Preperation for a VBAC??

[[M]umma[M]ia]

Im determined to get my own way this time and have decided to go for my VBAC.

I was wondering a few things though to "improve" my chances somewhat. With DD I had pre-labour since 37ish weeks and went in at 38+4 with through the roof blood pressure (which i wasnt suprised with the crap I had put up with that week).. so I was induced with gel to start with as my cervix couldnt even be reached so I was no where near where I was supposed to be. It took the full 3 doses of gel before my cervix got even close to what it was meant to be doing and another 24 hours. I was greatful that they let me go that far without shoving a drip in my arm, but still. So then 24 hours later, my waters kind of broke (i think DD kicked me really hard but they just dribbled out) and then everything was great (well until the emergency c-sec that followed.)

Anyway.. if that made any sense... speaking from past un co-operate cervix.. what are the best ways for me to prepare my body for my VBAC? I am already eating well and exercising. I have read up on RTL tablets but Dr Google says they are not to be used for a VBAC, is this true?
When did you start taking them? How many? Did you read that from the bottle or is it best to get proffesional advise?
Speaking as a novice here....... which are the ones you insert? Im thinking that will help my cervix be a little more co-operative this time. When do you insert them (well DP will have to.. lol)?
Im also going to be doing accupuncture. When do you think is the best time to start this?? Do you think it will help??

If you got through that without being completley confused and annoyed at my dumbness, welldone

Thanks in advance!!!

[ubba82]

Good luck with your VBAC! The only point I can comment on is the evening primrose oil capsules that you insert in the vagina. You can start this at 36 weeks and are most effective if they sit right against the cervix so dp may have to put them in. You can also break them open and massage your perineum with the oil and can take them orally too.

[Glass half full]

Hi MM
I dont really have a whole lot of advice but want to say hooray and goodluck for your VBAC!!
I drank raspberry leaf tea from about 28 weeks and started the tablets about 31 - 32ish weeks. I had never heard not to take them for a VBAC I just started taking 1 tablet a day and built up to the dosage on the bottle over a couple of weeks.
I believe it is evening primrose oil that you can insert, I didnt use it so have no advice.
DD was an "elective' c-section so I have no idea if the raspberry leaf tablets made a difference to my labour but I went into labour spontaneously at 38+3 and had an awesome 10 hour labour.
Your best bet would be to stay home as long as possible, but of course only if you feel comfortable to do that.

Good luck again, I will that you get your VBAC!

[diva det]

best advice for a VBAC
be informed- know what monitoring you want or allow, what pain relief if any and stick to your guns
read other peoples story's for inspiration
RLT is fine to have - i started but was causing too many BH so had to stop
EPO- tabs- some girls have had success with them
the reason they use these herbs and oils is that they usually wont induce you for a VBAC. so very important your body kicks in on their own.
make sure you care providers are on your side and know your intentions
and YOU CAN DO THIS!!!!
have confidence in your body and your mind!!!!
GL!!!!

[Sammiejane]

I used RLT and EPO and had a successful VBAC labour was nothing like the first and I prepared fir it in the same way in terms of exercise and food.
I went swimming with DD on a weekly basis in the last month, was awesome and very calming...

Read as much as you can, think about using a doula, I have a thread about using them, can't link it as I as I am on my phone atm, but have a read and believe in your body.

Good luck


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[kaze]

highest chance of vbac is to hire a midwife and have a homebirth. but this is not available to everyone nor does everyone want to do it that way. in a hospital setting you can have a private midwife as a "support person" or one that is medicare registered if they have a collab agreement in place. or you can hire a doula with experience with vbac and having supported clients at the hospital you are going to as they will be aware of the clinical guidelines that are practiced. along that note, find out the clinical guidelines are at the hospital you are attending, so you arent caught out when they want to do this and that to you during your birth. research research know what is normal, what is not normal, know your statistics, start getting used to asking why the hospital want to do things a certain way, ask for an alternative (and by research you will know what they are), learn to ask what will happen if you say no. you can do things like eat well, do regular exercise, alternative therapies to help you cope with the final stages of pregnancy and the labour itself. most of the things above the others are talking about trying to get your body to go into labour, rest assured you will go into labour when your babe is ready, but its great to have support tools onboard to help you cope with whenever or however long that will take sorry if i sound rambling!!

[Charlotte91]

Thanks for the tips! I'd never heard of using EPO or RLT.

I'm planning to have a VBAC next year (not planning to TTC til November-ish).

Why won't they induce, Det?? I had a planned c/s at 34 weeks with DD due to alot of problems.

[Sammiejane]

They don't induce due to the, risk of rupture, it's increased with a previous c/s


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[Charlotte91]

Bummer. Didn't know that.
Thanks sammiejane!

[Yas]

MM- Your so brave! And you have made a choice about what your going to do! I still haven't lol.....i'm probably leaning more toward c/s, but that's DF as well.....he doesn't want me to try VBAC. I'll be cheering for you xx

[Fleur]

I took RLT in tea form quite early on, and tablets from the start of my third trimester for my VBAC.
Evening Primrose oil is the one to insert, you just get the capsules from the chemist, at night time is best & wear a pad because they will get messy
Acupuncture; I had this also but my acupuncturist would not do any induction acupuncture until 40 weeks, I had three sessions over a week and a half.

Reading your post, I would have to think that it might have just been the case last time that bub wasn't ready for a 38 week induction? Hopefully this time things will be different for you.
Best of luck

ETA - charlotte91 - generally they won't use gels or synto for VBACs as it does increase the risk of rupture. There are a couple of options - they can try AROM if your cervix is favourable, or balloon catheter, although not all hospitals do this (mine didn't, although they were willing to try AROM if possible)

[[M]umma[M]ia]

Good luck with your VBAC! The only point I can comment on is the evening primrose oil capsules that you insert in the vagina. You can start this at 36 weeks and are most effective if they sit right against the cervix so dp may have to put them in. You can also break them open and massage your perineum with the oil and can take them orally too.

How many do you take orally and insert? Thanks

Hi MM
I dont really have a whole lot of advice but want to say hooray and goodluck for your VBAC!!
I drank raspberry leaf tea from about 28 weeks and started the tablets about 31 - 32ish weeks. I had never heard not to take them for a VBAC I just started taking 1 tablet a day and built up to the dosage on the bottle over a couple of weeks.
I believe it is evening primrose oil that you can insert, I didnt use it so have no advice.
DD was an "elective' c-section so I have no idea if the raspberry leaf tablets made a difference to my labour but I went into labour spontaneously at 38+3 and had an awesome 10 hour labour.
Your best bet would be to stay home as long as possible, but of course only if you feel comfortable to do that.

Good luck again, I will that you get your VBAC!

Thanks Dr google says not to take the RLT for a VBAC as it still encourges uterine contractions when not in labour IYKWIM. Its good to hear you had such a good labour Im wanting to stay home for as long as possible. It so hard to work out when to leave though as Im 1.5 hours away from the hospital.

best advice for a VBAC
be informed- know what monitoring you want or allow, what pain relief if any and stick to your guns
read other peoples story's for inspiration
RLT is fine to have - i started but was causing too many BH so had to stop
EPO- tabs- some girls have had success with them
the reason they use these herbs and oils is that they usually wont induce you for a VBAC. so very important your body kicks in on their own.
make sure you care providers are on your side and know your intentions
and YOU CAN DO THIS!!!!
have confidence in your body and your mind!!!!
GL!!!!

Thanks hun. Im doing shared care with my GP and the midwives at the hospital and my GP is very pro VBAC, so she will agree to me doing anything. The hospital... yeah they are great, as long as them evil OB's dont enter the room lol.

I used RLT and EPO and had a successful VBAC labour was nothing like the first and I prepared fir it in the same way in terms of exercise and food.
I went swimming with DD on a weekly basis in the last month, was awesome and very calming...

Read as much as you can, think about using a doula, I have a thread about using them, can't link it as I as I am on my phone atm, but have a read and believe in your body.

Good luck


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Thanks How many RLT and EPO did u take? did you insert any EPO?

MM- Your so brave! And you have made a choice about what your going to do! I still haven't lol.....i'm probably leaning more toward c/s, but that's DF as well.....he doesn't want me to try VBAC. I'll be cheering for you xx

Thanks hun. You do what ever is right for your body, mind and family. Good luck with everything and ill be cheering you on aswell. A CS needs just as much cheering At the end of the day, we both will have the same outcome, a brand new baby!!

I took RLT in tea form quite early on, and tablets from the start of my third trimester for my VBAC.
Evening Primrose oil is the one to insert, you just get the capsules from the chemist, at night time is best & wear a pad because they will get messy
Acupuncture; I had this also but my acupuncturist would not do any induction acupuncture until 40 weeks, I had three sessions over a week and a half.

Reading your post, I would have to think that it might have just been the case last time that bub wasn't ready for a 38 week induction? Hopefully this time things will be different for you.
Best of luck

ETA - charlotte91 - generally they won't use gels or synto for VBACs as it does increase the risk of rupture. There are a couple of options - they can try AROM if your cervix is favourable, or balloon catheter, although not all hospitals do this (mine didn't, although they were willing to try AROM if possible)

Thats exactly right. DD was sooo not ready to come at 38 weeks. Im confident things will be different this time. They already are.. no swelling, no high BP (yay!). How many RLT tablets did u take? Did you insert the EPO?

[LimeSlice]

First - stop calling your cervix uncooperative
VBAC is ALL about mindset, preparation and mindset. If you keep reinforcing the negative, you will be starting from the backfoot and success will be much harder.

I drank RLT from about 33 weeks, 4 cups a day. RL is a uterine toner, it doesn't *cause* contractions.

Read read and read some more birth stories - read the unsuccessful ones just as much and learn from them. You will find that most of the issues from unsuccessful VBAC are from lack of self-assertion during labour, during pregnancy or in the choice of care providers.

Absolutely use a Doula, absolutely use an IM if you can afford one.

Get informed, stand your ground, but be on good terms with your care providers if you are going through the hospital system - the catching more flies with honey thing is the go

You won't be induced (and you don't want to be) with a VBAC, the risk of rupture is quite large. Be wary of anyone who says they will induce you for a VBAC.
Fight to go as long as possible, you will face opposition to going beyond 42 weeks, 41 weeks for some doctors, and they will go straight to the scheduled CS option, rather than 'risk" you going post dates.

Can't stress enough though - get a good doula!!

HTH and good luck!

[Tanya]

Feeding bub at keyboard but wanted to quickly say that your biggest hurdle will be having a hospital birth... if you BP begins to rise they will want to take action... and due to your previous birth you will be left with few options. So you need to keep your BP down have a look here BlueRibbonBaby.org » Home
See if the diet helps any.
Next hurdle will be going over you edd, we all know not many CP's like women going over 40w, even more so with a previous section. Have you spoken to yr dr about this?

[[M]umma[M]ia]

Your right Tan. I need to keep my BP under control. Last appointment it was lower than it has ever been (125/60) so staying fit and eating healthy, I think, is helping Ill check out that website. They have told me they will let me go to 41 weeks but i figure Ill cross that bridge when I come to it. Even if they book me in for a c/section date, doesnt mean I need to show up. I havent spoken to my GP about it but she would be more willing to let me go to 42 weeks, I just forget to mention it. I will chat to her though and let you know.


When do you think the best time is to do a birth plan? Do you think they are important for VBAC's?

[Charlotte91]

I think birth plans are important. I never got one with DD, due to a million complications, but I plan to have one for my next bubba.
Doesn't hurt to do one now, I think. You can find then on the internet to get an idea.
My OB (who I had for part of my last pregnacy before being transfered to melbourne) was awesome and is very pro-VBAC. He tried to get one of the mums in my mothers group to have a VBA2C (first c/s with twins, and second was emergancy due to fetal distress) and she went into labour and refused to push and demanded a C/S, which he gave in and gave her. lol

You can always do a birth plan for a c/s and for your VBAC, so if things have to head in the c/s direction at least you have some say. Such as the screen being lowered, (I wanted this with DD, but they didn't let me, I think because her bowels were out and they didn't want to freak me out, lol) and stuff. Talk to your OB or MW about it.

xx

[Tanya]

I am not sure about birth plans anymore. They let you sort out what you would like in your birth and get you to think about things before the birth, but I think sometimes if the m/w don't follow it you find you will remember what didn't go to plan. I think stuff like No vag exams is good to have written down, BUT it is even better if you tell them NO when they go to do it. Because if a m/w/Doc is used to giving them for their own piece of mind they will want to do it regardless of if it is written down or not. It's also important to have your birth support in on your wishes so when some things crop up and the staff aren't used to being told no then you don't have your support looking stunned. Instead they will look confident and be stern

[Fleur]

How many RLT tablets did u take? Did you insert the EPO?

Yep, I inserted EPO each night, one tablet. RLT - I can't remember and I think they will vary in strength, so it depends what you get. But I *think* it was two or three tablets - if you buy them it will give you a rough idea on the bottle.

When do you think the best time is to do a birth plan? Do you think they are important for VBAC's?

I think they are important if they help your mindset. If they help you & your support person/s to nut out what you do and don't want. When it comes down to it there are other things that matter - and having good support is one of those things, all those reasons Tanya mentioned - so going through a birth plan can be a good way for you & your support people to all get on the same page. I know in the throes of labour, I don't think too clearly and it is nice to have people remind me that I can move, or that things like hot packs exist, lol.