Important Vbac Question

[amina1126]

I am now 5 months pregnant and i have a 16mnth old daughter who was born emerg csec, because i was induced and would not dialate past 4 after 3 days. it was a classic verticle csec. now im worried about having another, im very overweight and my religon is against birthcontrol. i had got infected 4 days after i was released, and went through allot of pain.. is there anychance i would be able to have a vbac..???????? ps the reason i had difficulties dialating is because my stupid ob got my due date wrong and thought i was 2 weeks late when really i was 3 weeks early.... PLEASE give me some advise

[Arimeh]

I'm sure Kelly or someone will pop in and give you good advice on this one.
I'm going for my VBAC and my OB just wanted to make sure that I had 18 months in between births, and that was her minimum. So not sure if yours has the same - another OB on the coast won't look at a VBAC unless there is 4 years between births.
Kelly has put on here somewhere that your scar is strong (not sure about a vertical one though???)
Sorry to not be much help!!!!

[Tanya]

How could your Ob get your EDD so wrong? Are you happy with your EDD this time around?
Failed inductions (ending in surgery) are VERY common! Have you spoken to your Ob about wanting a VBAC?

Sounds like there is no reason you can't try for one

[Alan]

Hi Amina
I am sorry to say that because you had a classic CS it would be very unlikely that you will be offered a VBAC.

[feeb]

Classical cs (up down incision) they dont normally let you try for a vbac as uterus is not as stable and well healed often as a LUSCS (lower uterine segment cesearian section) so larger risk of uterine rupture.

[Jo+3]

sorry to say, but have heard the same. Higher risk of uterine rupture. Still ask your ob. Maybe they could let you try under strict monitoring conditions. You'll never know unless you ask.

[amina1126]

How could your Ob get your EDD so wrong? Are you happy with your EDD this time around?
Failed inductions (ending in surgery) are VERY common! Have you spoken to your Ob about wanting a VBAC?

Sounds like there is no reason you can't try for one

My ob actually prosponed my first appoinment untill APRIL!!! so im n ot too sure whats going on.......

[paradise lost]

Amina if it's the same ob as last time then i would change Obs asap, as they clearly aren't very hot with dates etc. and i doubt you will find support for a VBAC with them anyway.

With a classical (high vertical, sometimes T-shaped) incision the risk of uterine rupture is too high and VBAC isn't offered. With a low vertical (but single incision, no T shape, low on the uterus) incision the risk is higher than with a low transverse incision (1-7% for vertical, less than 1% for transverse) BUT the risk increases past 1% to 7% only if the incision extended into the upper part of the uterus and only a scan (or possibly your surgical notes from last time) can tell that. I don't know why your Ob used a vertical incision as transverse is known to be better for future pregnancies, but sometimes if a baby is stuck in an awkward position they have to use the vertical incision and in that case they usually try not to cut too high.

Midwives are generally well-supported in Canada, if i were you i'd get the phone book and call the nearest midwifery practices to you and have a good chat to them about it. Even if they cannot offer you VBAC (depends on insurance) they may well know the names of Obs who are supportive of VBAC and would also be able to tell you what exactly you'd need to have done to see if your scar is the sort which could cope with labour.

If your scar is not the sort which would be safe to try for VBAC with, there may be options for you to have a more personal c-section. One woman on here (mamduke where are you ) recently lifted her OWN baby out during her c-section. SHe's in Aus, i'm not sure if maternal-assisted c-section would be available to you or if you'd consider it, but if so it's worth asking around to see if any obs will offer it. There is also a sort of c-section where the baby is delivered more slowly, the head is delivered and then there is a pause for a few moments for bubs to get used to the idea that birth is happening, then the body is slowly delivered. The idea is for baby to have less of a shocking birth experience. Again, i don't know if it's offered near you but it's worth checking. Even if neither of these are options, you can try to find an ob who will support you having immediate skin-to-skin and having baby with you in recovery so you aren't separated and can bond as peacefully as possible together.

You mention contraception being against your religion. Does that apply to ALL contraceptive means (i.e. what about natural methods?)? If that was permitted perhaps you would be able to space your next baby a bit longer to recover well from birth, whether c-section or VBAC?

Your weight i would not worry about. Fat doesn't stop babies coming out, though it might make your first stage (dilating) a bit longer, the 2nd stage is unaffected by mum's weight. Fat ladies, thin ladies, tall ladies, short ladies, can carry and birth babies fine.

Best of luck on your journey.

Bx

[Jo+3]

Do you know if your uterine scar is vertical or horitontal? Sometimes The scar you have on the outside doesn't necessarily match the scar on the inside. In which case you can attempt vbac if your uterine scar is LUSCS. You can find out from your hospital records.

[amina1126]

how do i get the hospital records, mabey it is different here in canada???

[Jo+3]

You can ask for them. Contact the hospitals records department.

[kazplustwo]

And don't let them put you off getting them either. I had a major struggle to get mine. I think because they are so worried about litigation. But you are legally entitled to have access to them. At least that's the case in Aus and I imagine it would be in Canada too.