QuestionHi Dr Glantzberg,
I am a 28 year old mother from Malaysia and had my first two children (35 mos and 16 mos) delivered via c-section, both emergency c-sections. The second one was a failed VBAC.
I am currently looking around for an OBGYN who would support me for a VBA2C and may have found a doctor who has experience with VBA2Cs. (Will know when we meet for an appointment).
I would like to ask, through your experience, what made the difference that led to your successful VBA2C? Was there anything in particular you did differently as compared to your experience birthing your third child?
My 2 experiences were very painful. I had multiple of medical intervention against my will and without my permission throughout both labours as they said it was 'part of the procedure.'
My first Csection took place after 12 hours of labour and repeated inductions. I had not even started contracting when I was admitted, but my OBGYN insisted that because I had dialated by 1cm, I had to be admitted and induced. The next day the clinic staff went off for a family day.
The second Csection took place after 12 hours too - due to fetal distress. This time my labour started spontaneously and I was progressing well until the doctor ruptured my membranes and I experienced backward dialation (from 6cm to 4cm). Immediately my baby's heartbeat dropped.
When they got to my baby, it turned out, his head had not fully engaged with the birth canal.
Both incisions were made horizontally and are low-lying. The same scar was opened during the second operation.
I am not pregnant now, but in the future, when I do decide to try for number 3, I would like to attempt a VBA2C. I would also like to try anything that would help me achieve one, including diets, herbal remedies, staying away from the hospital for as long as possible, walking... anything!
It would be great if you could shed some light on techniques that will help bring on a succesful VBA2C.
Thanks Dr Glantzberg,
Maria
AnswerMy number one recommendation for a VBA2C birth (or ANY vaginal birth) is that you be left alone. In the absence of an imminent medical danger to you or the baby, there is just not enough justification to interfere in a natural labor and delivery. You should not be induced. You should not be strapped down for monitoring. You should not have your water broken. You should be free to move around. You should not be instructed on what positions to be in. And most of all, you should be 100% comfortable with your provider and your location, so that there is no fear.
Both of my VBA2C's were out-of-hospital births, the first at a freestanding birth center, the second at home, with the same midwives. I refused any intervention to induce labor, including stripping of membranes. I refused any assistance during the labor and delivery, and allowed only intermittent monitoring with a handheld Doppler. My second VBA2C (just this week!) was in the water, of a baby who was even bigger than my second c-section baby. While his birth went very smoothly at home, I could just about guarantee that had I been in a hospital, there is no way he would have been born naturally.
Not everybody is comfortable with the level of autonomy I insist on now for my own childbirths. But it is an ideal that I do recommend, and anything you can do to approach that will improve your chances. It is important to remember that no matter where you are, you have the right to say no to the hospitals and doctors. You have the right to refuse interventions, refuse inductions, refuse c-sections. Again, in the absence of an obvious, imminent danger to you or the baby, most of these are just not supported by the medical research.
