The VBAC Blog

Two of my friends had VBAC’s at home and they say they owe it all to their ability to relax and flow and the fabulous support of their trusty midwife. You’re strong. You’re intelligent. You’re a woman. Your body was made to birth babies. Welcome to the 2000’s where doctors are trained to fear natural birth.

Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth is an incredibly informative and encouraging book, if you’re looking for more support.

All the best,
Chris

Hi Angela,

You might want to talk to Peggy Vincent, she was a midwife for 20 or 30 years and wrote the book: Baby Catcher: Chronicles of a Modern Midwife. She has a website: http://www.babycatcher.net

She can give you everything you want to know about vaginal birth after cesearean and all kinds of info that you will find fantastic. Reading her book is an amazing experience. I’ve had two children and learned stuff I never knew from her book! Please, contact her. She’s a big deal in the San Francisco area and has delivered a ton of babies, there isn’t anything that she hasn’t seen or dealt with.

Hope all goes well.

Dawn

Angela,

Well, best of luck with your next baby. I’ve been getting your e-newsletter for years and have followed what’s gone on with your family. I’m a mom of 5 and was expecting my 3rd when you were pregnant with Max. He was my first of three successful VBAC’s. I was lucky to have an excellent doctor who delivered #1, 2 and 4. Her daughter delivered #3 and because of a change in insurance I had to find a totally new dr. with #5 who was hesistant to do a VBAC.

Anyway…My second was an emergency c-section due to an infraction of the uterus (or something like that??). My doctor for #3 (her daughter) determined that it was something that wasn’t likely to recurr and was completely supportive of doing a VBAC.

Even though I’d developed gestational diabetes this time and there was the possibility of baby being large and causing problems with delivery, she never pushed for a repeat section. Fourth time around, the doctor, again, had no problem with me attempting a VBAC even though I had diabetes again.

With my 5th one, I had a new doctor, a male, who was very nervous about doing a VBAC even though I’d had two already with no problems. He kept citing my diabetes and insisting that the baby would probably be large and that it would be risky. I just kept reminding him at each visit that I’d done it before with success and I knew there were risks involved, but I knew he was hesitant and was scared that I’d get to the hospital and he’d chicken out and do surgery.

I ended up with a doctor on call that I’d never met before and he delivered the baby without any problems – except sucking it up at home for so long that I got there too late for the epidural I’d been looking forward, too. Oh, well!

Just thought I’d share….three VBAC’s no with difficulties…it can be done! Too bad the hospitals won’t do it…that’s terrible. I guess I was fortunate it was available to me. I just can’t comprehend why someone would actually have an elective c-section!! The recovery was torture and I don’t know how I could have taken care of 3 or 4 or 5 kids after surgery!

Best of luck to you. Sorry so long….I’m sure you knew you were opening up a can of worms asking women about their birth experiences.

Carrie

Before reading these, please read the first batch of reader comments HERE.

We are presenting letters from those for and against home birth / VBACs here. Readers need to know all the facts before making a decision to attempt VBAC and/or home birth.

BRIGID SAYS:

Hi Angela,

Hugs,
Brigid

KAREN SAYS:

Hi Ang,

Karen

ANGELA REPLIES:

Hiya Karen,

You just reminded me about something!!! I didn’t have gas pains, but
I did have other, severe bowel problems (no “movement” down there if you know what I mean!) for 5 full days after the surgery! That in itself was very uncomfortable. My mom was feeding me laxatives and more. Gads, it was horrific!! And, I couldn’t come downstairs for an entire week because of blood clot worries.

The pain meds they had me on knocked Max out because I was nursing. In fact, he didn’t really wake up completely until I stopped taking those. I realized, on day 3, that I was the reason he wasn’t waking up. I stopped taking the meds, switched to tylenol, and he was alert and quite active and noticeably happy by that evening.

Nobody ever told me that taking the meds would put the baby to sleep for days on end. And, I was supposed to take those for a week?!? So much mis-information and lack of information coming from the medical community!!!

I have to agree with you that you chose to do both by c-section. Geez, what woman wants stitched in her gut AND in her bum? Ouch!!!

I’m opting this time for no episiotomy. I had one with all my vaginal births and, honestly, those hurt like hell when you try to go to the bathroom after giving birth.

D. SAYS:

Hi, Angela,

D

C. SAYS:

Hi Angela:

C.

CS SAYS:

My sister was fortunate in that her hospital allowed her to have an “after Casearean” birth in the hospital, using a nurse/midwife. She had no problems except for some bleeding, and the nurse/midwife took care of that. She was exhausted after the birth, but otherwise fine. The midwife was terrific.

READ MANY MORE READER COMMENTS HERE.

JM sent this in:

I foresee my husband being the problem on this. He’s a CPA and very calculating (not in a conniving way, just in a weighing all the possible outcomes sort of way) and I fear out of his own concern for me and any potential baby of ours he would convince me to go the traditional hospital route. There are so many stops on that route that I’m just not ready to accept like having to recline before your water breaks, not being allowed to eat or drink (even chicken broth) while you’re in labor, being limited on the number of guests you’re allowed to have in your room during delivery, epistiotomy, the removal of the child from the room right after delivery for
washing and immunizations, the application of the antibiotic ointment to their eyes before they even get to see you. It all adds up to outrage for me.

MY RESPONSE:

I’d love to share my story with you and perhaps you can tell your hubby when the time comes.

My hubby, Richard, used to work in an emergency room as an x-ray tech. He has always felt that you should have all medical procedures in a controlled environment…the hospital.

I really wanted to try to have Max at home but Richard was very nervous about that (he even looked nervous when I said I did NOT want to go to the hospital right when labor started). So, I said, sure, we’ll have Max at the hospital.

Now that Richard has seen what really happens in hospitals, he’s 100% supportive of a home birth.

Now, remember, I had 3 children before Max, all delivered successfully the old fashioned way. When I went into labor with Max, I was in labor and very comfy at home. When my contractions came faster, we drove to the children’s schools and picked them all up.

We came back home and called the doctor. He said to come into his office for a checkup (that was our biggest mistake). We went there and they put me flat on my back on a table and put a fetal monitor on me. I had no contractions at all for 45 minutes. The nurse came in and said, “I think you have a urinary tract infection. We’re going to give you antibiotics and send you home. You’re not in labor.”

I replied, “I’ve had 3 kids already and I AM in labor.” She disagreed.

The PA came in a few minutes later just to check me and said, “Oh my gosh. You’re dilated to 5 and your waters are bulging.”

“I told you so!” I replied with a smirk.

They told us to walk next door to the hospital. That was another mistake. Should have come home again (we’re just down the street from the hospital). Oh, and by the way, I never did see my doctor that day. These days, you get whomever is on call at the hospital. If your doc’s not on call, he won’t be the one delivering your baby!

I quickly went from 5 to 10 and was begging for pain relief. Max may have been coming out face-up, which is a painful way to give birth (Ali came out that way). But they never determined that. They gave me a narcotic, which made me completely stupid (I can’t remember several hours of that afternoon) and made my face itch so badly that my face peeled for several days thereafter. My head kept bobbing to the side and my actions really frightened our other children.

I pushed for hours (I don’t remember any part of that except for when I was vomiting – I’d never vomited in labor before!) and Max never moved. I now believe the narcotic they gave me inhibited my ability to push. Or perhaps his head turned the wrong way after they ruptured my bag of waters. Or maybe he was indeed too darned big. We’ll never know.

My neighbor says that, close to midnight, I sat up in my bed, clapped my hands over my head, and said, “I want a c-section.” I don’t remember doing that, but I believe her.

Max was born shortly thereafter via c-section, of course. He was 10 lbs., 4 oz. However, I’d had a 9 pounder and two 8 1/2 pounders. Had I been at home, squatting the way I like to labor, and undrugged, I’m sure I could have had him the right way…but, again, we’ll never know!

They took Max away from us for 2 hours for observation, gave him a bunch of shots, poked his heel with that horrible blade thing they twist around, put goop in his eyes, etc. Two hours of torture while I was stitched and put in the recovery room. Two hours of my baby being with strangers (Richard couldn’t go in there, either, because they sent him home – it was after visiting hours and I wasn’t in a private room!). By the way, the recovery room nurse said, “You poor thing. You pushed so hard you’re all bruised down there.” I went home the next day and there was no bruising “down there” at all. Hmm…

Anyway, it was a nightmare from start to finish and now they’re trying to tell me I have to do the same thing all over again or I can’t have my baby there?! Ludicrous.

We were told, during our second visit to the obstetrician for this pregnancy, that the doctor “never” allows VBACs. I asked why. The nurse stated, “It’s too dangerous.”

I went on to ask if there were other doctors in the area that allowed them. She said no, there aren’t. She said I could ask the doctor about it, but she knew he would say no.

We came home that day quite upset and Richard started researching the issue online. One email we received let us know that it’s not the doctors who are refusing to allow VBACs. It’s the local hospital’s policy. This email told us the hospital was involved in a lawsuit back in 2001 after a woman who was having a VBAC there died because there wasn’t an anesthesiologist there for emergency surgery.

I guess the hospitals must have an anesthesiologist on duty (not just on call) if a woman is attempting a VBAC. And, I would assume that, if that particular woman doesn’t need an anesthesiologist after all, the insurance company won’t pay for that anesthesiologist. (But, did this hospital consider the potential lost business due to their refusal to allow VBACs??)

During my next visit to the obstetrician, we got to meet with the doctor himself. This was the third time I’d been there for this pregnancy but only the first time we’d been seen by him. (I’ve since been back there again and got an entirely new person – so I’ve been for 4 visits and seen 4 entirely different people there!). He examined me, said the baby was “kinda biggish” (though he didn’t measure my uterus, he just felt it) and then sat down in his chair and reviewed my file. I assumed he saw a note from the nurse who had told us we couldn’t have a VBAC. He turned to us and asked if we wanted to labor with this one. I said, yes, it was very important to me. He said he didn’t see a problem with it, but added, “As long as nothing happens.”

I asked, “The hospital won’t mind?”

He replied, “No.”

Hmmm… While we were relieved to hear about this change, we were understandably extremely suspicious. Was he just saying this to get as much of the prenatal money out of us as he can? Was he afraid we were going shopping for a midwife? Was he going to suddenly diagnose some problem later in my pregnancy that would make a VBAC not possible? Why did the hospital have a sudden change in policy just since our previous visit even though they’ve had that policy in place since 2001? Why wasn’t he telling us the truth about what exactly was going on?

Since neither the nurse nor the doctor bothered to tell us it was a hospital policy, we decided we could no longer trust them. And, we certainly couldn’t trust this person with our baby’s life!

And then things got more interesting. We did some more investigating and discovered that a letter to the editor had appeared in our local newspaper toward the end of December. Seems a pregnant woman’s sister wrote in, telling the story of her sister’s beautiful home birth. She said her sister was forced to give birth at home because the local hospital wouldn’t allow a VBAC. Did that letter do something to change the hospital boards’ minds about VBAC. Perhaps…but I still could no longer trust my obstetrician.

On my next visit there (we hadn’t yet found a midwife), when I saw employee #4, that nurse felt my uterus (again, she didn’t measure anything) and made a huge deal about how big the baby already is. She said she was going to talk to the doctor about sending me to diet and nutrition. Excuse me? You’re going to put a 17-week-old fetus on a diet? What she didn’t know is that I am a veracious researcher and I knew there was no way she could determine the size of the baby by just putting her hands on my uterus! Even sonograms can’t predict the size of a baby! Also, how can a baby who doesn’t even have fat cells yet be too big? She made such a huge fuss about it that I then strongly suspected that her and the doctor’s comments about our huge baby just might be their ticket to my future c-section! I left there, determined never to return.

Two weeks ago, we found a local midwife that has lots of experience, and hired her to deliver our baby.

I admit I’m still nervous about the risks, but not as nervous as I’d be if I continued to allow someone who hasn’t been honest with me to care for me and our unborn child. I plan to ask our family doctor to take over as my obstetrician (he was my ob/gyn before I got pregnant) in case I need care from a “real doctor.” And, I do have two birth plans, in case I chicken out. We’ll either have the baby at home. Or, if I get cold feet, we’ll drive to another town and have the baby there (and hope I don’t have her on the side of the road between here and there!). And, if something goes awry, we’ll have to use the local hospital, which is only 2 minutes down the road. If I’m already in labor, they can’t refuse to care for us.

If I do give birth at home, I imagine that’s a pretty hefty chunk of money that the hospital didn’t earn because of their policy. And, yes, we have very good insurance.