Advice Needed... Doula or Private Midwife.. Hsp or Homebirth..

I am pregnant with my third child and this will be our last. I am desperate for a vaginal birth having had two C-sections. I am after other people’s experience who may have been in similar situations as I am really confused/conflicted which way to go.

I have been told that the local hsp will push me to C-sect and I will have to be very determined with what I want and be very informed on risk etc. I am more scared of another C-sect. after my 2nd one was just horrific, than of any risk in a VBA2C.

Basically I need to decide to either have a Doula and labour as long as I can at home before going to hsp OR private midwife and again labour at home before going to hsp or have a home birth. I guess my biggest issue is unfortunately the cost, it is so much greater to have a private midwife and the one I would love is not going to be medicare rebated. I like the idea that she can monitor baby while at home and if the labour is going well that I could possible stay there.

My first pregnancy I had a grade 3 placenta previa. Bleeding from 21 wks, which continued to get worse, hospitalised from 27 – 31 wks. My waters broke and Matilda was delivered by C-sect. At 31 wks. She didn’t really have any other complications and after 5wks in NICU was released. She did get Group B strep at 40 wks (9 wks after her birth). No issues with the scar and I recovered well & quickly.

My second baby was born 1 yr & 5days later. I had a great pregnancy. My water’s broke at 40wks, at 6am. I rang the hsp and was told to go up there when I could. I arrived at 8amish but was not in labour. I was given an IV with induction. From there I went into “labour” quickly, had regular contractions a couple of minutes apart. However I never got past 3cm dilated. I laboured on my back and it was horrible. I asked for an epidural after 13.5 hours however it only worked on one side. They then decided that baby was in distress (he had pooed, melicolin? I think it’s called, early on) and had to come out. They tried once again to get the epidural to work but it didn’t so I ended up having a general anasetic. Poor baby was born not breathing (they said due to the anasetic) and had to be resuscitated. He went up to NICU for about 8 hours. Apparently I had quite a bit of scaring from the first C-sect so I had two drain tubes in my c-sect, which when they were taken out a day or two later was just horrific. Poor baby was so upset as a new born and after my op all I wanted to sleep and he just cried and cried (probably had a huge headache after pushing for 13.5 hrs against an closed cervics! And I resented him and was so angry he wouldn’t sleep and I just felt that he had a horrible start to life.

Any advice/thoughts/your stories much appreciated :)

Your absolute best chance of achieving a normal birth will be at home with a midwife. There is just no getting around that.

Most hospitals will tell you you must have a c/s, and while you can fight that, it will be exhausting and repetitive. (Repetitive because you will probably have to have the same arguments with different staff over and over again.

Yes, IMs cost money, but if a normal birth is what you want, then it's money well spent. Many will accept payment plans too. It would be well worth talking to the midwives in your area and finding out what they charge.

Good luck on your journey xx

:yeahthat:

I haven't done heaps of research yet but the reading I have done supports what doulacara has said. The highest rates of VBAC occur at home with a private midwife.

You do need to do your own research though. Go and ask your local care providers, local hospital and any other hospital you could potentially birth at, what their VBA2C rate is. What are the circumstances under which the VBACs occur (i.e. which stars really have to be in allignment?) What are the minimal complications that could arise that would mean they would advise a c-section? Have an appointment or two with a private middy too and discuss their VBAC rates. Most will help point you in the direction of good research and information that is relevant to your situation and history too so even though the appt might cost you a couple of hundred dollars, it could be money well spent in helping you gather information and make a decision.

Good luck hun. I really hope that ultimately you get that VBAC.

If you want a vaginal birth then stay home. Have you contacted a private midwife ?

I would think having a doula AND a IM would be a good way to go :) As to the cost, a student doula will be a lot cheaper, so you could still have both. Like others have said, information and thorough research is the key to making the right choice for you :) Goodluck!