I was wondering if any one has had a successful vbac delivery at texas womens hospital. I was wondering if the staff was open to the idea of vbac delivery. I had csection on June 2008 because my son was sunny side up and pushed for over 2 hours and we couldnt get him to decend and his heart rate was dropping into the 50's. I would like to try a vbac with my next child and was wondering if any one had good experiences.
You should join ICAN of Houston Galveston (yahoo group
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/ICANOFHOUSTONGALVESTON/?yguid=325000133
I think I have met one or two people who had a VBAC at Women's, the rest mostly c-sections. I've had three c-sections there and I really couldn't recommend it. St Luke's or Memorial Hermann Medical Center or Memorial Hermann The Woodlands seem much more VBAC friendly. (I know, really far but it's a great hospital!) You are close to Memorial Hermann in Sagemont area but when I asked the nurses about VBAC they were not supportive at all and didn't have drs to recommend. LBJ and Ben Taub are also known for being very pro VBAC (they have some of the best success rates in Houston.)
VBAC drs I've heard about are Dr Damela Dryden, Dr Jane Reed, Dr Hector Del Castillo (those three seem to be the most popular) Dr Franco, Dr Kirkman, Dr Hillary Boswell, Dr Guilliams, Dr Zepeda (and I'm sure there were a couple of others.) I know that the VBAC climate is always changing and a dr who used to do VBACs may choose to not do VBACs at any given time because of insurance or hospital issues. I beleive that Dr Zepeda is no longer doing them, and Dr Guilliams has restricted them but possibly not eliminating them alltogether. There are quite a few midwives who do VBAC at home, like Jackie Griggs, Alice Brayer, Chris Duffy, Sandra Macdonald and some others.
For position issues, I recommend reading the spinning babies website and practice the exercises during pregnancy, especially at the end. They can be done while in labor as well.
Please feel free to PM me if you like. I had a "failed" VBA4C in March but I know a lot about births and VBAC and I know some other ladies on mamasource who would be good to talk to as well (who had successful VBACs.)
Blessings,
Sarah in Alvin
I just wanted to tell you congrats on considering a VBAC. Unfortunately, TX Womens has a c-section rate of about 50%, much higher than the national rate (which is around 30%). I don't know how much support you'll have there, but hopefully you'll get what you want. I would suggest looking at ICAN (International Caesarean Awareness Network) http://www.ican-online.org/ and getting prepared long before you get pg!
As for your son being sunny side up, I also recommend www.spinningbabies.com for "sunny side up" babies and breach babies. My son was posterior (aka sunny side up) and I sat on the birth ball NIGHTLY to get him to switch. I employed a lot of the methods described on there, and he turned and I had a completely natural water birth.
One thing I can tell you about VBAC is do NOT let them induce you. You will be more likely to have a successful VBAC if labor begins and continues on its own without artificial means. You might also consider birth with a Certified Nurse Mife to get what you want.
Good luck!
I really think it depends on your OB, if your OB is supportive of your wish for a VBAC and you are not high risk then I am sure the staff at Women's will support that.
Although I did not have a VBAC I had a wonderful experience delivering my son at Women's. He is my first and I had a natural vaginal delivery (not necessarily by choice, he came faster than expected.) My OB was very respectful of my decision to have a natural birth and go with the flow. I wanted to keep my options for pain medication or epidural open and if while in labor I felt I needed it I could have it. I also enjoyed the birthing class at women's the nurse instructor was very informative.
Also Women's is very supportive of breast feeding and even provided me a lactation nurse while I was there. I breastfed immediately after giving birth which was a really great experience.
I think as long as you and your OB have a clear plan of action, you will do fine!
A coworker of mine suggested I bring candy for the nursing staff, I did and it worked like a charm. They were super nice to me!