Seeking VBAC preparation advice

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have had more than one child in the UK and most women do not get private GBS testing. I am a central London mum and literally noone in my NCT group knew or talked about it.

Fact is all interventions have risks and benefits and to pretend refusing an intervention is reckless is itself ridiculous.

When was this, 10 years ago, woo poster?

You do know that childbirth used to be the leading cause of death among women and young children before modern medicine? And that the “interventions” you demonize are actually medical care women in the rest of the developing world wish they could have access to during childbirth? Because, you know, women and babies still die from lack of access to antibiotics, blood transfusion, access to safe C-sections and anesthesia, etc. in much of the rest of the world.

Every month 4 babies die in the UK and Ireland from group B strep. You think we should be following their medical standards with that level of preventable mortality? Risk of prophylactic antibiotics is something most women select over the risk of serious morbidity and mortality and while you can certainly refuse them it is most certainly reckless. I mean, you can drive without a seatbelt too and not die but it’s still a dumb choice.

https://gbss.org.uk/info-support/group-b-strep-testing/should-i-get-a-group-b-strep-test/

You do know the U.S maternal mortality rate is significantly higher than the UK maternal mortality rate?

[Anonymous]

Yes, and I know that the causes of that are increasing maternal age, more women with serious illnesses and health conditions having children, and racism and health inequities. The rate in the UK is likely lower due to a more homogenous population who all have access to universal health care. You can’t compare an apple and an orange!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I had a successful VBAC after a C-section. First baby was C-section due to being transverse. Second baby (3 years later) was positioned correctly and from my research, the chance for a successful VBAC was higher due to no longer having the 1 factor that made 1st birth C-section, plus the length of time between the two births.

Keep yourself fit going into labor. Walk a lot in your last few weeks of pregnancy, especially days leading up to due date (if you make it that far). When at hospital, advocate advocate for yourself. I delayed pitocin and epidural for as long as possible so that I could still move around to keep labor progressing. At one point, I had the pitocin and I could only partially feel my legs, and had my husband help me do hip rotations and such while on the hospital bed (keep moving!) Laying back is not a position that keeps labor progressing for most folks. I was at a teaching hospital and the resident was definitely a bit pushy in terms of how much time I would have for "labor progress." Thankfully I had a L&D nurse that encouraged me to keep advocating for myself. I wouldn't have done to put baby at risk, of course, but wanted to give myself the full opportunity for a successful VBAC. And we did!

Recovery after vaginal birth is a breeze compared to C-section. Hormones and breast-feeding were, too. Of course that second part could also be because of it being a second baby vs. first. No regrets, I would absolutely go back and attempt a VBAC again.

I had a 4th degree tear and was anally incontinent after my vaginal birth. My scheduled C section was a cakewalk comparatively. Don’t you dare say that recovery after a vaginal birth is a breeze compared to a C section. I will never fully recover and I resent your comment. Try leaking stool involuntarily and try to go back to your life as you know it - you never can.

Not the PP (I’m appalled by her generalizations, as someone who still hasn’t recovered from a vaginal birth, 2 years on, and probably never will, although I wasn’t injured to the extent you were.) I just wanted to say I am so sorry for what you are going through. It seems to be ignored by other mothers and doctors alike, which just adds to the cruelty.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, and I know that the causes of that are increasing maternal age, more women with serious illnesses and health conditions having children, and racism and health inequities. The rate in the UK is likely lower due to a more homogenous population who all have access to universal health care. You can’t compare an apple and an orange!

And yet average maternal age in the UK is virtually identical (29/30). Huh.

I’m not going to further derail OPs thread, I just urge caution before saying another country has reckless and unsafe practices when their maternal outcomes are better than they are here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, and I know that the causes of that are increasing maternal age, more women with serious illnesses and health conditions having children, and racism and health inequities. The rate in the UK is likely lower due to a more homogenous population who all have access to universal health care. You can’t compare an apple and an orange!

And yet average maternal age in the UK is virtually identical (29/30). Huh.

I’m not going to further derail OPs thread, I just urge caution before saying another country has reckless and unsafe practices when their maternal outcomes are better than they are here.

Reckless and unsafe are your words, not mine. And there are a lot of maternal outcomes that matter. The UK has universal health care. The US does not. The UK has a much whiter population than the US. The US has more women of color, who are known to be at greater risk of mortality and who have to face racism which impacts their health before they arrive in the delivery room and it impacts the care they get.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, and I know that the causes of that are increasing maternal age, more women with serious illnesses and health conditions having children, and racism and health inequities. The rate in the UK is likely lower due to a more homogenous population who all have access to universal health care. You can’t compare an apple and an orange!

And yet average maternal age in the UK is virtually identical (29/30). Huh.

I’m not going to further derail OPs thread, I just urge caution before saying another country has reckless and unsafe practices when their maternal outcomes are better than they are here.

Reckless and unsafe are your words, not mine. And there are a lot of maternal outcomes that matter. The UK has universal health care. The US does not. The UK has a much whiter population than the US. The US has more women of color, who are known to be at greater risk of mortality and who have to face racism which impacts their health before they arrive in the delivery room and it impacts the care they get.

Your racism allegation is completely unfounded, ridiculous, and offensive.

What is undeniable about the UK vs US is: geography. It’s an island.

An island with a much higher population density than the US. You are never far from a hospital on a densely packed island.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, and I know that the causes of that are increasing maternal age, more women with serious illnesses and health conditions having children, and racism and health inequities. The rate in the UK is likely lower due to a more homogenous population who all have access to universal health care. You can’t compare an apple and an orange!

And yet average maternal age in the UK is virtually identical (29/30). Huh.

I’m not going to further derail OPs thread, I just urge caution before saying another country has reckless and unsafe practices when their maternal outcomes are better than they are here.

Reckless and unsafe are your words, not mine. And there are a lot of maternal outcomes that matter. The UK has universal health care. The US does not. The UK has a much whiter population than the US. The US has more women of color, who are known to be at greater risk of mortality and who have to face racism which impacts their health before they arrive in the delivery room and it impacts the care they get.

Your racism allegation is completely unfounded, ridiculous, and offensive.

What is undeniable about the UK vs US is: geography. It’s an island.

An island with a much higher population density than the US. You are never far from a hospital on a densely packed island.

Maybe you have been living under a rock or are completely unaware of issues in maternal and public health over the last 5 years but racial and ethnic disparities and racism do absolutely have a major impact and are a major contributor to our country’s poor maternal outcomes.

Before you go slinging mud, you should at least be aware which one of us is speaking and sharing research backed, evidence based facts and which one is just sharing her woo birth experience and biased perspective.

https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/news/2021/systemic-racism-key-risk-factor-maternal-death-and-illness

https://www.kff.org/racial-equity-and-health-policy/issue-brief/racial-disparities-in-maternal-and-infant-health-current-status-and-efforts-to-address-them/

“Maternal and infant health disparities are symptoms of broader underlying social and economic inequities that are rooted in racism and discrimination. Differences in health insurance coverage and access to care play a role in driving worse maternal and infant health outcomes for people of color. However, inequities in broader social and economic factors and structural and systemic racism and discrimination are primary drivers for maternal and infant health. Notably, disparities in maternal and infant health persist even when controlling for certain underlying social and economic factors, such as education and income, pointing to the roles racism and discrimination play in driving disparities.“