[Lucysmama]

We are planning an HBAC for our baby due in October. I'm 23-ish weeks now.

I am totally committed to VBAC, and homebirth. However, you mamas are my only support beside dh and my midwife....and there are a lot of people who are voicing their concerns/fears to me.

Even though I don't think I will change my mind about our birth plans, I could still really use some inspiring stories/words about HBACing either from women who have done it, been at births, etc... I need a pep-talk. I have a lot of birth issues and feelings of inadequacy about birthing - feelings that my body is incapable of vaginal birth.

Specifically:

Did you go into labor with any fears or issues?

Did you have to work through those in labor?

Did you at any time during labor have a moment of fear or panic, or think you might not be successful?

Did anyone end up with a transfer or c-section, and how did that effect you?

Thanks, mamas!!!!

 

[pamamidwife]

I cannot recommend personal experience, as I have not had a HBAC. I have assisted quite a few women, though, that have....and one that ended up with a repeat cesarean.

I do want to suggest the books Birthing from Within by Pam England and also Pregnant Feelings by Rahima Baldwin. Both might be a bit woo-woo, but perhaps you can open up your heart and delve deep inside to those scary places that we don't want to think about. Once we go there, and see the fears up close, they may not go away but they definitely don't seem as ominous.

{{{hugs}}} There is so much fear out there around birth....and a VBAC has double that pressure. You are amazing to want to birth your baby in a different way - and it will be, even if it's another cesarean.

 

[Mom2baldie]

Lucy,

Can I give you a pep talk even though we went to the hospital when I was pushing for my VBAC?

I just wanted to tell you that when I was planning my daughters birth, I had no support either and it was REALY hard. I couldnt sleep at night because I was up on the computer obsessing about what I would do to handle labor pain, what I could do to keep contractions coming, what I would do if a complication arose... I cried almost everyday. It was horrible.

In the end, none of it mattered. My body gave birth after about 10 hours of labor to my baby girl and it was the most amazing experience of my entire life. And I did it without anyones true support and good wishes.

My favorite part was when her head had already been born, but not the rest of her body and I was between contractions. I felt no pain and just stared down at her profile. I saw her open her eyes for the 1st time in the outside world. Just thinking about it makes me tear up.

To answer your questions: my fears were 1.) that I wouldnt go into labor at all (I never did with my son, he was scheduled for breech) and would end up with a cesarean because of postdates and refusal to be induced, 2.) that I wouldnt be able to handle the pain and would ask to go to the hospital for an epidural which would start all interventions leading to a C, and 3.) that I would have a cesarean and afterwards look back on what happened and KNOW that it was because of some stupid mistake I made.

I didnt really have to work through those fears when I was in labor. My mind was really in a different place and all I did was concentrate on getting through every contraction (and thanking my body for producing them) and then resting in between. I never really got scared or thought I couldnt do it, which was a big surprise considering I wasnt very confident during the pregnancy. I think your environment has a lot to do with it. I had a very nice labor through the night, in my bathtub with candles lit. It was exactly what I wanted.

Anyways, dd is calling me, but I just wanted to tell you that I know you will do great!

 

[Aurora]

I think it is totally normal to feel unsure of your body after a c-section. I had 2 and when pegnant with #3 I had a lot to work through. I was still a little nervous before I went into labor but as soon as it started I focused on my baby and body. I truely didn't doubt at all at that point. I knew I could do it. The only time I didn't think I could do it during labor was right before my body started pushing. I suppose I was in transition and I wasn't thinking I couldn't VBAC, I just thought I couldn't handle hours more of it. Thankfully I didn't have too.

I had a beautiful UC HBAC. It wasn't untill hours after ds's birth that I thought to myself, "Wow! I had a HBAC!!!" :LOL Really, his birth was just so normal that it didn't cross my mind for a while.

Reading birth stories and looking deep within myself were the best help for me in preparing.

You can do it!

My birth story is here http://www.mothering.com/discussions...d.php?t=152779

 

[ilovebeingamom]

We are planning our HBAC, and I am due beginning of August. I had a lot of fears that I have worked through to get to the point of trusting that I can labor at home safely. Something that helped give me confidence was listening to the birth affirmations and rainbow relaxation tape of the hypnobirthing by Marie Mongan. I don't know if I will actually use hypnobirthing, but I found that by listening to these, my confidence in my body grew immensely. I also found that while I was listening to the relaxation tape at first, that my fears kept popping into my head while I was supposed to be relaxing. So after the tape was done, I sat down and journaled what I was scared of.

I had originally planned a hospital birth with an OB, but after listening to the tapes, and reading Ina May's Childbirth book, I decided that my instincts were telling me to birth at home. I also am starting to tell people that we are homebirthing, and I am finding support in some unexpected places.

I am sorry that people are voicing their concerns to you. Just remember that they haven't researched it the way you have, and they don't know what is best for you, only you do.

Good luck and I hope I have a great HBAC story to tell you in a month or two!

 

[Lucysmama]

Thanks to all who responded so far....

I have some thinking to do. More later.

 

[Elyssia]

read lots of birthstories
look at birthstories.com
there are a gazillion collected there
and you can search by category/keyword

as pamamidwife said (and so beautifully might i add, that i teared up when i read it) you WILL be birthing differently this time even if you do end up with a c

best wishes

 

[karenpl]

I haven't had a c-section, but I had a myomectomy last year and that basically meant that I suddenly got thrown into 'high risk' territory, and any ob I talked to said 'planned c-section'.

I did research, found that the rupture rate was closer to zero than to the 8 to 10 % that they were quoting me, and at 32 weeks pregnancy decided that I was going to have an unattended homebirth.

Yes, there were moments of doubt, and yes, there were moments of fear, but at the same time, there was the overwhelming feeling that this was the right decision for me. The 'what ifs' did enter my mind, but I pushed them away, or I thought through them, how to solve them if they happeened. Kind of dependant on my mood. Some days I was more willing to work on 'how long would a transfer take?' and stuff like that. Other days I told myself to trust my body and my baby and that things would be all right.

They were. During my labor the thought of uterine rupture never even entered my mind, I was too busy dealing with the labor, focusing on the contractions. I have to admit that the thought of placenta accreta and percreta did enter my mind after the birth, when it took longer than expected to get the placenta out. But I worked through that fear, somehow, and the placenta came out just fine. So even although the fear did come up during labor, things still worked out fine and I was able to deal with it.

I did a lot of visualizations before the birth, thinking about my perfect birth, and how I wanted things to happen. They didn't all happen the way I had envisioned, but it still turned out to be a perfect birth

Hope this helps. Looking forward to reading your triumphant birth story in October or November!

Karen

 

[hvl25]

i have a friend that just had a hbac in January. I am going to send her this link and maybe she will PM or email you her birth story!!!

 

[CortLong]

Just bumping this up for any more advice.