I'm sorry but that is completely inaccurate. I don't know who told you that but they either lied or were ill-informed.

The national average for VBAC in the UK is just over 70% (exactly the same rate as vaginal birth for first time mums) and it is 94% for home water births among members of the VBAC yahoo group! (i.e. if you are well-informed, stand your ground and get yourself competent mw-only care).

I highly recommend joining the yahoo group now so as to get as much information and support as possible. It helped me find the belief I needed to be able to contemplate a future pregnancy.

It might also be worth talking to a birth trauma counsellor (see link in my signature or this one: http://www.sheilakitzinger.com/BirthCrisis.htm)

My labour was 36 hours, planned home birth, malpositioning, incompetent meddlewifery leading to emcs. I only got to 4cm. If you have got to 10cm before then your chances of a smooth VBAC are really, really good! Your body does know what it is doing.

Vici - why were you already in hospital? What was the reason for your cs? Did they try an assisted delivery first? Sorry for all the questions, but the answers will have a bearing on what the best advice I can offer is! If you would rather talk to a proper counsellor I understand.



You aren't alone, unfortunately all too many of us can empathise. It is really hard to go through what you have and you need time to grieve for the birth you didn't have.

I had an emergency c-section after a 16 hour labour and was rushed to theatre after his heart rate dropped. I was offered a planned c-section at 38 weeks as I am due to have surgery on my back to remove a disc, but I wanted to try for a natural birth but it didn't work out that way
I'll be requesting a planned c-section if we have anymore as my back also didn't hold up that well and I don't think I could go through all that again. It was the scariest time of my life.
x

Thanks so much hun - I was in hospital because of my BP. Spent most of my life in hospital for much of my pregnancy. A normal week was seeing a MW twice - these normally let to a trip to the day unit at hospital for monitoring and often a cons app or 24 hr urine sampling. My normal BP pre preg was 125/70 ish and my average during pregnancy was 155/90-100 going up as high as over 200/ 128ish (IIRC). I was told i had all pre eclampsia symtoms (including greatly increased uric acid levels) at 19+5 but because it was pre 20 weeks it was "pregnancy induced hypertension" This just gradually got worse over the course of being pregnant!

I had a CS due to Imogen being in stress. Because I was not progressing (after a looong time of 1 min contractions 5 mins apart) I was put on a drip. This was the point they attached me to the monitoring equipment. This didn't do alot to start with so they upped the dose which moved things along. Her HR was fluctuating between really high (over 200BPM) and really low (58BPM IIRC) when i was contracting. I was examined in the labour ward twice (before her HB got that low) to try for assisted delivery but both times was a no go - when I got to theatre before giving me a spinal they examined me again but said it was still a no go - something to do with a lip of the cervix being in the way and not moving. When I had the CS they actually had to use forceps to deliver her through my tummy as they were unable to pull her out manually - I assume this was because she was so far down.

I have no choice but to have a c-section if I have another baby. My pelvic bone is too small for the baby to even engage or for me to have a vaginal delivery. Another barrier in my way is my anxiety as well.

C-section it is for me IF there is another next time.

I had an emergency c-section after 10 hours of natural labour. I went into labour naturally which i was delighted at because I had heard so many negative birth stories from induced labour. Lucy had pooped (meconium) and I was hooked up on a monitor. Then she didn't move for a long time. So the doctor decided to do a c-section. It was lucky they did as the cord was round her neck three times and she was constricting each time i contracted. The c-section itself was not too stressful for me. I found the hospital staff amazing and the team were fantastic. They made it very special for me and my husband. So i'm not upset i never had a vaginal delivery.
What upsets me is the danger her life was in, recently I cannot stop thinking about it. She only had a short time before things would have gotten very serious. I don't know why, but after all these months it really makes me sad now.
I would like to opt for a c-section next time round, but i've not really decided for sure. I found the recovery ok, even though i did get mrsa weeks later.(it wasn't even a problem for me and not as bad as many people think).

Hey, I had an emergency section after 44 hours of labour. My water broke before labour started and then 2 days later I was taken in to be induced because even though I'd been having contractions every 5 minutes, I wasnt even 1cm dialated! That was at 8am I got induced...and Brandon was born at 18:30. All throughout the day his heartbeat had been dropping way down to 40BPM and I was begging them to get him out of me because I was so scared something bad was going to happen! So eventually after about the 20th time of his heartbeat dropping, they gave me the c-section! I was only 8cm by this point!

I have also thought about what will happen next time and I have to be honest and say that I think I will ask for another c-section. I could handle the pain of contractions, its not the pain that terrifies me...its purely the fact that my body could not get Brandon out safely and I would fear for my next baby! X x x

I had my heart set on a natural birth. Did loads of preparation, yoga, session with OH and yoga teacher and started out in the birthing pool. After 24 hours of labour I ended up having an emergency c-section. I can't believe I'm saying it but I'd opt for a c-section next time, even though I was so gutted after having it. But the recovery was fine for me and I've just heard some hideous stories from my friends about episiotomies, infected tears and other problems relating to a vaginal delivery. I'd love a natural birth but there's no guarantee it's going to happen the way you want it. I might change my mind, however, should I be pregnant again.

Maybe try and put it out of your mind for now and just think about how special your LO is. It's something you'll obviously think about loads when/if you're pregnant again.

Vici I'm so sorry you had such a rotten time

I do have some advice I'd like to offer and some concerns about how your labour was managed, but I am NOT a health professional, just someone who has a deep interest in birth and has done A LOT of reading lol, so I would prefer not to run my mouth off publicly! If you would like to chat further feel free to PM me.

I didn't have a C-Section I gave birth vaginally but no where near as naturally as I'd hoped I had hoped for a minimal hospital stay and just before my last doctors appointment had bitten the bullet and decided to go for a home birth.

At that last appointment they decided LO wasn't growing and something was wrong with the placenta (it looked grainy) that led to a hospital visit, Induction, and finally after 3 days epidural, ventouse then rushed to theatre after delivery as i was haemorrhaging and my placenta wouldn't come out.

I've been told that it is too risky for me to have a home birth next time and that there is a 50% chance of my placenta causing problems again

I'd like to try for a natural birth again but if it comes to a choice between induction or caesarian again I think I'd opt for caesarian in future.

You basically know my story. Induction, 25 hours labour, stuck at 7 cm, so they pulled her out when her heartrate kept dropping. It wasn't ideal and the recovery was just awful for me. In the beginning I would sit there and cry because I couldn't get to Emma when she was crying and DH would have to get her for me. I plan on trying for the VBAC if at all possible because if I have a chance to avoid that surgery, I will. I know it's such a hard decision. One day I think one thing, another day I think something else. In the end I think it'll depend on if I go into labour on my own or if I have to decide on being induced again.