Looking for other opinions of vaginal birth after cesarean. Ive had two c-sections and expecting baby #3. My first was an emergency because my daughter was big and just wouldnt come out. With my second my doctor recommend another c-section since he thought #1 was big so would be #2. But my son was actually smaller than my daughter. So I wonder if i would have been able to deliver vaginally. Also is there such thing as having too many c-sections?
J.-
I would contact the local ICAN (International Cesarean Awareness Network). Other local VBACers will be able to help you find a doctor who will do a VBA2C... at least someone who will have an open mind and let you know if it's a possibility.
You are closest to St. Louis, correct?
http://stlouis.ican-online.org/
Good luck & congratulations!
Dr. Alyssa
J., I have no idea what the problems might be with having too many c-sections. but, I had three turmors removed in between my two girls & what my doctor said is that once they have to make that cut in the uterus, it is not a good idea to put the pressure on it that a vaginal birth would cause. He said we don't want to end up in an emergency c-section situation. Safest is the best way to go. I had one of each & have to admit, I really liked having the excuse to lay in bed & be with my new baby for a few weeks after a c-section. I thought I would need to be up taking care of my other child but I am thankful for that time with my new baby with my other little one laying around with me, it was great bonding for us all. Just something to think about! Good Luck & Bless you!
T.
I had five c-sections. First one like you was too big to come out. He was 10lbs. I tried the second time but he wouldn't come out either and he was only a little over 8lbs and then it was recommended after that to do c-sections. I would give it a try and have your back-up plan if your doctor will do that. Good luck.
Dana
Good luck finding a doctor that will support a VBAC after 2 c-sections! I had a hard enough time finding one who would be supportive after one. Ok, maybe I just had a bad experience with #2. Anyway, I have now had 3 c-sections. I was under the impression that most doctor had a 3's the limit policy but I asked my doctor with the last one and he said that as long as everything is ok, there is no reason to stop at 3. He said he performed c-section #7 for one lady. I also asked how long we should wait between babies to lessen the risks and he said after 18 months everything is usually healed up pretty good. I have heard of women who have had to have surgery later in life to support the scare because it has been opened so many times but I don't know if some of that had to do with older technologies or what. Talk to your doctor and if they are not supportive, it doesn't hurt to shop around for one that is.
Hi J...
this is a late response, but I agree that your doc might not let you do a vbac with the third?? I am pregnant with #2 and opted for a 2nd c-section and he told me that after two he wouldn't give me the option any more that I had to go for c-sections if we had a third child. I think it's a safety concern with the incision site. I would talk it over with your doctor, but from what I know it's safest to do another c section. Good luck.
I would think your dr should be able to let you know if you can do a vbac, I think it has to also do with how they cut you/or which direction they cut the incision during the c-section to determine if you can Vbac. I had a C-section 1st time due to son was too big, however I really wanted to experience vaginal delivery and she said I could 2 1/2 years later. I delivered 2nd child vaginally, even though she was my biggest baby!!! and I was able to deliver last child vaginally as well. I have heard that C-sections are done too often, so I would at least ask. I preferred vaginal over C-section, my recovery was much better. Good luck to you!! Enjoy those babies!! I am wishing I had another son, but I'm done!! 16, 13 and 8, and now I'm missing my babies!! go figure, I just need to find a baby to love on, maybe babysit or volunteer at a crisis nursery to get rid of this mothering bug!!
As someone pointed out check into your local ICAN chapter. In St Louis, there are a number of OBS and even one family practice doctor who will attend VBA2Cs. There are even OBs who will consider VBAMC.
The ICAN chapter leader from St. Charles just had an amazing HBA2C (Home birth after two cesareans). She delivered with a Certified Professinal Midwife and also had prenatal care with a family practice doctor in the event of an emergency. She had a doula who is also a chiro. Another woman in the chapter was told she was too small to have a vaginal birth with her first. She was in a VBAC unfriendly city with her second. Her VBA2C was at St. Mary's in Clayton.
Do your research for yourself. Check out the Landon study that outlines the risks and benefits of a VBA2C and VBAMC. Obviously there are risks and benefits to everything including repeat cesareans. The Landon study found that a VBA2C does not carry that much more risk than a VBA1C. Please look at the research for yourself and make the decision based upon what you are comfortable with. Despite popular belief, cesareans are not risk free and are not necessarily the safest for you or your baby.
Interview many care providers. The care provider who is right for another might not be the one for you. If you choose to VBAC, find a care provider who is 100% behind your decision to VBAC. One who will let you "try" is not your best choice. Know that baby's position has a lot to do with birth. The mother who recently had the HBA2C pushed for 8 hours with her second. It would have been easy for a care provider to say that she gave it her best shot and her pelvis was too small. As it turns out the baby was just in a really bad position. Her third birth was quick and uneventful. Obviously this does not happen to everyone. Bad things do happen. However, so do good things.
I had a natural unmedicated VBAC after lots of research and interviewing a few doctors. I thought my cesarean recovery was easy. However, it was nothing compared to my VBAC.
Good luck with your decisions.
J.
I had 3 c-sections but think the doctors don't recommend more than 3 or 4. I have a lot of scar tissue but most of it came from the 1st baby, tried to have him natural and pushed for over 8 hours and tore up a lot inside and he was only 7 lbs. I still have a lot of pain and adhesions from that one. it took me over 2 months to recover.
The 2nd one was so easy because she was a planned c-section and didn't have to go through labor pains at all. As soon as I started having contractions they started prepping for the c-section and she was born within a few hours. I was dilated at 3 when I went in. The recovery was so much easier too. In fact I was riding roller coasters 2 weeks later and doing a lot more than I did with the first or last one.
3rd child, the dr on call was a jerk and wouldn't take him when I went in early that morning. I was dilated at 3 and we lived an hour away from the hospital. I was in hard labor all day and ended up going back that evening and having an emergency c-section and then the dr was unhappy because I was dilated at 9 when I went back in but she told me before I left that morning that she wouldn't take the baby unless my water broke, well it never did break but I was dilated at 9 and had been in hard pain all day long as I do dilate quick and told her that morning that I would be back and that there is no reason to be going through labor at all since this one was supposed to be a planned c-section but I was over a week early from the planned date. Anyway I have so many adhesions and scar tissue that they recommended that I don't have anymore kids. I did have a miscarriage before the last one too so that caused some more scar tissue. But going through all that for no reason was ridiculous, not to mention that this doctor didn't repair the incision right as it is uneven so I still have problems with it getting infected and my youngest is 9 years old. I take showers everyday and put cortaid on it so it doesn't get itchy and infected.
Anyway if you do decide to have another c-section, just make sure you don't let the doctors make you go through all those hours of labor. If you try v-bac don't let it go too far as you probably have a lot of scar tissue from the other 2 and don't want to tear up anything as that can take a lot longer to heal. My sis-in-law had a vbac and the baby was bigger than the 1st c-section, she had some problems but the baby was also born with problems and stayed in the hospital for 3 months so the stress of that could have been part of it. She did recover faster than the 1st.
You will probably have to look around for a Dr. that is willing to work with you if that is what you really want. barring complications, you should be able to do it. In the US, about the only time a csection is done that would cause a problem with having a VBAC is when a paramedic does them and that is usually only when the mother won't or hasn't survived. That being said, yes there is a such thing as too many csection. That limit is probably individual. Each time an incision is made, an incision has to heal, leaving scar tissue. That scar tissue is what leaves a mother more prone to placental issues in future pregnancies. The more scar tissue, the more risks. Congratualations on preganancy and good for you for looking into a VBAC!
