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C-Section Mamas

(I'm just full of nosey questions lately)

If you were to have another baby, would you have another c-section?

Re: C-Section Mamas

  • I am doing everything I can to have a VBAC this time, for a few reasons:

    1) A weird part of me feels cheated out of the vaginal childbirth experience.  I had a birth plan and the whole thing went out the window when I didn't progress and Owen went into stress. I didn't even get to hold my baby until he was almost an hour old -- no skin-to-skin contact for us.  :(

    2) With a toddler at home who will be adjusting to a BIG change in his life, I can't imagine being in the hospital away from him for 96 (+) hours.

    3) Along the same lines, I can't imagine not being allowed to pick up my toddler for a few weeks, and I definitely can't imagine trying to explain that to him, especially at an already confusing time for him.

    4) I don't see the point in volunteering for major surgery.  If it becomes necessary, so be it, but I'd prefer to try my damnedest to let nature take its course.

    To help things along, my MWs are going to give me an internal at 39 weeks and send me to an acupuncturist.  The goal is to get me into labor on my own, because they can't induce once you've had a c-section.

     

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  • imagemeganmarieCA:

     1) A weird part of me feels cheated out of the vaginal childbirth experience.  I had a birth plan and the whole thing went out the window when I didn't progress and Owen went into stress. I didn't even get to hold my baby until he was almost an hour old -- no skin-to-skin contact for us.  :(

    I'm the same way. I didn't get to hold Abe for quite a while...and it probably would have been longer but his sugars were low and he needed to eat.

    because they can't induce once you've had a c-section.

    I didn't know this!

  • imageshuga_23:
    imagemeganmarieCA:

    because they can't induce once you've had a c-section.

    I didn't know this!

    Yeah, it's something they didn't tell me until I got pregnant this time and told them I wanted to do VBAC.  Apparently the risk for uterine rupture is too high if they give you induction drugs before you go into labor naturally.  So that rules out Cytotec and Cervadil for the whole process, and rules out Pitocin for a kickstart.  Once you are in active labor, they can give Pitocin to help things along, but that's it.

     

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  • I did everything I could not to have one this time around and I think I'd do the same again.
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  • imagemeganmarieCA:
    imageshuga_23:
    imagemeganmarieCA:

    because they can't induce once you've had a c-section.

    I didn't know this!

    Yeah, it's something they didn't tell me until I got pregnant this time and told them I wanted to do VBAC.  Apparently the risk for uterine rupture is too high if they give you induction drugs before you go into labor naturally.  So that rules out Cytotec and Cervadil for the whole process, and rules out Pitocin for a kickstart.  Once you are in active labor, they can give Pitocin to help things along, but that's it.

     

    I wonder if a MW would be hesitant to do a VBAC on a person, like me, who didn't go into labor. I think Abe would have stayed in there forever. Sometimes I think he wants to crawl back in!

  • At this point, I don't plan to try a VBAC.  I definitely feel like I missed out on something; I get sad to think I'll never have that moment of having them put the baby on my chest.  But I also don't want to put myself through 36 hours of that again and end up with another c-section; I think it would be too disappointing to get that close and not get there again.  My recovery was fairly easy from the c-section so I'm not too worried about that part, and we will wait until Marcus is probably in kindegarten before we have a second, so I'm not worried about caring for him and recovery like MM is with a toddler.  Midcoast where I delivered Marcus, will not do VBAC's because of the higher risk (and also the MW's there), so I'd have to go to Maine Med which I wouldn't want to do because of the distance from home.  I'm hoping I can stick with my MW for my prenatal care and then my c-section can be with my MW and an OB, like it was with Marcus.  Maybe I'll change my mind, but I was pretty sure from the moment I heard I was having a c-section and the MW said I could try a VBAC next time, that I'd probably just have a c-section again.
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  • imageshuga_23:
    imagemeganmarieCA:
    imageshuga_23:
    imagemeganmarieCA:

    because they can't induce once you've had a c-section.

    I didn't know this!

    Yeah, it's something they didn't tell me until I got pregnant this time and told them I wanted to do VBAC.  Apparently the risk for uterine rupture is too high if they give you induction drugs before you go into labor naturally.  So that rules out Cytotec and Cervadil for the whole process, and rules out Pitocin for a kickstart.  Once you are in active labor, they can give Pitocin to help things along, but that's it.

     

    I wonder if a MW would be hesitant to do a VBAC on a person, like me, who didn't go into labor. I think Abe would have stayed in there forever. Sometimes I think he wants to crawl back in!

    I never went into labor either; I was given three induction drugs and experienced some contractions, but never dilated and never got beyond 50% effaced.  However, the midwives I work with encourage VBAC, and have a 70% success rate for their patients who have tried.

     

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  • When I was pregnant with Leah I wanted to have a VBAC and it was not an option even though I wanted to soooo badly! I guess every person and situation is different and the level of risk for you and the baby is what matters to the dr.  So you may want to ask! I pleaded with them because when I had Joshua I had to be put out and missd everything! And since I couldn't have a spinal tap I would have to be put out with Leah and miss everything again! The first 3 hours I missed with both of them and that is heart breaking!! But I had no issues with bonding and Leah still BF great! Joshua was a horror story from labor on through his first year BUT anyway! What I'm trying to say is.....if you have to have a c-section again it isn't so bad! My only advice would be have Seth take off the first 2 weeks you are home! Josh took the first week and I wish we would have planned on him being home longer! And Joshua was 3 so he would "help" with his baby sister and that kept him happy. I picked him up some but not enough to cause problems. We did a lot of sitting on the couch together with the baby.  You will make it work ;)
  • I hope to try for a VBAC if we ever have another child.... I didn't get ANY of the labor process... heck I never even had an internal exam to check if I was progressing at all, never felt any contractions... and I would really like that experience, but I know that if something goes wrong, a c-section is still an option...

    I would really like to at least try and do it and have that baby put on my chest after all the hard work... I didn't get to see the boys until almost 3 hours after they were born and I was totally out of it from all the drugs they had to give me while trying to return my uterus to my body... I would rather not repeat that! 

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  • imageshuga_23:
    imagemeganmarieCA:

     1) A weird part of me feels cheated out of the vaginal childbirth experience.  I had a birth plan and the whole thing went out the window when I didn't progress and Owen went into stress. I didn't even get to hold my baby until he was almost an hour old -- no skin-to-skin contact for us.  :(

    I'm the same way. I didn't get to hold Abe for quite a while...and it probably would have been longer but his sugars were low and he needed to eat.

    because they can't induce once you've had a c-section.

    I didn't know this!

    I didn't know it either! I would try for all the reasons MM gave, except I think I would be a bit less worried about the recovery -- mine was pretty easy. 

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