Anonymous wrote:I'm pretty "anti" csection in most cases, but
i think in your case I would opt for it.

I agree with this - meaning that for myself, I would not ever choose c-sec unless medically necessary. But if you are a FTM, odds are very likely that you will need to push for longer than 15-20 minutes - I am not a medical professional, but I would be concerned that a preemptive vacuum delivery could be pretty gnarly. Personally, I would prefer the risks of a c-sec (which are known and relatively controlled) to those of a vacuum delivery done that early. It's totally possible that you could be one of those women who doesn't need to push a lot, but I wouldn't bet on it. And fwiw, my sister did have a vacuum delivery, though it was after 2.5 hours of pushing and the baby was close to crowning. She did have an episiotomy, but it healed fine, no additional complications to mother and baby.

Anonymous wrote:http://www.abclawcenters.com/blog/2012/04/12/vacuum-deliveries-serious-potential-risks-79337

Or this one?

This one is a website of ambulance chasers. FYI.

This is a list of their areas of practice, which are basically any and all complications that may arise during pregnancy or delivery. If you have any sort of complication during pregnancy or delivery, these guys will sue the doctor and hospital for you.

http://www.abclawcenters.com/areas-of-practice

I had a vacuum assisted delivery because cord was around my son's neck and when my water broke at the very end of labor, his his heartrate decelerated. Baby was too far down for c-section and so they used the vacuum for 2 contractions. Brought him down enough so that after two more unassisted contractions he was born. He had no marks or bruises and my episiotomy healed nicely. I am so thankful I didnt have to have a c-section.

I had a vacuum assist because the baby was in distress and I was having trouble pushing. No tearing-- I didn't even need one stitch. Baby was 7.5 lbs so she was average size. I don't know what the norm is, but for me, the vacuum was fine.

http://www.abclawcenters.com/blog/2012/04/12/vacuum-deliveries-serious-potential-risks-79337

Or this one?

http://www.fda.gov/MedicalDevices/Safety/AlertsandNotices/TipsandArticlesonDeviceSafety/ucm230309.htm

How about this?

I'd appreciate any links to research on vacuum-assisted and behavioral/emotional issues.

I have a c section with my first. VBACed with second and vacuum had to be used at the last minute. After pushing for so long, I was pretty happy to just get the baby out. I had only slight tearing. The vacuum made a ring mark on my baby's head that was entirely gone by the first full day at home. That said, I'd opt for the Csection at the outset. That does not seem like enough time to push and you don't want to have to go through full labor just to end up in Csection!

Learning disabilities are linked to oxygen deprivation during labor and delivery, which is also linked to vacuum use. There isn't anything about the vacuum specifically that is linked to LDs.

I too would opt for a c section. My sister is a teacher and I remember her telling me something about learning disabilities and their link to things like vacuum births. Apparently in initial evaluation the often ask about the child's birth.

I only needed 2-3 pushes to get all 3 of my babies out. But I think I was just extremely lucky, the majority of other moms pushed for longer than that. To be honest, I'd opt for a c-section in your case. If had had a baby already it would probably have been a different story.

Anonymous wrote:OP here, yikes! Clearly I have a lot more research to do. I have a dr appointment on Thurs so I want to be prepared to discuss this.

PP- I am a FTM. According to the doctors, my contractions should naturally push the baby low enough so that I don't have to spend too much time pushing. It sounded a little strange to me too, but all three had the same suggestion, so it seemed like a common solution to me.

I think what they are talking about is "laboring down" - with an epidural, instead of pushing after you are fully dilated, you can wait for your uterus to get the baby really low on its own. Then you spend less time pushing. This is what I did and ended up pushing only 20 mins or so! But I don't think there's any guarantee that it will be such a short time to push.

18:11 again: the tearing was awful, and I had an easier time recovering from my sections than my vaginal delivery. Fwiw, lots of scarring down there isn't cool.

Please don't let an abdominal scar scare you off of a c section. I've had three sections, and my scar is small and below the bikini line...not noticeable at all.

10% of mothers with vacuum deliveries have 3rd or 4th degree tears. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2672989/. That's too much of a risk for me - I would much prefer a planned c-section.