c-section question

[momma_monkey]

sorry for the long post to get to the question at the end...

My intentions were to have an unmedicated birth in a hospital with a midwife. I ended up going to the hospital (I was 40 weeks 2 days) before I was even in labor for a non-stress test for severe headaches and (somewhat) high blood pressure. I left the hospital 6 days later... Anyhow, I was against having a c-section and talking with my midwife she said inducing was the best option so as to not end up with a c-section if my blood pressure continued to rise. I agreed and began the long process of induction, beginning with cervadil (sp?). 50 hours later I still hadn't delivered my baby and it was determined that he needed to be delivered via c-section based on his D-cell charts. The midwife explained that he was tangled in his cord and probably too big to be delivered vaginally (he was 8lbs 6oz.) At this point I was exhausted, confused, and felt that was the only option. I couldn't continue to labor b/c I was strepB positive and my waters had broke almost 20 hours earlier.

My question is this: is it true that a baby can be "too tangled" to be delivered vaginally?

I wish I had done more research on c-sections beforehand, I just felt that if I thought positive natural birth thoughts I would have that birth... I feel that only now, 8 weeks later I am beginning the grieving process of not having the birth I wanted. :

My son is 8 weeks, beautiful and healthy, which is the most important part of my whole birth experience. I need to learn to focus on him, now.

Thanks for reading.

: :

[sandsprite]

it sounded like you had a complicated labour. I really don't know if the cord can be too long or any of that,

but I so hear you about greiving the birth you wanted. They figured out my son was breach 2 days before I went into labour. (just before the weekend) and we planned to try turning him on Monday but he wanted out on Sunday. So suddenly I get told no you have to come to the hospital now and have a C section. and I had an hour to decide.

You don't get time to mull it over, everything you wanted and planned for is taken away. and that's it. And you forget eventually and get busy raising your little one. And all the precious moments you have... for me I think well, that's okay, doesn't mean the next one will be the same

and now this one is breech too. And I am really devastated about it. I am booked for a c-section which they will cancel if he turns around. but not happy in the least.

I have decided its okay for me to be upset about it. Its invasive surgery, its an invasion of my body, its giving up control to other people, it has inherent risks involved, luckily I sailed through the last one, but that doesn 't mean I will sail through this one. I am alloud to worry. And having a baby at the end of it is a completely separate issue. I can be happy about the baby and I can still be upset about the c-section. So I am saying lets greive not getting the birth experience we wanted. we are alloud to and its completely reasonable to be upset. and after we greive it, we can let it go.

does that make sense?

and as for second guessing. we can make ourselves nuts second guessing. they told me the last one was head down for weeks before he was born, and I always felt a "very pointy bum" on the top of my belly. I do the if we had known sooner, if I had asked sooner, if we booked the eversion before my water broke, it would all be different now. what if what if what if. Makes you nuts. we did the best we knew how at the time. Only hind sight is 20/20

[SublimeBirthGirl]

I really doubt your baby was too big, but it is possible for a baby to get really tangled in the cord, causing it to be compressed and decrease O2 to the baby, or preventing descent. You might want to contact ICAN and meet some other women who had cesareans they didn't want-I think it can be helpful to have a support group who understands that it's not JUST the healthy baby that matters (though of course it is the most important thing). I've heard good things about the book, The VBAC Companion, as well, if you decide to have more babies

[AugustLia23]

I am so sorry for your experience. Birth is such an unknown, and while so much of the time it happens without complication, there are definitely cases where complications occur.

From your description of your high blood pressure and headaches, it sounds as if you may have been becoming pre-eclamptic. Of course I would need a lot more information to be able to say this with certainty, but those are two pretty big symptoms. If it was toxemia of pregnancy, then it is in both you and your baby's best interests to give birth.

Any time you induce, you are raising your chances of a ceserean simply because your body isn't ready to go into labor yet. Add to this the fact that this was your first pregnancy and you likely were still fairly unripe to giving birth(thus the cervidil), your chances of a ceserean are over 50% I believe.

It is possible for a baby to become wrapped in his cord, but rarely does this prevent a normal birth. If the cord was really long and tightly wrapped around his neck and body, it could have been causing the decelerations in his heart rate, but I would more likely assume it was the pitocin they had you dosed up on. When they delived the baby did they say they anything about his cord being wrapped around his body or neck anything? Was it an "emergency" c-section, meaning did they really look concerned, or was it more that you had been laboring for so long with not much progress and they were ready to have the baby delivered? From your description, it seems they blamed your baby for the ceserean, when it was probably due to the induction, which was caused by them.

Your baby was not too big to be delivered vaginally, but I do think your baby wasn't ready to be delivered vaginally. Who knows what could have happened if you hadn't been induced, it may have ended the same way, but it has already happened, you can't change it now. Enjoy your baby in his health and beauty and learn from this experience.

Sorry this is so long...

[momma_monkey]

Thank you for the responses

You are all right that my baby is the most important part and playing the "what-if" game will get me nowhere. It was a slippery slope to begin with, especially with the symptoms I was presenting. My baby was doing his part, interventions and timing were working against him. I will be well informed for my next baby!

[BathrobeGoddess]

My dd prolapsed her umbilical cord, meaning she compressed it with her skull on my pelvis. In my case, we were at home and had a paramedic transport and crash c-section (they put me out instead of local). The whole thing took less than 15 minutes. But she wasn't tangled, it was just brought forward by the gus of my water breaking.

[turtlewomyn]

It is OK to mourn your birth experience while still appreciating and loving your baby. Just because you are upset about your birth does not mean that you aren't loving or appreciating your baby. I have been doing it for 18 months now. I have had to deal with a lot of people who just don't understand why I can't just "get over it."
I don't think your baby was "too big" to give birth to, there are women out there that birth 10 pounders or bigger (I knew someone whose third baby was 11 pounds, born at home). It sounds like you had a bit of Pre-Eclampsia maybe, which could be a dangerous situation. However, your induction most likely caused the stress to the baby and the need for the c-section.
You may want to get involved in ICAN (International Cesarean Awareness Network) www.ican-online.org. They have local chapters all over the place, and an email list. The women there are very knowledgeble. It is a great place to share your feelings about your c-section and a great place to get help preparing for a VBAC. They can also help you find a good VBAC supportive care provider if that is what you want for your next birth.
While I agree that you shouldn't second guess your decisions, you did the best you could at the time, at some point it may be good to examine/analyze this birth to help you do better next time when you VBAC. Getting a hold of your medical records is a great start. You will need them for whatever care provider you use next time (they will most likely want to know what type of uterine incision you have for example) and they may answer some of your questions.
Some people need to do this right away after the c-section, some like to do it when they are thinking about becoming pregnant again (I am doing a long slow process, and plan to be all done before I get pregnant again so I can gestate in peace!). Only you can figure out what is best for you.

[mama2jack]

I know exactly how you feel, and imo yes you babe can be "too tangled" to be delivered vaginally. My ds is 5.5 mo and I am still dealing with the emotional reprocussions of an emergency cs. I went into labor on my own @ 39wks and planned on an unmedicated hospital birth. ( I am eternally grateful to have decided to have him in a hospital setting) My labor started off a little slow but I was enjoying the process of birthing my son. About 8 hrs after arriving @ the hosital ( I had already labored 12 hrs @ home) my body went fom a 3.3 cm dialated to 7 cm in 1/2 hr. my son's cord became compressed and his heart rate dropped and did not go back up. Of course I thought that if I skipped the chapters on cs in my pregnancy books the cs vibe would miss me. Boy was I wrong. My sadness about ds' birth is not as sharp as it was and I do expect it to get better. Best of luck with yourself and your little one

[gret the great]

I too skipped the CS part of all of my books. I was having a homebirth!

At 42 weeks my water broke, got bells palsy, had a non stress test where babe was not looking good...No labor 24 hours later.

I ended up with a csection. I know it was necessary. My midwife was in the OR and watched them untangle my boy. He had his cord around his neck & each leg seperately. He never descended.

It was necessary but extremely traumatic. "He's healthy, you should just be happy about that" was all I heard from most people, but I did mourn the fact that I did'y get to have the birth I had hoped for, and it was a necessary process. Yes, I had a gorgeus healthy baby, but I was torn apart physically & emotionally. Part of geting to know him was getting to know who I was as his mom, and as his mom & had a lot of healing to do. Trying to comnpartmentalize those things just made me sadder.

Keep processing it! IT is totally healthy!