VBAC after Failure to Progress with First
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Anonymous
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Okay, I see there are tons of threads on VBACing. But this question is for moms who's first babies were c-sections due to failure to progress.
My first was not a breech, not huge (only 7 pounds or so), not posterior, etc. I just never started labor naturally, was induced, labored for a helluva long time, then never dilated past a depressing 3 cm. The doctors and NIH calculator say that I am a meh candidate for VBAC. 50/50. Anyone also had failure to start labor then failure to progress with the first? What happened with your second? Please share. 
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Anonymous
| I had a similar first labor and then a very fast second vbac at sibley, it was awesome. Doula helped a lot. |
Anonymous
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My first birth sounds just like yours. I was 10 days late and despite 24 hours of contractions plus eventual pitocin, the baby never descended at all and I was barely dialated.
I wanted a VBAC with #2 but started leaking amniotic fluid. I avoided calling the doctor but I had an appointment on my due date and when I told him I'd been leaking for 2 days, he sent me immediately to the hospital. I wasn't in labor at all, no contractions, barely dialated. They let me wait for 8 hours before the c-section, but with no progress at all, we went forward with it. Oh well, it all went fine and I had a beautiful (and HUGE) baby! |
Anonymous
| I think how you respond to pitocin is not a fair assessment of how your body labors overall, especially if you were induced with a low bishop score which means you weren't really ready anyway. Happens to lots of moms. I'd give your body a chance to do its thing and see how it goes. + doula |
Anonymous
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I labored for 26 hours (induced at 39 wks +5) with my twins. At 8 cm, I just stopped progressing. We ended up having a c-section.
I went into spontaneous labor (41 wks +4) with my second. I had a successful VBAC after 12 hours of labor. |
Anonymous
| How far were you? |
Anonymous
Totally agree. I was induced with my first, labor never really got going, and I dilated to 3 or 4 cm before having a c section for fetal distress. None of my doctors ever suggested that this would make me a poor candidate for vbac - just that my body probably hadn't been ready to go into labor. Second time around, labor didnt start until 42 weeks. when it did, though, it was fast and intense, and I had an easy vaginal delivery. Good luck! |
Anonymous
| HOly cow! Your docs let you go to 41 and 42 weeks with a VBAC?! That's great! |
Anonymous
This isn't a "my doctor let me" in the sense that my doctor thought it was fine and encouraged me. More like a "my doctor let me" while telling me that me and my baby were going to die and forcing me to sign a waiver to release him from liability. At least there was no call to CPS. OP, your biggest challenge is going to be finding a care provider who will let you go to 42 weeks, yes, even with a VBAC. Your body was not ready to go into labor the first time around. When were you induced? What was your Bishop score? Why were you induced? If you stay with the same care provider and/or do not have some VERY frank conversations with them, you are likely to have a similar outcome. Start explaining your plan very early on. Make sure care provider is on board. Also, it is likely that you will go into spontaneous labor sooner than you did with the first baby. This works in your favor, of course. |
Anonymous
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Very important to recognize that when women say "I never started labor on my own", what they mean is that their doctor did not give them the time they needed to start labor on their own. On the natural bell curve, some women will gestate for a long time, well into their 42nd or 43rd week; some women will even go longer than this. Obviously at some point it may become prudent to intervene, but that does not mean that your body would not have gone into labor on its own eventually.
OP are you actually pregnant now? If not or if you are very early on, maybe check into the Wisdom midwives. They are the VBAC gurus in DC. They could at least give you a second opinion about your potential VBAC success. |
Anonymous
| I was induced at 42 with first. Spontaneous labor at 41 weeks with second and had a successful vbac after an 18 hour labor. No discussion of a repeat c before 42 weeks with my provider. I'm unaware of any studies that show worse outcomes for vbacs at the end of normal term (>42 weeks) so I'd be suspicious of a provider who says they are supportive of vbacs, but require spontaneous labor before 40 weeks. |
Anonymous
Well, care providers are coming up with all sorts of reasons why they require a woman to give birth by 40 weeks these days. They have gone totally crazy, IMO. Congrats on your VBAC, sounds like you had a good doctor. |
Anonymous
| Cue that one poster who always shows up and says induction at 39 weeks is safest. |
Anonymous
I know, seriously. Let's just put the smack down on that right now: you have no idea what you're talking about. Go back to your fantasy land where you "hang out with" "all sorts of doctors and hospital people" day after day. LOL. |
Anonymous
And they have secret conversations about what is safest without sharing this secret medical wisdom or data with the rest of us. |