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Does anyone know someone that had a rupture?

3K views 41 replies 35 participants last post by  daniandquin 
#1 ·
Just wondering cuz ya hear all the time how risky it is to have a VBAC but i've never actually known anyone to have one. When i first told my dr i wanted to try a VBAC she was horrified
she tried so hard to talk me out of it and at the time i didn't know homebirth was an option, thought it was only something grandma's did long ago cuz they didn't have a hospital to go to
she told me of the "risks" and said she wouldn't recommend it but get this, after we talked awhile she told me SHE actually had a VBAC 8 yrs prior
: I said so why wouldn't you recommend it, she told me the risks have gone up since she had hers, yea right, whatever! So after i had my VBAC and the dr was still stitching me up i asked dh if he wanted to try for another
: , the dr imediately said "ya know the risk for rupture goes up with every preg". I don't know what her problem was but i just shrugged it off and continued the plan for VBAC #2, i'm not pg yet but hopefully i will be soon and if i do i will be trying for a HVBAC, DH is Totally against it but i have plenty of time to talk to him
So back to the original question: Has any of you known of someone that has had a rupture? Isn't the percentage less than 1%? What is the percentage for VBAC #2?
 
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#3 ·
I don't even know anyone in real life that's had a VBAC. Of course, I don't know anyone who's had a repeat C-section either. All the people I know have had either initial C-sections (THREE first-time moms including me!) or vaginal births (two, but one was within a hair's breadth of a C-section).
 
#6 ·
Yes, I do. I had a dear friend who died from a UR. She had tried a homebirth VBAC and was transferred to the hospital, but they could not operate in time to save her. Her son survived (amazingly) but he has Cerebal Palsy due to oxygen loss. I hate to even think about what could have been if she had took another path, because after the fact the "what if's" will drive you mad.
 
#7 ·
One of my co-workers had a rupture but it actually occured AFTER she had signed the papers for a repeat c/s due to failure to progress. So both she and the babe were in surgery within minutes and both came out fine. She is very pro-VBAC but has told me that for herself she'd never try vbac again.
 
#8 ·
Out of about 8 people I know who've attempted VBACs, 1 ruptured. She ruptured while in the pushing stage. She could feel the pain of the rupture even though she had an epidural. The dr. rushed her into surgery and, although it was a scary, scary experience for her and her dh, she and the baby were fine because they caught the rupture in time. To my knowledge her labor was not induced or augmented, and she had her babies 2.5 years apart.
 
#9 ·
Wow, i'm so sorry for the losses, it makes me so sad to know it happens that much, well it makes me sad to know it happens at all really,,,, i really didn't think so many of you would know anyone, i just thought you'd come and say its alot more rare than i think and don't worry about it. I mean, i'd still have another VBAC, i would just think harder and do more research on the HBAC before i reach that decision. Does anyone know if the risk for rupture goes up for the second VBAC?
 
#10 ·
Only on-line. Not IRL. The risk is less than 1%. So, it is unlikely that in real life you would know someone who had one. I think with today's technology, the world has become a lot smaller, so if you go on-line to VBAC/c-section/UR forums, you are going to find people who actually have had a rupture, making it seem like it occurs much more often than it does.
 
#11 ·
I also don't know anyone IRL that has ruptured and my mom is a midwife who catches vbac babies all the time... she's never had a rupture. There are a few mama's here that have though.

My understanding is that the risk of rupture only goes up slightly with subsequent pregnancies, like I only have a teeny tiny higher chance of rupturing with a vba3c then I would have with a vbac.
 
#13 ·
I know several VBAC mamas in real life, but no ruptures except for an online friend on another board. She had a scar that extended upward into the contractile part of her uterus (you would know if this was the case for you), and had a catastrophic rupture at home just from Braxton-Hicks contractions. She hadn't even gone into labor yet. She survived, but her baby died before he could be delivered.

I do know one who had a dehiscence (the baby was unharmed and so was she) with her first VBAC, but her second VBAC was incident-free, and I should also point out that she was induced both times.

Rupture is a really scary idea. I'm really glad I had my VBAC, and that's partly because, like the great majority of VBACs, it was uneventful.

Nealy
Mama to Thales, posterior c/s, 12/9/02, and Lydia, VBAC 2/26/06
 
#15 ·
I got the "joy" of driving my friend who had a rupture to the hosp. when it happened. She AND the baby are OK now... well physically. I am not sure she will ever recover mentally and it was really hard for me to deal with as well. DD has a mild CP now. They were able to save her uterus too, as they were not sure the baby was going to make it.

That being said, as a PP mentioned, your risks increase IF you have had a classic (I believe) or "T" section previously. She was ALSO told not to TTC for at lease 2 years after her first birth...she didn't listen to that advice and the kids are 20 months apart. Not sure how much the chances go down if you hold off on TTC, but I would think the longer you hold off, the better the results would be.
 
#17 ·
Well, being a care provider, I sorta have an unfair advantage...

The only UR I was directly involved with was an HBA2C, who had 2 10 pound babies before. She labored until pushing, did so for 2 hours, then said "I think my scar is separating." No massive problems, baby's heartbeat was fine, her blood pressure was fine, but off we went. I went with her and gave a crisp report to the doc, who said, "Well, let's see where the baby is; if he's low enough we can do a vacuum." He wasn't, so when she did have a c section, she had a small dehisence. So, not a catastrophic rupture, but it would have been if we'd waited. This was another 10 pound baby, BTW.

Before her, the only ruptures I'd heard of were as a labor and delivery nurse, and it was always prior c sections on massive doses of Pitocin.

Jennifer
 
#18 ·
I know someone IRL who had a catastrophic UR. Her baby died, and she nearly died as well. She was laboring at home, felt something was wrong, got to the hospital where they said "baby is fine...let's wait and see" despite her objections and pleading for a c/s. Even though she was planning to have the baby at home, she made it to the hospital on time, but they refused to listen to her as she begged for a c/s (something she never in a million years would have done).
 
#19 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by jengacnm View Post
Well, being a care provider, I sorta have an unfair advantage...

The only UR I was directly involved with was an HBA2C, who had 2 10 pound babies before. She labored until pushing, did so for 2 hours, then said "I think my scar is separating." No massive problems, baby's heartbeat was fine, her blood pressure was fine, but off we went. I went with her and gave a crisp report to the doc, who said, "Well, let's see where the baby is; if he's low enough we can do a vacuum." He wasn't, so when she did have a c section, she had a small dehisence. So, not a catastrophic rupture, but it would have been if we'd waited. This was another 10 pound baby, BTW.

Before her, the only ruptures I'd heard of were as a labor and delivery nurse, and it was always prior c sections on massive doses of Pitocin.

Jennifer
That's what I was wondering. For those that did rupture in a hospital setting, was pitocin administered? I think statistically the chances are much lower without narcotics. I've also heard that most women actually rupture before labor. Does anyone know if that's true?
 
#20 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by TanyaS View Post
I know someone IRL who had a catastrophic UR. Her baby died, and she nearly died as well. She was laboring at home, felt something was wrong, got to the hospital where they said "baby is fine...let's wait and see" despite her objections and pleading for a c/s. Even though she was planning to have the baby at home, she made it to the hospital on time, but they refused to listen to her as she begged for a c/s (something she never in a million years would have done).

That is just horrible.
Doctors perform csections unneccessarily all the time and then when someone truly needs one she is denied? That is so so sad
:
 
#21 ·
I dont know anyone in real life who had a rupture, VBAC or not.

I, personally, Have had 4 VBACs My Midwife told me my risk for UR is actuall going down each time I have a successful VBAC, but how much lower can you get when the risk is already less then 1%???

She also said that VBA2C is not any more of a risk then VBA1C.

All 4 of my VBACs were in a hospital but all 4 were NOT induced and I did NOT have any meds. They were are natural as you can get in a hospital.

Good Luck! I am shocked your doc actually told you how dangerous VBACs were. Since when?? They are just as safe as any other birth and MUCH safer then a repeat c-section! That is a fact.
 
#22 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by ericswifey27 View Post
That's what I was wondering. For those that did rupture in a hospital setting, was pitocin administered? I think statistically the chances are much lower without narcotics. I've also heard that most women actually rupture before labor. Does anyone know if that's true?
Mine was a non-induced, unmedicated hospital VBAC attempt (until my emergency C-section). I ruptured during pushing.

The woman I know IRL ruptured at 30 weeks.

About half of the ruptures I know about on-line were non-induced and several were HBACs.
 
#23 ·
I think most data suggests a subsequent VBAC has a slightly lower rupture risk than initial VBAC. The data is mixed on initial VBAC after more than 1 cesarean birth - but it seems to increase risk a little to have had more than 1 prior cesarean.

Most ruptures do occur during labor - but they can occur prior to labor, so one should watch for any signs of bleeding or unexplained pain.

Induction or augmentation - especially with prostaglandins - increase the risk of rupture, but unfortunately not having any of those does not guarantee no risk of rupture.

The only IRL rupture I've seen was at 28 weeks, with a prior classical scar that was not known about and a mama who used cocaine the day of her rupture. She'd actually VBAC'd with that scar twice - by arriving to the hospital in late labor with no prenatal care so her scar type was never verified. She arrived to the hospital at 28 weeks bleeding and complaining of pain and was immediately taken to the OR, and her baby survived despite the fact that the uterus had ruptured completely and her abdomen was full of blood.

I had a successful VBAC client this year that scared 10 years off the end of my life. She had a long, slow labor with a posterior baby, and finally decided on an epidural after being stuck at 8 cms for quite a while, thinking we might be heading to repeat cesarean anyway. After the epidural, though, she dilated fully and started pushing. While nearly crowning, she suddenly clutched her abdomen and started yelling "My scar, my scar"
: My OB back up was in house and came immediately, and we agreed it would be faster to forcep the baby than go to surgery. Baby was born straight posterior (which was the reason for her first cesarean) by forceps and perfectly healthy. Turned out there was likely no rupture, as she had no bleeding, no pain after the baby was out, and there were no fetal heart rate abnormalities. Looking back later, the mama thought that what had happened was as the baby moved lower, her epidural was not working as well and she started being able to feel contractions in the front again and that is what she interpreted as scar pain. After labor was over, she felt that the pain at the end was actually the same as the pain earlier before she'd had an epidural. But man, you just can't ignore someone clutching their scar and screaming that it hurts. Except for this one birth, I've never had a rupture with a client IRL, and never gone to repeat cesarean for fear of rupture, so this experience was unique and quite scary.
 
#25 ·
I don't know anyone personally that has had a rupture. My aunt is an anesthesiologist and she told me in her experience she has never seen a rupture either. I have 2 friends that have had VBACs (in addition to me) and many friends that have had repeat cesarians. One of my friends was so scared of having a rupture that she called the hospital in a panic because she lost her mucus plug several days before her scheduled c-section and was afraid she would go into labor and I guess her doctor had convinced her that her uterus would rupture with the first contraction. Talk about treating someone like a ticking time bomb.

Minta
mom to 2 and one on the way
 
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