Looking for VBA3C Support/Dr. in Charlotte, NC

[kayreyn]

I am a mother of 3 (all c-sections) and am expecting my 4th in August. I truly desire to have a VBAC, but can find no doctors in the Charlotte, NC area that are willing to take me :( . I really like my OBGYN, but he basically told me that if I decide to do a VBA3C, he would not approve and that I could find another doctor. I know I had the correct type of incisision (low, horizontal) each time and that I have minimal scar tissue and that this baby will be born 18months after my last. I am healthy and at least want the opportunity to labor. Does anyone know of any doctors/midwives in Charlotte that are VBAC friendly. I am tempted to labor at home until I am fully dilated, walk into the hospital, alert them of my previous c's, and refuse another c-section. Can they force me to if I am fully dilated. I'd appreciate any advice. Thanks

[kittymac]

:hug

I'm not in your area, so I can't help you there. I would check with your local chapter of ICAN. Hopefully they can point you in the right direction.

And no , they cannot force you to have a c section, especially if you walk in there fully dilated and pushing.

Good luck with your VBA3C. It may take some effort, but you can do this!

Shelley

[kayreyn]

Shelley,
Thanks for your reply. It's good to hear words of encouragement, especially when I get so much negativity from everyone that I talk to about this. I know they are responding out of concern, but hey, who wants to hear it :blah I am so encouraged by your HBA4C!! That's incredible and I say more power to you. I had mentioned to my doctor what would happen if I went into labor, he said he would stop my contractions and perform an immediate c-section, so it's good to know that I can refuse that.

[ChattyCat]

You can refuse treatments at the hospitals. I think there's a law called EMTALA. People were talking about it on MDC a lot recently. You might try a forum search for specifics concerning the law.

Now, about VBACing in Charlotte... The women I know who have done it have either gone UC or had 'illegally' attended homebirths. Really though, the DRs here don't do them. When I asked about VBACs, a DR told me 'You can if you want to, but we rather you not, as would the hospitals.' I appreciated his honesty, but the climate her really sucks! I think they only 'support' them under very specific circumstances (only one csec, preferably after having had a vaginal birth, bikini cut, csec performed for failure to dilate or breech, and only if you consent to a host of monitoring and interventions), which just sets most people up to fail.

Now, there's a difference between VBACing and planning a csec after labor starts. They don't have to stop your labor to perform a csec. If you decide to plan a csec, I'm confident you could find a dr to wait to perform it after your labor begins naturally. It's more convenient for them if you schedule them, but I haven't heard of drs being adamant about you not starting labor.

I don't think there is a local chapter of ICAN. There may be now, but it didn't exist when I was looking into VBAC here. I think the nearest one is in Raleigh.

I think your best bet would be to walk into the hospital with a copy of the law in your hand as your refusing treatment or to homebirth. I'm think you could find someone to attend a homebirth, but it would be hush-hush probably.

Good luck! I hope you have a happy, healthy pregnancy and the birth experience you want. :)

[aisraeltax]

my ds1 and his father told me i was going to die and that i was crazy!!!! you prob. wont find a doc...you will prob. only be able to find a mw who will assist. good luck...it can be done...and its incredible...so much different than a c/s.
rach

[kayreyn]

You all are so right. The climate here in Charlotte sucks :angry ! No support groups and not a lot of people who are speaking up. You would think a city as big as Charlotte would have more resources available. Good advice on not planning a c-section until after labor begins, I hadn't thought of that. They pressure you so much to set a date, and I'd really rather not. I went on ncmidwife.com to register for information about midwives in the Charlotte area, hopefully they can help.

[ChattyCat]

It had been that the best hospital midwives in Charlotte were at CMC-Pineville, but that changed a couple of months ago. Three of the four quit over being told to change the way they practiced to a more medical model of care. There were some stories in the Charlotte Observer about it, but the reporter really only grazed the surface of the issue.

You may want to check out the hospital in Rock Hill, SC (I don't know the name of it). Someone I know was seeing a midwife who would deliver there, she wasn't a VBACer, but she seemed really happy with them. There's also a midwife group with priveleges at Northeast Medical Center in Concord that I've heard good things about. If you're serious about VBACing, it probably won't happen at the main CMC, CMC-Pineville or Presbyterian downtown.

[kayreyn]

Thanks for the info. I've heard good things about NorthEast, so I'll find out some additional info. Rock Hill isn't too far either, so that may be a possiblility. Good Deal!

[ncastro]

Hi Ladies!

I'm in Charlotte too (Hi, Cat, it's Natalie... mom to Max and Santiago... hope you're not too bored there on bedrest... by the way, I'm expecting #3). Okay, back to all the posts!

I agree that you will not find a dr here in Charlotte willing to do your VBA2+C. It's pretty discouraging! There is a laymidwife would you should talk to (for a home birth).

I would be VERY anxious to hear if you ladies know of a dr who would let you labor first. I didn't think I could find one of those. Do you know of one?

Rock Hill is out, I think. I talked to a doula who works in SC, and she said something about a state-wide ban on VBACs (because of the law)... sorry I don't have more details on that.

Good luck and would love to hear more,
Thanks,
Natalie