Has Anyone Had a Vbac and Would Recommend It?

I would change NOTHING about having my vbac! I was so amazed at how beautiful having a vaginal birth was!

They advise you to NOT have a midwife as you need to have someone available to do a c-section in an emergency situation if your VBAC fails. Thus, you also should not do it at home -- but in a hospital. If you have an OB group that has both midwives and Docs, you might get around the midwife issue but not the hospital issue. I had a vaginal for my 1st, c-section for my 2nd (due to his short cord of 6") and plan a VBAC for my 3rd in May. Because I already had a successful vaginal birth, I am a good candidate. You need to have a conversation with your OB about the reasons for the first c-section, odds of repeating, and they need to see your operative notes from your c-section to make sure it is horizontal and not vertical (hospitals and docs will not due VBACs for vertical due to high risk of rupture and liability insurance issues). You need to ensure the OB practice you want to use and the hospital you wish to deliver at will do a VBAC. Almost all the ones I know of in the Chicago burbs do but I live in the NW burbs and delivered downtown at Prentice with 1 and 2 and plan to deliver at NW Community with #3.

Best of luck!

Congratulations on your pregnancy!!

I had an emergency c-section (7 years ago today!!) and I have had 2 successful VBACs since then.

I used a midwife, but I don't think midwives are the only ones who will allow you to do a vbac (although I have heard that a lot of doctors won't support them).

If you feel that you want to do this, call around and ask if the doctor will support a VBAC.

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask. I thought my 2 vbac recoveries were sooooo much easier than the c/s recovery.

Congrats again!!

I wanted REALLY BADLY to do a VBAC. I had another c-section because my body decided what it was doing, not me. I easily could have bled to death during childbirth if I had done a VBAC because I had placenta problems.

I think your question on here should greatly depend on why you had the C-section in the first place and how long ago was your C-section, and what is your health like, etc. If I were you, I would be sure you are super close to a hospital just in case if you are using a midwife.

All I can say is, don't take the first 'no' you hear. My first delivery was c-section, and when I had my second child, my doctor wouldn't even hear of doing a v-back (and MOST doctors won't!). Even if you have to seek out a midwife or doula to get it done, if this is what you want to do, do it. I regret never having done that. Good luck and best wishes!

my friend had a csection her first pregnancy and she saw a mid wife for her second pregnancy and labored and successfully did a vbac and she is due with number 3 soon and will be doing a vaginal delivery again if all goes well.

I'd recommend a midwife in a practice with doctors (so they can address if any problems arise) but I'd also recommend having a doula to help you get what you want/need as long as it's safe. ALOT of doctors and hospitals these days just LOVE to do Csections cause it's easier to schedule and there's no waiting, and esp repeat ones because in the not to distant past there was a trend that a lot of hospitals wouldn't even do vbacs because there was additional risk (which isn't always necessarily the case). Doctors and hospitals tend to try to bully you into doing what they want you to do rather than what you want and often it has nothing to do with safety although alot of them will say that to you just to get you to consent to do what they want.

check out ICAN http://www.ican-online.org/ and The Feminist Breeder (who is also in the Chicago area and may have some ideas for you) http://thefeministbreeder.com/

I have had one vaginal birth and one C section due to breech presentation and although it's very possible to birth a breech baby I couldn't find someone around here to do it. IF we decide to do 3, I am definitely trying for a vbac. If you have prior successful vaginal birth or if the section was for something like breech or wrapped cord (rather than an emergency because the baby got stuck or something like that) it is more likely to be successful..but that is something you need to determine with your provider.

If you are interested in doing a VBAC, try contacting or checking out the International Cesarean Awareness Network website, http://www.ican-online.org/. They have lots of stats on hospitals & their c-section % (you may be surprised/dismayed).

Try to find a practice with CNM (certified nurse midwives), and ask point-blank about c-sections/vbacs & their policies. Google your doctor to see if you can find more info. And google "vbac" and your regional area to see what docs' names pop up.

I do also recommend getting a doula, which can help you with labor comfort techniques (but cannot give you medical advice and is not a doctor). They can help make your labor more comfortable, regardless what your pain preferences are.

Also, educate yourself about the cascade of interventions: If you're having a vbac, being induced is a really bad idea; using pitocin is been shown to lead to a section.

Whatever choice you choose, being educated is best.

If you do go for a repeat c-section, see if your doc will be amenable to the "natural cesarean," which aims to try to recreate the vaginal birth process as closely as possible if you a c-section:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2613254/
This can only be used in non-emergency c-sections.

I have had 1 c-section and have since gone on to have 6 VBACs. I know that is it possible but you have to have the support system in place. You and your doctor need to be on the same page about things as well as your husband/partner. The reasons for doing the c-section in the first place are important too. IF you had it because your pelvis was too small, you aren't likely to be able to do it this time. But if the reasons were things like the baby was in distress or low amniotic fluid, it can be possible for a VBAC. One of the other posters also brought up a good point in that the direction of your incision makes a huge difference. It isn't just the scar that you see, it is also the one on your uterus. The direction that the cut your uterus makes a difference in your success rate. Each of my deliveries has been different, but I know that a vaginal birth is MUCH easier to recover from than a section. Given the choice I would much rather do a vaginal than c-section, but there are cases like with my first child where if I had given birth vaginally-she might not have made it or if she had would have had lots of medical problems. So the health of the baby should come before anything else. But you also need to commit yourself to waiting until you go into labor naturally. Being induced increases your risk of rupturing your uterine scar, so if you aren't going to be patient enough to wait for your body to do this naturally, you might as well just schedule the section. You need to be informed about all that is going on and have an open relationship with whomever you decide to deliver the baby. I could go on for a while, but it is possible and I know that it is a great experience. If you have more questions, I would love to share more of my stories, you can message me and I would be glad to help out. Good luck and congratulations on the new baby.
J.--SAHM of 7

I don't have any personal experience with c/s or vbac, but I would definitely desire a vbac if I had a previous c/s. Discuss it with your dr, the reason for the first c/s has some influence on your candidacy for vbac. I would also encourage you to continue researching midwives, they traditionally are better at working with you to reach your goals. Most midwives deliver at hospitals, and all are required by the state to have a collaberative agreement with an OB. This is the dr she would refer you to if you became high-risk during the pregnancy, the person she would consult with on any conditions or complications that arose in pregnancy or labor, and the person that would do a c/s if it came to that.
I loved my midwife, and enjoyed my water births in the Alternative Birthing Center in West Suburban Hospital. I am not sure if having a vbac would exclude you from using the ABC rooms, but many of the midwives at WSH are wonderful.
Good luck on your journey.