Has Anyone Had a Vaginal Birth After a C-section Before?

I had a VBAC. No complications with the delivery, but now know I prefer the c-section. My recovery with the VBAC was much longer than the c-section. They did give me Potossan, so I don't know why that would be a problem. It is a personal decision and you need to do with whatever you are comfortable with.

Hi L.,

I did it! And I did it at home. My son was born after a 40 (!) hour labor, in the presence of saintly midwives. He was immediatly placed in my arms and allowed to be there as long as we wanted. My midwives stayed by our side (and even did the laundry) while he nursed and when we are all ready, they weighed him and all that stuff. My daughter was born via a knife and I didn't get to see her for 5 hours, not that there was anything wrong with her.

Don't let people scare you. The risks to you from repeat C-section FAR outweigh the risk of uterine rupture when you meet certain criteria. If it has been 4 years since your C-section, you have a low transverse incision and a double layer uterine suture, and you are under the age of 35, you will be fine! You cannot use pitocin, but then pit is the reason for a great many unnecessary c-sections in America.

My OB was the one who encouraged me to do it. He said that he used to VBAC as a matter of policy and had never had any troubles. He insisted that it was the safest thing to do. He also said that in 1995 SA there was a doc who went out to lunch while a laboring mom (on pit) had a uterine rupture. Since then, insurance companies will not allow docs to do it. He encouraged me to find someone who could assist the birth, even if it was to be at home.

Check out the ican.org website, read The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth by Henci Goer, watch The Buisness of Being Born. The book by Goer is just statistical analysis of birthing interventions and it very strongly makes the case for staying away from hospital interventions whenever possible. The US has one of the worst newborn mortality rates in the developed world because of unnecessary medical intervention.

You were born capable of this and I completely encourage you to go for it!

There are some fantastic birthing reasources in San Antonio. Bud to Bloom offers Birthing From Within classes which which really helped me processes some of my feelings and fears about nat. birth after c-section. Alisa Voss was my midwife, and she's the most incredible woman I've ever met.

If you are from SA and you are interested in additional resources, please PM me.

Congratulations!

Umber

Hi L.,
I had two of mine by c-section both because of Pre-Eclampsia, Toxemia issues. My 3rd pregnancy I was perfectly healthy but the doctor told me I would be scheduled for a c-section which I disagreed with. I tried to find a mid-wife to deliver but none of them would take on a double vbac, so I had my son at home with the help of my husband, lots of studying and we were ready to go to the hospital if there was a problem. Everything went very well all naturally we followed the midwive tips we read of putting olive oil down there and stretching it with the oil and sure enough I didn't have any tearing at all. In fact I was alert able to nurse and take care of my baby right away. It was wonderful. Of course I highly recommend a birthing center over a hostpital which is extremely invasive. I walked around or squated the entire time which I feel really helped nature take its course. Tying a women to a bed via IV on her back is the most rediculous thing I can imagine when giving birth. The next morning I walked into the pediatricians office to have our new baby fully checked out where one vile of blood was taken and all tests were done with that one poke, not multiple. The calm quiet, low lights and soft music were gentle and my son hardly cried, he looked at us, then we cut the cord, suctioned his nose, clamped his cord cleaned him I can't say enough about being away from the pitocin happy, knive happy, iv happy, on your back happy nightmare that the hospital was. Good luck and God Bless!

Hi L.,

I LOVED Umber's post. I agree with her whole heartedly.

I had a VBAC with my daughter last year. My son was almost 5 at the time. My VBAC was the best experience of my life. I was a little nervous, but I knew that God created me to be able to give birth naturally. I had been induced with my son, went through labor and ended up with a c-section.
I was using the Austin Area Birth Center for my pregnancy with my daughter. They are about 30 miles from my house. Well, when labor came (7:45am) it went pretty quickly for me. I ultimately took an ambulance to St. David's Hospital. Within 30 minutes of ariving, my daughter was born (4:46pm). My birth experiences were so very different. I was heavily drugged with my son and couldn't get out of the bed for almost a day. With my daughter, they had me up and going to the restroom about 30-45 minutes after she was born. I highly recommend vaginal birth over c-section.

If you haven't seen Business of Being Born, you've got to see it. It really helped me in my decision to go for a VBAC.

Best of luck to you. You can do it!
J.

There are lots of others who have posted this question, and you can look through the old requests and responses, but one is listed here http://www.mamasource.com/request/9348886715051343873 My second child was vaginal after my first was c-section, and I am SO happy I tried for it! It was a much more pleasant experience. You will have trouble finding a doctor who is willing to let you try for one (and some hospitals are very opposed to them, too) but they are out there and it is possible! Good luck and do not hesitate to ask me if you have more questions!

I had a VBAC with my 2nd child. I had a completely wonderful and successful experience. My OB presented the idea to me. She believes if the conditions and circumstances support a VBAC it is the best way to go. It was the way your body was meant to deliver. One major thing to consider when having a VBAC is why did you have the c-section? What were the reasons and conplications for the c-section? For me... it was a 32 hour labor that was not progressing. I never dilated past a five. I was not induced nor was I able to take pitocin. The length of labor was putting too much stress on the baby... and me might I add. These are circumstances that were not set to necessarily repeat themselves. If your c-section was due to a medical condition that may present themselves again and so forth... more concern may need to be placed upon the decision. I didn't hesitate so much with the idea. Sure, I played with thought here and there in my head, but I just always felt like it was the right decision for me. My OB assured me that she would monitor everything closely and would change plans at any point if necessary. She was the same OB that performed the c-section as well. 2 and a half years after my first son, I delivered the 2nd after 8 hours of labor and 30 minutes of pushing (which is great considering technically this was my first "delivery"- vaginally that is). I had an epidural and got to enjoy many experience that I didn't with my first... like holding my baby directly after birth. I didn't get to hold my first until the next day. I also got to experience the delivery method and process itself. I had absolutely no complications and am so glad I made the choice for a VBAC. The recovery of course is completely different. There was post delivery pain... of course!! But at least it didn't hurt when I cough or sneeze! Lol

Congrats on your pregnancy and I applaud you for considering a VBAC. I haven't had one, but there are so many people who have had successful VBACs. Have you visited www.ican.org ?

Your doctor is right in that it's much better for you to go into labor on your own and not be chemically induced with Pitocin. Pitocin causes such strong and consistent contractions that it's too hard on your uterus. (In fact, I think that the statistics of uterine rupture with Pitocin are just about the same as for VBAC...of course, doctors only warn you about the risks of rupture with a VBAC, never bothering to associate that risk with Pit use). I would think your uterus is completeley healed after 6 years. Is this the same OB that did your C section? It's helpful to know how you were stitched up and such.

I think the biggest favor I did for myself was reading the book The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth by Henci Goer. I also read Ina May Gaskin's Guide to Childbirth (excellent also, BTW, and wonderful to read all the natural birth stories/anecdotes at the beginning) but if I had only one book to read, it would be The Thinking Woman's Guide. By fully understanding what my body was doing I was able to have wonderful, successful all natural childbirth (the last a water birth with a midwife). I credit that book with giving me the knowledge I needed. It is also excellent at understanding the common medical interventions out there (that doctors and hospitals seem to use willy nilly) and what their risks are. With my first (born naturally at a hospital, but before reading this book) I was never told the risks of epidurals, c sections, etc., I just knew I didn't want them, nor an episiotomy. Having read the book I understood more WHY I didn't want them!

Good luck with all of this! I think it's great that you're considering it and that your doctor is ok with it. I honestly think the biggest battle is finding a doctor and hospital that are ok with it and handling your family's concerns!

***ETA I responded before I read the other responses, and Umber's response was factual and very informative. I didn't think about The Business of Being Born, but YES! Watch it! Excellent movie. If you have Netflix, you can get it from them, and I think there are even sources where you can watch it free online. It will arm you with a lot of information, and will inspire!

Hi! It looks like you already have lots of support and info, but i just wanted to add myself to the numbers of women who have had an amazingly successful vbac and was left completely empowered and thrilled with the whole experience.
Do what feels right to you deep down in your soul and you can't go wrong. No matter what the outcome, it is the *perfect* experience for *you*.
Good luck and congrats!

I've actually had 3 VBAC's. My first was a c-section due to breech presentation. The other 3 were all delivered vaginally, fairly quickly and with no complications. In fact, the last one was born with no drugs (and no Doctor) just 14 minutes after we arrived at the hospital. They were all great experiences.

I had a VBAC when my twins were almost 4 years old. It went great, I had no problems, did it naturally (as I hoped to with the twins before my unplanned c-section), and my son was 10 lbs, 12 oz.

I had a vbac. I delivered 2 children naturally, had a section, then delivered a vbac. I am currently praying for another vbac (I'm due in 4.5 wks). The timeline is this...aug 2007 I had a section. Got preg a few mos later, and delivered vbac in Sept 2008 (13 mos later, to the day). My vbac was successful. I was 41 wks along and did not want another section, so I requested my membranes to be stripped. It is one of the few things that you can do to help induce, but is not technically inducing, since you will not go into labor unless you are ready. While in labor (at around 8 cm) the doc gave me "1" pit, to speed it up. I was a bit unhappy w that, bc of all I read about using pit on a vbac, and bc this was my quickest labor, I didn't need to be sped up. Anyways, I was high risk bc it had only been 13 mos since my sect, but everything went great! If I were you, I would not be concerned at all, Especially if you had the low-cut, double stitch thing, which is best for vbac. Good luck w everything, and may God bless your delivery!

L.,

I have heard that you can. Don't be afraid. Look into the Lamaze technique and enjoy a natural child birth. Your doctor will let you know if you need help. You will recover so much faster if you go natural.

I had a VBAC and it went well. I actually had decided to have another C-section, but by the time I got to the hospital I was at a 9 1/2, so needless to say, the baby was already headed down the birth canal. My doc. said she would still do a c-section, but it would be more difficult. At that point, I was in so much pain that I wanted the fastest way to get the baby out! All went well, and the recovery was so much easier. The drawback is that you can't plan the birth (my husband very well could have missed my son's birth). The positive is that the recovery is so much easier. I never had a great desire to experience vaginal childbirth, having a c-section was fine with me (except the longer recovery) if thats what was best for the baby, but now that its all over with, I'm kind-of glad I experienced both.

My oldest is 6 and when he asks about his birth, I tell him that the doc. cut me open and took him out of my tummy (he isn't horrified by this, just interested). I haven't quite figured out what I'm going to tell my 4 year old when he starts asking!

You are lucky to have the option. Many docs/hospitals these days won't do a VBAC. I didn't realize how lucky I was at the time, but now I do and I'm very appreciative that my doc was willing to do one.

I had a vaginal birth after a c-section. My son was born 3 1/2 years after my daughter. I actually was induced with him, although I know that many doctors won't do that now. I had no problems at all. It went well and I was so glad I did the vaginal birth the second time around. The healing time was faster (although with a vaginal birth the "healing" is obviously a different sort!) Go for it!