Anyone Had a VBAC After C-section?

I had a vbac with my second child only 16 months after my cesarian with my first baby. I had absolutely no porblems & actually gave birth after only 30 minutes of labor. The recovery time from vaginal birth compared to cesarian is almost uncomparible. I was out of the hoptial the next day & on my feet & ready to go within 3 days!

Hi there,
My physician assured me that it was fine and really encouraged me to do a vbac. She is a one of a kind ob. What docs don't tell people is that multiple c-sections is actually far more dangerous. Every time you have a c-section you weaken the uteral wall. That could erupt at any time pregnant or not. And it's not usually when you are in the hospital - the safest place to be.
I just had my 2nd vbac and both times there were no problems at all.
good luck!

Congratulations! I am also pregnant with my 2nd child-my daughter is 15 months now.
I had a planned c-section because I had back surgery 5 months before I got pregnant & since my body was still healing, the Dr.'s & I did not want to put me in a situation that might cause further damage as the baby came down the cannel. I again, have another bulging disc & will be having another c-section for the same personal health issues but even if I was able to I don't think I would want to have a vaginal birth. I guess since I had a wonderful delivery I don;t get why other women want to go thru labor & all the pain I hear of. My recovery was long & painful-took me about 2 months till I felt 'ok' again but I am pretty sensitive with physical pain....I guess because I didn't go thru any kind of labor, I just don't get why people want to? Just hearing you say that their are risks at all is enough for me to not want to go there....I am only 8 weeks along & have my first OB apt this week so I haven't gotten to that kind of decision making yet....
I guess this probably doesn't answer your question but maybe it sparks more thoughts on why you even want to do vaginally? Just more things to consider. Does it really matter how they get here as long as you trust the 'delivery man/woman'?

My two VBAC babies are now 20 and 15. I was thrilled to be able to 'bound' out of bed the day after my second was born, no stitches, no pain! (Well, okay, he put his elbow through my perineum and made a tear, but nothing like a C section wound!)

If your original incision is the right kind (lateral, not vertical), and your doc thinks you can handle it, I say go for it--unless you don't want to. I don't know how old your first is, but the prospect of not being able to pick up or hold my firstborn for a few weeks after the second C was what convinced me to try it.

What are the problems they list?

Good luck!
L.

Hi Kim,

Congratulations on your new baby! While I have not had a c-section, my sister-in-law did for her first. Then she had baby #2 and #3 v-bac and swears by it. She said that she recovered so much more quickly than when she had the c-section. She also went into the experience once she had read a lot about giving birth naturally and she had no meds for each of her v-bac deliveries. She did use a doula for each delivery and she and my brother have said many wonderful things about having a doula with them for the labor and delivery. Her dr. is through Kaiser and I've heard that you just have to find a dr. or midwife who is supportive and knows what to watch for with a v-bac delivery and all should be well. My personal advice is to do the research and talk to your husband and make the decision that you feel the most comfortable with. V-bac's work and can be a great experience but you have to do your homework first and be happy with your decision. :) Good luck to you!

My 1st child I had to have C-section because she was a footling. My 2nd and 3rd children I delivered by VBAC and had no problems what so ever. The healing time was far less than my C-Section. My co-worker who had a 2nd C-Section ended up back in the hospital after tearing her stiches by over doing it and had to heal all over again. It was really agonizing for her.

I haven't done it but I've known people who've done it and I think they were very glad they did. If you're going to do it, you need to be with somebody (e.g., a midwife) who believes in your body and who believes it's possible and who will encourage you. Many doctors won't try VBACs because of the possible complications, so I think it's important to birthe your baby with somebody who a) believes you can do it, b) will encourage rather than discourage you to keep going, and c) will nevertheless be cautious if they see signs that something isn't quite right.

You didn't ask for this response, but I thought I would share my experience. I tried for a VBAC with my second. I finally went into labor a week late, after 12+ hrs of labor - I was unable to push that baby out. I was really close - dialated to a 10, fully effaced, etc. But it was really painful, and I was exhausted, and after an hour of really hard pushing with no progress, I couldn't do it. So I had the c-section. My dr. said it was a good thing we did the c-section because he said my uterine wall was really thin and most likely would have burst during delivery. Having said that - the recovery from my 2nd c-section was much better/quicker than the first. I think your body kind of remembers. Good luck with whatever you choose. As women we tend to feel like failures if we dont deliver vaginally (at least I did) - but I felt even more discouraged that I went through labor again - only to have to end in another cesarian. Like another poster mentioned "Isn't it that they get here safe and sound what counts, not how".

I just had a VBAC with my second and it was the best experience ever. The risks are very small, but yes very scary. What was the reason for your 1st c/s? Go over this and your health with your doc. My c/s was because of heart rate, so it had nothing to do with my body. If I had to chose again I would do a VBAC no questions asked. Just do what you feel is right for you!!

Hi,

I responded to a similar question last year. Here's the thread with the responses. HOpe it's helpful.

http://www.mamasource.com/request/5578225229307576321

Kellie

While I don't have personal experience, I did see The Business of Being Born (Ricki Lake) while pregnant with #2. I sure wish it had been made in time for me to see it before #1...I would have done my birth without the epidural. It gave me the education of sorts and the courage to have a birth the way I wanted it (100% natural). Every pregnant woman should see this film!!!

Good luck--and trust your gut no matter what it's telling you. Intuition and the mind are so powerful.

R.

Yes, I've had vbac after having had the bikini C-section and I'm telling you it was the best delivery out of all 4 births! It was almost fun. I know it was certainly a relief in that I didn't have to go through that C-section again. I got terrible pain from gas after the C-section birth. It was truly nice not to have to deal with all that extra pain of gas. Maybe you should look for a midwifery birthing center. A guy my husband works with went to one of those with his wife and they had such a wonderful experience there that it made me want to have another baby just to try out this new experience.

I started researching and asking around, then I found out that the hospital we plan to have our next one doesn't allow them. I would suggest, if you haven't already, to check with your hospital first.
C.
PS. I've this post on here before so if you don't get enough info, you may want to look back about a year at previous posts.

I tried! I have Kaiser, and they totally let me make the decision after giving me the info. I decided to give it a try. Unfortunately, 10 days after my due date I still hadn't gone into labor. After a C section they won't induce, so another C section was the only option. My baby was 9 lbs 3 oz, so it was probably for the best! I did have another baby (number 4!) and just scheduled a c section from the get go. In retrospect, I wish I would have just scheduled a c section instead of trying the vbac - 10 days over due is NOT fun! But I know people who had great experiences doing a vbac, so it's totally personal! (and they always have a team there and ready in case you need an emergency csection)

Hi K. -

Congratulations on your pregnancy! I had a VBAC (but 19+ years ago) and it was fine. But, I think it really depends on why you had the C-section in the first place. In my case, I had the C-section because they did a blood test on my daughter once they could get to the head and her platelet count was low (there was a concern on this throughout the pregnancy). That translates to an automatic C-section even though the test proved to be false and there were no problems with her platelets.

But, having experienced both deliveries and recoveries, I told my OB that if I ever had the choice again, I could do a C-section again rather than a vaginal delivery. Mine was probably an exception but I wasn't able to have pain medication and I pushed for 3.5 hours,

Good luck in working through your decision.

J. F.