to all the Brisbane Mums

[mummaof4girls]

My husband is discharging from the RAAF and it appears we will be moving from Adelaide (where I have had all my prenatal care) to Brisbane. It now means I need to investigate my options in Brisbane.
I am now 20 weeks pregnant, and due to having 3 prior c/s i will be definately having another c/s.

Any ideas on who to approach etc?

Dakota

[poshBecks]

Will you be living in or near Amberley? Ipswich?

I can recommend a couple of good ob's in that area, and the Ipswich Hospital has a great maternity setion.

[AM]

There's always homebirth.

[zenifa]

Will you be going private or public? Where abouts in Brisbane will you be living (north, south, east, west)?
This will definately affect the options you have, aside from homebirth of course!!

[Jennifer85]

I had my son at the ipswich hospital, and although they were great with my brith etc my son was admitted to hospital at 3 weeks old because he stopped breathing, and they were not so good, my son is a big boy, not fat nor huge just a healthy size.. they wouldn't give me any of his formular when he was hungry as apparently i was "feeding him to much".. my opinion is if he is hungry he will get fed, i had to threaten the nurse that i would make a formal complaint aabout the ward if my son wasnt given a bottle..
Since then i have heard of ALOT of storys about the ipswich hospital and im afraid they were all bad ones..
Tho all birthing storys have been great.. im sure giving birth there would be fine as they were great, but any other care 4 the baby once it is born i would be going else where.

[mummaof4girls]

will be living in Coorparoo. Is home birthing still an option with 3 prior c/s? never had a v/b.
We have medibank private, and can use it, but have had the last 3 in public and havent really had a bad experience with public.

Dakota

[bekkyboo]

Being Cooparoo - youd have various options from Marter, Royal Womens, the PA.... I have had experience with the PA, and i have been really happy. Not materity mind you - but with cardiology.

[AM]

Yup! You just need to chat to different midwives and discover how they feel about it, most will support VBAC.

[cwsmum]

I've had 2 bubs at Mater Public in bris and they were great :) The only complaint I had each time was there was one grumpy midwife each time who wasn't very helpful at all...but you would get that at any hospital...

[mummaof4girls]

Yup! You just need to chat to different midwives and discover how they feel about it, most will support VBAC.


Thanks. I never ever knew that, and OB's arent exactly informative when it comes to exporing your options. I begged for a VBAC with my third and they said it was impossible, scars would tear etc and I would die, scared the daylights out of me.

Dakota

[mummaof4girls]

also ApprenticeMomma, and suggestions on a midwife willing to do that??

[AM]

Obs love scaring women silly and misinforming them. they are, after all, surgeons, and stand to gain a lot from repeat surgeries.

[QTB]

Redlands Hospital Birth Suites are fantastic (Public!)

[mummaof4girls]

I feel like all my power and rights about myself have been returned. I know that sounds silly, but I felt like I was forced into c/s and I truly longed for a v/b, in saying that I wouldnt be disappointed if it ended in a c/s, it would just mean it wasnt to be.

[AM]

Contact the HMA. They are the stomping ground of all the local mw's.

www.homebirth.org.au/

[QTB]

oh and you can definatly try for a VBAC! as ApprenticeMomma said Obs love scaring women! You could also hire a Doula if you still wanted a Vbac in hospital.

[Stretchmark Diva]

Have you got private health insurance? I wholeheartedly recommend the Mater Mother's Private - same campus as the Mater Public, same delivery suites, etc and the best neonatal intensive care unit in the State if you need it (which I hope you won't).

Just had my 4th casear there a week ago.

No, my OB didn't "scare" me into it. :rolleyes:

[BoyzMummy]

Public Hospitals have cut offs. So being in the Greenslopes area your public hospital would be the Mater Mothers, which personally I don't recommend them. I tried to go to a different hospital with both of my children but being at Annerely I was told I was out of the other hospitals regions. Since you have private health insureance I would recommend the Wesley, which is excellent or the Mater Private. The Mater Mothers (public) and Mater Private are in the same hospital just different levels, with different doctors and midwives etc.

Good luck with the move and the rest of the pregnancy.:hugs:

[kazmaree]

Hi, i am new to this site but thought i'd put my 2cents in. i am actually a midwife (and mother)and support home birth but it would be dangerous to try a vbac after 3 c/s. if you want to message me i am happy to talk about hospitals i know about. :smiliedance: thanks and good luck with it all.

[AM]

Please keep in mind that there are 2 distinct breeds of midwives around. Some are very tightly affiliated with the traditional hospital system, and are practising within those parameters.

The others are those who believe implicitly in a womans ability to birth a baby, even after multiple surgeries.

Not ALL midwives will support a HBA3C, but there certainly are those who will.



Here is a slideshow i found of a HB after 3 C/S

www.onetruemedia.com/otm_site/view_shared?p=2a4e81fbf0f66accb8afce

Also

www.mother-care.ca/breanna.htm

And

Vaginal birth IS still an option you have after 2 (or more) cesareans. Many studies show that the risks of a VBA2C are only *slightly* higher than that of a VBA1C, and especially taking into consideration how much the risks to mom, baby, and all future children increase with each subsequent cesarean, this is why it's important to know all of your options.

In this thread, we'll share links with info and stories of vaginal births after 2 or more cesareans. Let's keep this thread informational and inspirational, and please keep any additional comments, conversation or debate in another thread. Let's just keep this as a gathering place for VBAMC info and support :)

Also, if you add something to this post, please DO NOT EDIT IT. We are planning on asking this thread to be pinned once we get some good info in here, and editting your post will unpin it.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


Plus Size Pregnancy
http://www.plus-size-pregnancy.org/

Not just for plus-sized moms, this website has SO much to offer! In this site, Kmom describes her own personal vba2c journey and also has LOTS of references to studies and research regarding vba2+c.

Direct link to the location within the site where it discusses vbamc:
http://www.plus-size-pregnancy.org/CSANDVBAC/csvbacindex.html#VBAC%20After%20Multiple%20Cesarea ns%20FAQs

http://www.plus-size-pregnancy.org/CSANDVBAC/vbac_after_2_cs.htm#Table%20of%20Studies

Still be sure to check out the rest of the site though!
_____________________________________

A website with lots of vbamc studies and stories, including part of a discussion from obgyn.net where OBs discuss a successful vba5c, and another OB mentions having attended a successful vba4c:

http://www.homebirth.org.uk/vba2c.htm
_____________________________________

A 10 lb HBA2C story w/ some graphic pics:

http://www.homebirth-only.com/AngelicasVBAC2/AngelicasVBA2C.htm

Another vba2c w/ graphic pics:

http://www.homebirth-only.com/MargaritasVBA2C/MargaritasVBA2C.htm

Hospital birth vba2c w/ Vacuum Extraction
http://www.parentingbanter.com/archive/index.php/t-3490.html

Midwifery Today thread where a woman asks about vba2c info, and another mom responds and talks about her successful vba2c (1st csec due to breech, 2nd csec due to dehiscence, and then a successful vba2c even after the dehiscence!)
http://www.midwiferytoday.com/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=4328
_____________________________________

This has hardly anything to do w/ this, but in my searches I found this where a mom has in her signature on another forums site that her 4th baby was a 13 b 5 oz VBA3C!

http://www.parentingbanter.com/archive/index.php/t-24285.html
_____________________________________


Support Groups:

www.ican-online.org

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/vba2c/
Some stories that come to mind from this group are a woman who had a successful hba3c, and another mom who had a successful hba2c with a breech baby

(Yahoo also has groups for HBAC [homebirth after cesarean- many members have had multiple cesareans] and UBAC [unassisted birth after cesarean])

_____________________________________

Your right to refuse a repeat cesarean, even after having had multiple cesareans before:

www.birthpolicy.org
_____________________________________

Some of the lower links might not exactly work, as I just cut and pasted them, but go to the main site and search around, you will come up with the goods.

[leebee]

i have nothing but GREAT reviews for Redlands public. We live in camp hill and will deifnitnely be travelling out to Redlands again for the next bub (whenever that might be!). Own room, LOVELY helpful and friendly staff, fantastic midwives and doctors that DO VBAC. However, we had a caesar cos Lee was breech and they do not deliver breech vaginally there (but I did not want to try anyway). But...I do not want to tell everyone how wonderful they were or it will get busy and they may stop letting out of areas in! So SHHHHH....

[Lozie]

Redlands Hospital Birth Suites are fantastic (Public!)

I was just about to say that:D i really love that hospy and unlike the mater u have ur own room and it all very newish:D
I didnt know the PA had a maternity ward, Last time i was up there i was looking at the bords and couldnt find anything to do with materinity am i wrong?

[kazmaree]

let me rephrase - of course it is your choice & i hate to think you have been bullied into something you are not happy with. so many drs & midwives can be very persuasive and use scare tactics. you need to do your research. in my experience it would be difficult to get a dr to agree this would be a safe option. saying that, of course you have choices. you need to do what is best for you & your family. don't ever settle on one opinion - get many and ask lots of questions! and keep asking....
if you need info on hospitals (as requested), i am happy to give some inside info. good luck and take care.

[becca74]

I would definately have had a HBA3C had that been my circumstances.......but as it was, I ended up with a HBA2C ;)

If you go check out the VBAC section of Bubhub, I've posted a link to a study stating that VBAmultiC is definately safe :thumbsup:

Other than that, I think ApprenticeMomma covered all bases in her post :D

[sirrah]

Hi!

with respect to hospitals, PAH (Princess Alexandra Hospital) does not have a maternity or children's hospital. The maternity hospitals "south of the river" ;) are Mater Mothers/Mater Mothers Private, Redlands, Logan (and Gold coast, but you're prob not going to want to go that far). Also Sunnybank Private.
North of the river there's Royal Women's (public), Wesley (Private), and North-West Private. I think BPH also had maternity, but i might be wrong. :)

I've been told as a health professional that VBACs after 1 CS were sometimes okay (tho i had a friend with a few horror stories of emergency LSCS post failed VBACs), but that after 3 VBACs there is a much higher risk of problems. The concern is that the scar doesn't heal properly in some women and is more likely to rupture. This may not be the case for you, but if it is, then that's why the obs would
recommend another caesar. You may even find they recommend you don't have any more kids (didn't that happen to Posh Spice? ;))

Whatever you decide, i would suggest you talk with your doctor/midwife about it coz they may have had a good/bad experience may thus have a set opinion. SHouldn't happen, but often does. Most obs aren't going to consider they're scalpel-happy for recommending another caesar for you, rather they'll be concerned that your uterus will rupture when you push.

Sorry if my 2-cents was unwanted, i was mostly posting about hospitals. :D (then decided to join the vbac debate)

[becca74]

I've been told as a health professional that VBACs after 1 CS were sometimes okay (tho i had a friend with a few horror stories of emergency LSCS post failed VBACs), but that after 3 VBACs there is a much higher risk of problems. The concern is that the scar doesn't heal properly in some women and is more likely to rupture. This may not be the case for you, but if it is, then that's why the obs would
recommend another caesar. You may even find they recommend you don't have any more kids (didn't that happen to Posh Spice? ;))

Whatever you decide, i would suggest you talk with your doctor/midwife about it coz they may have had a good/bad experience may thus have a set opinion. SHouldn't happen, but often does. Most obs aren't going to consider they're scalpel-happy for recommending another caesar for you, rather they'll be concerned that your uterus will rupture when you push.

Sorry if my 2-cents was unwanted, i was mostly posting about hospitals. :D (then decided to join the vbac debate)

Hi, latest research shows that vba-multi-c is not really any different risk-wise to vbac, and you pretty much have a 99.x% chance of NOT rupturing during vbac/vba-multi-c. First time mums rupture at about the same rate if they are artificially induced, but we dont see Obs carrying on about risk then, when they are diarising an induction date:detective: .

from: http://patients.uptodate.com/abstract.asp?TR=labordel/9085&viewAbs=10~13~14~15~16~17~18~19~20~21&title=10,13-21



TI - Risk of uterine rupture with a trial of labor in women with multiple and single prior cesarean delivery.
AU - Landon MB; Spong CY; Thom E; Hauth JC; Bloom SL; Varner MW; Moawad AH; Caritis SN; Harper M; Wapner RJ; Sorokin Y; Miodovnik M; Carpenter M; Peaceman AM; O'sullivan MJ; Sibai BM; Langer O; Thorp JM; Ramin SM; Mercer BM; Gabbe SG
SO - Obstet Gynecol. 2006 Jul;108(1):12-20.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether the risk for uterine rupture is increased in women attempting vaginal birth after multiple cesarean deliveries.

METHODS: We conducted a prospective multicenter observational study of women with prior cesarean delivery undergoing trial of labor and elective repeat operation. Maternal and perinatal outcomes were compared among women attempting vaginal birth after multiple cesarean deliveries and those with a single prior cesarean delivery. We also compared outcomes for women with multiple prior cesarean deliveries undergoing trial of labor with those electing repeat cesarean delivery.

RESULTS: Uterine rupture occurred in 9 of 975 (0.9%) women with multiple prior cesarean compared with 115 of 16,915 (0.7%) women with a single prior operation (P = .37). Multivariable analysis confirmed that multiple prior cesarean delivery was not associated with an increased risk for uterine rupture. The rates of hysterectomy (0.6% versus 0.2%, P = .023) and transfusion (3.2% versus 1.6%, P < .001) were increased in women with multiple prior cesarean deliveries compared with women with a single prior cesarean delivery attempting trial of labor. Similarly, a composite of maternal morbidity was increased in women with multiple prior cesarean deliveries undergoing trial of labor compared with those having elective repeat cesarean delivery (odds ratio 1.41, 95% confidence interval 1.02-1.93).

CONCLUSION: A history of multiple cesarean deliveries is not associated with an increased rate of uterine rupture in women attempting vaginal birth compared with those with a single prior operation. Maternal morbidity is increased with trial of labor after multiple cesarean deliveries, compared with elective repeat cesarean delivery, but the absolute risk for complications is small. Vaginal birth after multiple cesarean deliveries should remain an option for eligible women. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: II-2.

AD - Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA. landon.1@osu.edu
PMID- 16816050

[Seekrit]

:yelclap: What an empowering thread!

[fludo]

Thanks Kazmaree for your professional opinion. I think it's important we always hear both sides, and I don't think it's anyone's right to say what we can and cannot discuss in this thread. I am not interested in reading threads that only talk about the positive side and how wonderful everything will be.

[kazmaree]

Thought i'd give info about the hospitals i know about - both from what i've heard from patients & staff & also from experience:
RBWH - newish hospital, can be in midwifery based care & followed thru with same team of midwives, if CS babe will be in recovery with you & then go to ward in bed with you (unless babe unwell & needs SCN/ICN). A midwife is in recovery with you the whole time to assist with BF (uncommon due to staffing issues in many other hosp), can go to Birth Centre for "low risk preg", good staff ratio to patients, partners cannot stay over. can go public or private.
Wesley - older, smaller room. apparently ready for an update, always busy. not sure of policies here.
Mater - heard they have a lot of overseas trained midwives and some language barriers?? have heard good & bad stories but mostly from staff, not patients.
not many hospitals offer a well nursery for a night babysit if you are exhausted. (you can have babe brought in for BF)check this out too if it is something you'd like.
don't be scared to ring hopitals & ask what their policies are in regard to things that are important to you & your family - eg partners staying overnight, special requests in theatre at CS, birth suite policies, baby in recovery with you. talk direct to the unit managers & get their name. write requests down & take it to booking in visit & have a copy filed in your chart. If possible have a senior staff member sign/reply to the requests (in writing). it is all about making this a happy memorable experience. there are always a few dragon midwives/drs around no matter where you go. if you have a problem, complain in writing as this is the only way things can improve. staff cannot often change things but patients can. especially in regards to staff that are rude.
i also recommend doing a tour of the hospital. i know for me i get an instant feel about a place from being there & meeting a few key people.
hope this helps.
kazmaree