Anonymous
05/13/2015 10:29
Subject: Anyone regret their Vbac?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:My friend and her baby almost died when her uterine scar ruptured during labor with her second child. She for sure regrets it. Horrible experience for her. Not worth the risk, IMO, and I refused to try despite a VERY pushy OB who never stopped bugging me to attempt trial of labor. I s--t you not, she was still bugging me when I was in the OR with the anesthesiologist about to give me the epidural. Crazy. Glad I skipped it; DC2 was BIG with a 91st %ile head![/quote]
Vaginal birth of a baby with a head that was above the 99th percentile here. Uneventful and fine. Just FYI, in case anyone thought that having a large head meant an automatic C-section. It does not.
No, a large head does not "mean an automatic c-section," but sorry: a large baby/large head absolutely are contraindicated for a successful VBAC. Your personal success story is irrelevant in the big picture. When things go wrong a VBAC, they go very gravely wrong. The current natural birth fad has influenced - dare I say brainwashed - too many women into thinking they're less of a woman or a mother if they don't have a vaginal birth, but there's an important other side to this issue. VBACs can be successful but they are dangerous.
*sorry for the double post; my new post was embedded in the quote for some reason.
Anonymous
05/13/2015 10:28
Subject: Anyone regret their Vbac?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:My friend and her baby almost died when her uterine scar ruptured during labor with her second child. She for sure regrets it. Horrible experience for her. Not worth the risk, IMO, and I refused to try despite a VERY pushy OB who never stopped bugging me to attempt trial of labor. I s--t you not, she was still bugging me when I was in the OR with the anesthesiologist about to give me the epidural. Crazy. Glad I skipped it; DC2 was BIG with a 91st %ile head![/quote]
Vaginal birth of a baby with a head that was above the 99th percentile here. Uneventful and fine. Just FYI, in case anyone thought that having a large head meant an automatic C-section. It does not.
No, a large head does not "mean an automatic c-section," but sorry: a large baby/large head absolutely are contraindicated for a successful VBAC. Your personal success story is irrelevant in the big picture. When things go wrong a VBAC, they go very gravely wrong. The current natural birth fad has influenced - dare I say brainwashed - too many women into thinking they're less of a woman or a mother if they don't have a vaginal birth, but there's an important other side to this issue. VBACs can be successful but they are dangerous.
Anonymous
05/13/2015 10:16
Subject: Re:Anyone regret their Vbac?
Anonymous wrote:Is there anyone on this thread whose C/S was the result of failure to dilate due to cervical scarring? Meaning, I labored, was fully effaced, baby was fully down, but cervix would not dilate without hemostat due to scarring from earlier procedure. I went from home birth to hospital to emergency C/S under general. Trying to assess if dilation might be possible in future pregnancy.
I am also interested in any VBAC experiences after dilation issues....
Anonymous
05/12/2015 22:15
Subject: Re:Anyone regret their Vbac?
No regrets
Anonymous
05/12/2015 15:24
Subject: Re:Anyone regret their Vbac?
Is there anyone on this thread whose C/S was the result of failure to dilate due to cervical scarring? Meaning, I labored, was fully effaced, baby was fully down, but cervix would not dilate without hemostat due to scarring from earlier procedure. I went from home birth to hospital to emergency C/S under general. Trying to assess if dilation might be possible in future pregnancy.
Anonymous
05/12/2015 15:13
Subject: Anyone regret their Vbac?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Op here. Heard that tears/issues down below can be just as difficult as c section recovery. Any truth to that?
I had a quick recovery from my csection. My sister was in pain for over a year from her vaginal birth (ended up having to get restitched).
I had a 2nd degree tear (so not even that bad) and 5 years later, have had a lot of issues, including fecal incontinence. If I had known, I would've gone for the C-section in a heartbeat. But I couldn't have known beforehand...
Anonymous
05/12/2015 13:41
Subject: Anyone regret their Vbac?
3 years later, my vbac was very smooth (though recovery is not as simple with vaginal births as people always say).
Anonymous
05/12/2015 13:40
Subject: Anyone regret their Vbac?
I had an unplanned C-section last time. Baby was small and in the perfect position. I tried a number of different birthing positions. I just couldn't get her to descend enough to actually get her out. I have had a number of conversations with my OB this time around and he feels that it is unlikely that I would have a better experience this time around-- so I'm going to do a scheduled C very close to my due date. If I go into labor first, I will allow myself the opportunity to reconsider. My OB recited all of his notes from the birth and hearing it all helped me make my decision. My last C-section recovery was not a breeze because I had an extremely long labor, but I was very careful and did not suffer any setbacks. Maybe this time will be easier!
Anonymous
05/12/2015 13:10
Subject: Anyone regret their Vbac?
Anonymous wrote:My friend and her baby almost died when her uterine scar ruptured during labor with her second child. She for sure regrets it. Horrible experience for her. Not worth the risk, IMO, and I refused to try despite a VERY pushy OB who never stopped bugging me to attempt trial of labor. I s--t you not, she was still bugging me when I was in the OR with the anesthesiologist about to give me the epidural. Crazy. Glad I skipped it; DC2 was BIG with a 91st %ile head![/quote]
Vaginal birth of a baby with a head that was above the 99th percentile here. Uneventful and fine. Just FYI, in case anyone thought that having a large head meant an automatic C-section. It does not.
Anonymous
05/12/2015 13:02
Subject: Anyone regret their Vbac?
Anonymous wrote:Op here. Heard that tears/issues down below can be just as difficult as c section recovery. Any truth to that?
I had a quick recovery from my csection. My sister was in pain for over a year from her vaginal birth (ended up having to get restitched).
Anonymous
05/12/2015 10:21
Subject: Anyone regret their Vbac?
PP, how many prior c/s did you have?
Anonymous
05/12/2015 09:31
Subject: Anyone regret their Vbac?
I don't regret mine. But I did do alot of research, including reading sites that were biased in either direction, had discussions with my doctors and my husband and felt comfortable with the risk and how I would handle things.
Among the things I considered:
My likelihood of success: My first c/s came after I was completely dilated, but baby was in distress. Fetal distress is not something considered likely to recur, so I had a fairly good chance of success.
My comfort with ending up with a c/s if the TOLAC (trial of labor) failed: In my mind, I was 100% ok with trying and it not working. In fact, I was almost surprised when they told me to stop pushing for a moment so the doc could get ready to catch the baby.
How to handle complications: Based on my research and talking with my doctors, I felt like risks to baby and myself were minimized if a rupture happened while I was at the hospital being monitored. (Many of the horror stories you read involve women who were not in the hospital being monitored). Minimized mind you, not eliminated. I went into the hospital within an hour of labor starting instead of trying to labor at home awhile, and I got hooked up to the internal monitor immediately. I also had an epidural because if I needed emergency surgery, it would be useful to have a means to administer the meds already set up.
Support from my husband: DH and I had a series of conversations about it and discussed the risks. He'd normally rather leave stuff like that to me, but I knew in the unlikely event something went wrong, I needed him on record in advance that he supported the path we were taking. It sounds a little silly, but I didn't want to leave any doors open to hearing "Well, I always thought this was a bad idea."
Good luck whatever you decide.
Among the things I considered:
My likelihood of success: My first c/s came after I was completely dilated, but baby was in distress. Fetal distress is not something considered likely to recur, so I had a fairly good chance of success.
My comfort with ending up with a c/s if the TOLAC (trial of labor) failed: In my mind, I was 100% ok with trying and it not working. In fact, I was almost surprised when they told me to stop pushing for a moment so the doc could get ready to catch the baby.
How to handle complications: Based on my research and talking with my doctors, I felt like risks to baby and myself were minimized if a rupture happened while I was at the hospital being monitored. (Many of the horror stories you read involve women who were not in the hospital being monitored). Minimized mind you, not eliminated. I went into the hospital within an hour of labor starting instead of trying to labor at home awhile, and I got hooked up to the internal monitor immediately. I also had an epidural because if I needed emergency surgery, it would be useful to have a means to administer the meds already set up.
Support from my husband: DH and I had a series of conversations about it and discussed the risks. He'd normally rather leave stuff like that to me, but I knew in the unlikely event something went wrong, I needed him on record in advance that he supported the path we were taking. It sounds a little silly, but I didn't want to leave any doors open to hearing "Well, I always thought this was a bad idea."
Good luck whatever you decide.
Anonymous
05/11/2015 21:53
Subject: Re:Anyone regret their Vbac?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:www.vbacfacts.com
www.ican-online.org
Biased, dangerous sources.
I haven't found them to be so. They offer evidence based cited information, including not only the risks of VBAC but the risks of multiple cesareans/placenta accreta, which is a real concern for some families who desire to have multiple children. There are risks to both choices. This is not a black and white issue. I'm going to assume by your response that you believe that those two websites advocate for VBAC all the time no matter what. That's actually not the case, they advocate for informed consent and women making their own decisions and supporting those regardless of what they are.
I've looked at those sites as well, and while you're right that they don't recommend vbac for everyone, they are certainly biased and definitely skew both their interpretation of the data and which data they choose to present. I would much rather look through the ACOG metadata analysis and then discuss the factors cited there with my doctor. And, no, it's not black and white. Except for an individual person, it may be -- if your individual factors mean that VBAC presents significantly higher risks of maternal or fetal mortality. And, for some women, it does. And for many women, to be sure, it doesn't.
Anonymous
05/11/2015 21:35
Subject: Anyone regret their Vbac?
My CS recovery for breech baby was a breeze. I totally regret my vbac. Baby was stuck so very close to the end and I ended up with a forceps delivery. Worst experience of my life. And I am reminded of it daily as I struggle to live with both pelvic floor and colorectal damage. As PPs have said, you just don't know how it will turn out for you. Good luck in your decision.
Anonymous
05/11/2015 19:44
Subject: Re:Anyone regret their Vbac?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:www.vbacfacts.com
www.ican-online.org
Biased, dangerous sources.
I haven't found them to be so. They offer evidence based cited information, including not only the risks of VBAC but the risks of multiple cesareans/placenta accreta, which is a real concern for some families who desire to have multiple children. There are risks to both choices. This is not a black and white issue. I'm going to assume by your response that you believe that those two websites advocate for VBAC all the time no matter what. That's actually not the case, they advocate for informed consent and women making their own decisions and supporting those regardless of what they are.