Reply to Planned c-section vs. vbac

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[quote=Anonymous]I had an emergency c/s under general anesthesia with my first (no labor). I wanted to attempt a vbac for my second for a number of reasons. First, I wanted to avoid having major surgery again. Even though my c/s recovery went well, it was still recovery from surgery. I also now have a 3 1/2 year old and the thought of recovering from surgery with him too was less appealing. I am also not sure we are done with 2 kids. Each subsequent c/s increases the risks of things going wrong like placenta accreta, placenta previa, etc. As my mfm specialists said, the first c/s is easy because you're cutting into pristine muscle. Each c/s gets increasingly complicated because of the scar tissue. There are also advantages to the baby going through the birth canal like helping clear out their lungs.

I really saw no reason not to try in my instance. Of course I didn't have a trial of labor with my first so my doctor gave me good chances for a vbac. Although that changed when my baby started measuring big. I got a lot of big baby/shoulder dystocia talk from my OB. I insisted on a trial of labor. I had a successful vbac with my 9 lb, 11 oz baby. I'm not a tall woman either (5'2"). His head size was in the 50th percentile so I can see why OP would have cause for concern given her past history.

One thing you may consider is getting growth ultrasounds later in your pregnancy. While those are not always accurate, they can give you a guide post to help you determine what you are comfortable doing. You can pay special attention to the head size estimate. In my case, my baby measured in the normal range except for abdominal circumference. Which my OB laughed when he saw that and said it meant I had a fat baby. Fat is malleable. In my case, I had a really easy delivery. But if your baby's head is also measuring on the large side, then that can help you decide whether you want to schedule a c/s or not.

I felt amazing after my vbac. It was so different from my c/s experience. If given the opportunity, I would do the vbac again. Even when my doctors were pushing my odds of success lower than 50% because of my baby's estimated size, I still wanted to attempt it. Even if I ended up in a c/s again, at least I gave it a shot. I did hire a doula. She helped me advocate for myself and helped me a lot during the pushing phase. I also did get an epidural. But I didn't have difficulty feeling when to push or how to push.
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