sunflwrmoonbeam]

I'm being a bit glib, as I don't think all VBACers need to be or are anxious, but hey, I am! I'm pretty confident still he's coming out the right way, but I'm going to take any encouraging sign pretty seriously.

No more spotting, and baby moved to either ROT or ROA today. He's still moving a bunch, so i'm not too concerned about being posterior at this point, though I'm still convinced I'm gonna pop around 38 weeks.

[justKate]

Oh yay, I've been meaning to ask you if we should have a VBACer thread!

Baby seems to be hanging out more LOP lately, which I think is marginally better than ROP (is that right?).  I'm also getting kicks/tickles regularly in places that are much different from DD (who was ROP at birth), so I'm feeling better about positioning in general.  Basically when babe moves a certain way, or has hiccups, she kind of pushes on my, ah, I guess it's my rectum?  Sorry, I'm not an anatomy person.  Feels like she's trying to reach her arm (or head?!) out of my butt.  Not a lovely feeling, but not something I had with DD, either, so I'll take it.

In other news, I went to a Birth Matters meeting tonight, and they had a crunchy chiropractor give a chat about the usefulness of adjustments in pregnancy.  My insurance doesn't pay for any sort of chiro care, but he and his wife give a 50% discount for military spouses, so it would be like $45 for the initial session and $35 after that, which is do-able. 

Other things I learned--there are NO midwives that do hospital births at the hospitals in a reasonable commuting distance from me, so I'm sort of getting more accepting of using the military hospital (which is really nice, and does have midwives that are okay).  It was sort of sad though (the meeting), in a way, because I think I was the only pg VBACer.  One doula had VBACed, but that was it.  The chiropractor said something that made me smile--that planning a VBAC was like doing it all over for the first time.  Not sure that its true, but I appreciated the optimism.

[jennyvangy]

I am so glad to be on a second VBAC.  I always knew I could deliver vaginally, but it's nice to KNOW I can deliver a baby vaginally.  Have faith in your body, educate yourself as to the real risks (so very minimal) so that when they are told to you it won't scare you, and do what you can to prepare your body.  Go into it thinking that this is a new birth, not the same one over again.  Things WILL be different. 

Thinking of all of us VBACers and we battle again!

[sunflwrmoonbeam]

Jenny, thanks for the pep talk. I was thinking yesterday about just how different I'm feeling this time around. Last time I had HG and SPD and pretty much spent all pregnancy sitting on the couch in pain and too tired to move. This time I'm eating well, exercising, and I just feel healthier. I haven't had any swelling, I'm having fewer BH contractions, etc. All of this, especially the being able to move with relative ease makes me feel like I'm really gonna be able to get this baby out the right way. Yay healthy pregnancy!

[justKate]

A nice VBAC story (from an ICAN leader) in the January 2012 DDC:  http://www.mothering.com/community/t/1343258/brians-birth-story-unmedicated-hospital-vbac

[sunflwrmoonbeam]

That's pretty awesome, thanks for posting it!

[sunflwrmoonbeam]

So I went on a bike ride today, and unlike last time my butt bones actually didn't fit on the seat. My pelvic outlet is noticeably larger!

Ashley, who's thrilled to have any sign that this birth is going to go well.

[justKate]

I hear ya!  Any little hint that things are moving in the right direction or that my body is doing what it is supposed to makes me so happy.

I had a follow up u/s today to check on babe's kidneys, which had excess fluid last time, apparently.  No word on the kidneys (my feeling is that they are fine), but I was happy to be reassured that I was accurately assessing babe's position.  She seems to be hanging out LOA, so fingers crossed that she stays there for a while....

[justKate]

So...do ya'll think its a big deal that my doula has never attended a VBAC or VBAC attempt?  She's done 36 births in the last 5 years, and told me up front that she hadn't attended a VBAC, but I didn't really think it mattered.  Now I'm wondering if it does.  She's familiar with the ACOG guidelines for VBACs and has attended births at the hospital where I'll be....   IMO it seems like this should be like any other birth (or maybe like a first-time birth?) as far as doula-ing goes.  Does it matter that she's never attended a VBAC?

[jennyvangy]

As someone who's had a successful VBAC, and been a doula at 3 VBAC attempts, I wouldn't worry about it.  Her care for you should not be all that different, although, you should make sure she is educated on what thing are important to you. In labour you may not remember that you want to do certain things that you think will help you be successful, and being reminded and encouraged to do those things may mean the difference between success for you or not.  As a doula her job is to remind you of those things and educate you about other options.  Whether or not she has attended a VBAC, having attended 35 births means she must be pretty knowledgeable, and I would guess has seen lots of other situations that you may come up against.  A talk with her about what she will do because you are a VBAC should tell you if she will be able to support you in your wishes.

[justKate]

So I had my "VBAC approval" meeting with the OB last week (or the week before?  I can't remember.) and was told that they don't require CEFM for VBACs.  Basically, as long as the fetal heart tones look good, they are fine with intermittent fetal monitoring.   For some reason I thought the ACOG guidelines recommended continuous monitoring (they're sticklers for ACOG guidelines), but intermittent sounds much better to me!  And now I can say "well Dr. So-and-so told me that I could be monitored intermittently..."

[Marnica]

Originally Posted by justKate 

So I had my "VBAC approval" meeting with the OB last week (or the week before?  I can't remember.) and was told that they don't require CEFM for VBACs.  Basically, as long as the fetal heart tones look good, they are fine with intermittent fetal monitoring.   For some reason I thought the ACOG guidelines recommended continuous monitoring (they're sticklers for ACOG guidelines), but intermittent sounds much better to me!  And now I can say "well Dr. So-and-so told me that I could be monitored intermittently..."

The hospital where I will be has a policy of Continuous monitoring. I flat out told my MW's that I would be refusing that. I mean what can they do - you are there in labor, they can't force it on you. You still have to agree. My MW said well - then I guess we/they will have to come to some sort of agreement at that time ie intermittent, how often etc etc..My sense was that the MW's have no problem with this, that it is the hospital's policy not theirs. Im going to be "one of those patients"!!!
 

[justKate]

I'm suddenly having some major VBAC fear, out of nowhere.  Not so much about the VBAC itself, but about laboring in general.  I'm scared of being at the hospital and scared of not being at the hospital.  Scared of "failure."  Not so much a repeat c-section, which would still be a huge disappointment, but scared that I'll have back labor again and end up going down the same spiral of interventions that I did last time.  And then a c-section.  And then the pain of that--the physical pain and the knowing, or thinking that my choices led me down this path (again). 

And I've tried to set myself up for success this time--doula with more experience, chiro care, gained 1/2 as much weight--but I don't know that it comes down to anything but me.  And it really sucks to think I might fail myself.

[sunflwrmoonbeam]

Kate, I had similar fears earlier this pregnancy, but I've been telling myself that I can handle it. And you can too. I'm not sure what your experience was, but for me the universe would have to try REALLY HARD to make this labor worse than the last one, and because of that I'm not scared. At least, much. If my pelvis starts burning I know that there's no better way of dealing with it than dealing with it (hospital refused to give me an epidural last time). If I have back labor ,well, that's why I hired a doula.

You'll be fine, I'm certain.

[jennyvangy]

Oh mommas, I wish I could reach out and hug you!  I know exactly how you feel, because I felt the same way last time.  But, you can do it. It does take a whole lot of persistence and insistence though.  When the OB came in recommending a repeat, and my midwife just sat silent, I had to take a deep breath and refuse very strongly, knowing my body could do what I had prepared it to do (it was under very different circumstances than my first.)  You will be able to do it.  Just try to stay in control of the things you can control, and trust your bodies.  I pray for VBACing moms all the time, but especially for you in this DDC!