My VBAC Experience

[DeeD]

Very long, complicated story made short...I went to my old doc at 10 am on Monday. Baby was head down...but he still wanted to do a c/s on Wednesday. I told him I valued his opinion and respected his choice to not support me in VBAC, BUT that I needed to do what I felt was right for me and the baby and therefore, I was keeping my appt with the new doc the next day and I would weigh my options after that. He said he was fully supportive of me and my choice and scheduled a c-s for Wednesday morning and I was to call if I was not keeping it. However, I went into labor at 7:30 pm Monday evening. By 10...the contractions were 1 1/2 mintues apart and  were really intense. I called my new doc to be (I hadn't seen him yet) and he told me to go to the hospital and he would let them know I was coming and that I was HIS patient.

When we got to the hospital, my doula was just arriving. I was in agony. They checked me and I was only a 1. This worried them because the contractions were so close and so intense and so there had to be a reason...they did a scan and the baby was transverse AGAIN! He had flipped from head down that morning, to transverse that evening in just a few hours!!! I started to cry....I knew what that most likely meant for me. So I am in hard labor at this point that is not doing anything for my cervix. Great....

To my surprise, my new doc called my room and told me that I had two choices at this point.    1. I could do a c/s     OR     2. I could try to do a version first. I of course told him if he would give me a chance...I wanted the version and to at least try for a vaginal delivery. So, he left to come to the hosptial. Attending docs HAVE to be at the hospital the entire labor in a VBAC.

So he decided they had to do an epidural to do a version to turn baby because I was in labor (to get my uterus to relax enough to turn baby). They did not dare to give me tributaline to stop labor, only to turn around to induce labor with anything else (biggest reason for ruptures is pharmocological drugs in a VBAC). He told me the OR was fully staffed and everything had been prep-ed for the very second I may need a c/s. He said from first indication of trouble to the point they would have baby out was 3 mintues. It was nice to know that they were ready for me JIC.

The version was sucessful-(so glad I had an epi-it would have hurt like hell!) but then the cord was laying over my cervix and baby's heart rated deceled. They watched carefully and baby's heart recovered quickly to my relief, I was doing fine...there were about 15 people in the room watching everything, and the montiors and stuff.  They let me rest to see if baby would move the cord out of the way. He did...They let the epi wear off so I could be able to push and to do what I needed to do. Labor however, was very, very slow. I didn't deliver until 12:07 pm Tuesday afternoon.

There were all kinds of set backs and challenges, but I did it. Even better, I had a doc that did not freak out because in reality, there were at least a half a dozen times ANY other doc would have just cut me to deliver instead of letting my body do what it knew how to do. I have never done an unmedicated birth before...frankly-it was the HARDEST thing I have ever, EVER done. The pressure was almost unbearable. But I did it. I was sucessful in what I wanted to accomplish.

I almost caved to the c-section on 3 different occasions and at the insistance of not one, not two, but three different doctors. But am so glad that things went the way I wanted them to go. It was a positive experience for me and I am so glad that I have my baby here! BTW-it was a 16 1/2 hour labor with my 8th baby!  That is longer than my first labor! Trigg just wanted to take his time!!!

[lilmami81]

Mar. 15, 2009 at 10:37 PM

Congrats on your newest addition!  That was a heckuva labor story LOL  I am glad you and baby are fine.

[AgentBrez]

Mar. 15, 2009 at 10:59 PM

congrats!!! what a great story, im so happy you got your VBAC!

[NathansmomEmmie]

Apr. 25, 2009 at 2:27 AM

congrats on little Trigg(quite late).  I dont remember reading your birth story.  Anyway, congrats on an unmedicated birth.  Fun stuff-huh!  I'd like to see some recent pictures if you have any!

[czshcecnc]

Jan. 28, 2010 at 7:49 PM

What a great sucess story.