Grace?s Birth Story: How a failed VBAC turned into a brilliant C-section

[Ryatha]

Our birth needed to be after my DH's assignments were due (30th June) but before he finished his holidays (24th July). DD2 was due on the 9th of July and I really didn't want her going over as I had a suspicion that she would be a big baby. I had done everything I thought humanly possible to prepare for a VBAC. I had exercised regularly, eaten healthily, seen a chiropractor regularly, taken a hypno-birthing class, was being looked after by a midwife and student midwife and the hospital supported my wishes and the most important thing, I was focused on being positive.

At 38 weeks my BH's were occasional but I was feeling impatient so I was having the occasional cup of RLT which resulted in my BH's coming more regularly and a bit of back pain. I also started to use EPO internally to see if it would soften my cervix. On the Saturday DH and I DTD and I had some very hot curry for dinner. Not much happened that night so on Sunday I had the rest of the curry (boy that was hot) used the EPO again and used my meditation. In the afternoon I had a show and by that evening I was having contractions every 10 mins. I was able to sleep through these with no issue and didn't worry about it. On Monday nothing much happened during the day but that evening I was having contractions every 5 mins and they were a little bit more painful, a bit more show but I was able to go to sleep. Tuesday I woke up feeling great but the contractions had stopped again.

Tuesday afternoon I had a chiropractor's appointment and felt great. Just as I was leaving I started to get some back pain. This pain started to increase and become regular so by the time I picked my daughter up from school I was pausing during each one. I got home and started to rock through each contraction. As the evening wore on they became more painful and were 3 mins apart. I also had a HUGE show and was hoping this was it.

By 7 pm I was getting uncomfortable so I called my midwife and we arranged to meet at the hospital. DD1 was picked up by the IL's and we went into the birthing suite. I was strapped up to the machines and my midwife did an internal. I was only 2 cm along and the contractions weren't strong enough so with my permission my midwife did a stretch and sweep (yikes that was painful!) and we were sent home at about midnight. DH went to sleep on the couch and I went to bed.

At 5 am I woke and went to the toilet, which wasn?t unusual as I needed to go all the time. When I got back into bed I felt a bit weird, like I was still going to the loo and realised my waters had broken. I was so excited and rushed to the bathroom so that I didn't get fluid all over the carpet. I tried to go back to bed but by that stage I was uncomfortable again due to the back pain. I let DH sleep til 6 when I woke him up pacing around the house. The shower didn't help and I called my midwife to meet at the hospital again. We were so glad as we knew we would be meeting our little one sooner rather than later now.

At the hospital I knew that I would have a time limit to labour as I was attempting a VBAC. We got to hospital at about 8am and was monitored on and off for a few hours. I was leaking fluid all over the place and was quickly soaking everything I had brought. DH set himself up at the table in our room with his laptop and started keeping all our friends updated on my progress on Facebook. My student midwife arrived and helped DH with the pressure points on my back as my contractions seemed to be more painful there than in the front. At midday they were concerned as my contractions were not getting any stronger or more frequent so they administered a very low dose of drip to help speed things up. At this stage I was not using any pain relief other than the meditation I had learnt and the pressure points being pressed by DH and my student midwife. The pain became very strong at this stage and I started growling very loudly during each contraction. I tried the shower, the birthing ball and standing up but these didn't really help with the pain.

I got comfy sitting on a chair and leaning forward on the bed on pillows to work with the contractions. After what I thought was about half a dozen contractions I raised my head off the pillow on the bed and said to DH ?this isn?t too bad, how long has it been? 10-15 mins?? he replied that it had been about 4 hours and that I had been in a kind of trance all that time. I was so surprised but was then distracted by another contraction. My midwife checked my progress and I was incredibly disappointed to find out I was only 3-4 cm dilated. I was starting to become very distressed from the pain but really didn't want an epidural. I also wasn't keen on any of the other options but didn't know how long I could cope. I tried gas but it made me feel sick and didn't really help at all.

Since my midwife had been with me for a while, my back up midwife came to replace her. At this stage the hospital ob came in and said they could do a c-section now or let me have some pain relief and go a bit longer. DH and I replied at exactly the same time 'lets have a c-section'. I successfully started labour naturally and tried it without drugs, but I was tired, I didn't want to get any more tired like last time and we both were ready to meet our new daughter. So the drip was stopped and the relief was fantastic. We waited about an hour before I was taken to theatre. My midwife checked my progress again just in case and it hadn't really done anything at all so I was very happy with the decision we had made.

In theatre the staff were all very kind and caring. My midwife, DH and student midwife were all with me and I wasn't left alone at any stage. They put in the spinal and the relief was so great I nearly cried. I lay down and watched the staff get the theatre ready to take my daughter out. In this theatre they had a video camera trained on the station where our daughter would be placed immediately after birth and the monitor would be right next to me so I could watch everything. As my student midwife wasn't able to do anything during the delivery (she was a brilliant support though) she took our camera and took lots of photos for us (which were amazing), including when the Drs lifted our daughter from my womb and she took her first breath at 6.59pm Wednesday 1st July 2009. It was a magical time for us; she didn't cry but muttered as if she was surprised that she was in the world. She continued to make noises like that while she was checked on the station and DH cut the stump of her umbilical cord. They asked us what her name was and my DH named her GRACE MACKENZIE. After only a minute or two they placed her naked onto my bare chest and I had the most wonderful skin to skin contact and DH kept his hand on her back. From there she did a breast crawl and attached perfectly and had her first breast feed right there while they were stitching me back up.

The paediatrician wanted to send her to the SCN but my midwife stood up to her and said that Grace would be staying with me. She didn't leave my chest until an hour later when they weighed and measured her, at 8 lb 7 and 50 cm long. Grace returned to my chest and we kept BFing. My recovery was excellent and I felt so much better than my last c-section. I was taken to my room about 9pm and DD1 was able to cuddle her sister for the firs time.

Even thought I had a c-section, by choosing it before it was forced on me for medical reasons, enabled me to have a sense of control that I didn't for my first daughter's delivery and I was able to own the decision rather than it own me, if that makes sense.

Thank you for reading this very long birth story, I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.