Will I be forced to have a VBAC in public hospital?

[Angiebear74]

I gave birth to my beautiful DD in March this year - the light of my life :baby:. She was 2 weeks overdue so I was induced (strike 1!) which I utterly dreaded (and for good reason too!). It took 4 days of poking and prodding to start the labour, but when it did boy.... did it get started! I went into labour at 5am and by 6am I was having 4 & 8 min long contractions - my uterus was hyperstimulated and I felt like I was going to die. After 18 hours the doctors advised DD was stuck in the wrong position and couldn't turn so I had to have a caesarean section. I didn't find the recovery too bad at all and was up and about the next morning.
My question is this; can I opt for an elective c-section through the public system for subsequent deliveries? Whilst I love my DD more than life itself, the whole induction experience has filled me with total fear and I'd sooner not have more kids than go through that again. My DH and I are talking about having another baby and I'm having nightmares and can't sleep just thinking about the labour. I can't believe how much it has effected me.
Is there anyone out there who had a similar experience and has had another bub?

[studentmum]

Hi there,

I am very very sorry that you had to go through such a traumatising experience.

Please don't give up on birth, you have every right to fear induction and such horrible intervention as 4 days of poking and prodding but there is no reason for your next labour to start in the same way.

Are you sure your DD was overdue, was she big? Was your placenta failing? Is there a chance she was just not ready to come out yet and the dates were wrong or you are perhaps a long gestater?

Many women have differing experiences with each labour. (I know a lady who has had all four of her births in 5 years start with induction) I think you should definitely talk to a professional about your feelings and fears before you get pregnant again, perhaps try starting with your local child health nurse???

Experiencing a labour as your body can do it would be a very different experience to your induced labour. If you make your decisions based on fear you may regret them later.

But to answer your question, yes, you probably could find an obstetrician who would perform elective cs, especially as your first has been one. Please think it over first though.

Sarah :)

[Josh]

I know how you feel, I have had a few of those traumatic births, I am not sure what the public system will do with your next pregnancy, I had 2 vbac's after my first caesar in a public hospital, but now I have had 2 caesars my next bub will be a caesar in late september, I couldn't go through another natural birth especially as I am getting bigger and my c/scar is starting to ache. Good luck and let us know what happens.

[Hooves]

The choice to have a caesar or a vbac is yours.

Your doctor or ob, ( depending on where you are) should discuss this with you, and make a decision that you are happy with.

I would go the elective caesar if that is what you want. Many doctors and hospitals will just book you in for a caesar unless you really want to try for a vbac.


Surprisingly though, women do have a choice about how they give birth. Well according to my doctor any way, although I didn't learn this until I went through 3 vbs. The first one was traumatic for me, and caused my to have a few issues with the next two.

SO by the 4th time, I was scared whitless and out of shear terror, I just asked, what are my rights, and can they force me to have a vb?

To which I was told, you have the right to choose, and no, they can not force you to have a vb.

[Angiebear74]

Thanks for the feedback everyone. I have an appointment with my doctor and will discuss this issue with her and also see if she knows of someone I can talk to regarding my fears. I agree that I shouldn't fall pregnant again until I have sorted this out in my own head and allowed myself some healing time. At 35 the clock is ticking though. While I'm writing this my DD is on her playmat having the time of her life - its times like these I know the pain is most definitely worth it......... :)

[JackzMumma]

The second I was preggas with DS2 I was offered a planned Caesar, and I went public:yes:. I went VBAC. There are some women on here that prefer Caesars from giving birth naturally:thumbsup:. I prefer neither!!:laughing: It doesn't matter what you choose as long as you aren't forced into anything. Make the choice that's best for you. I understand the fear, I have it for both ways of giving birth.:eek:

[interplanetjanet]

My question is this; can I opt for an elective c-section through the public system for subsequent deliveries? Whilst I love my DD more than life itself, the whole induction experience has filled me with total fear and I'd sooner not have more kids than go through that again.
There shouldn't be any reason why you couldn't ask for a cesarean given that you've had one before, but there's no need to worry about going through a traumatic induction again anyway. They will not induce you for a VBAC. If you don't go into labor on your own and go overdue, they will do a cesarean.

[Josh]

There shouldn't be any reason why you couldn't ask for a cesarean given that you've had one before, but there's no need to worry about going through a traumatic induction again anyway. They will not induce you for a VBAC. If you don't go into labor on your own and go overdue, they will do a cesarean.

Not sure about this I was induced for my second vbac, because I wasn;t dilating fast enough, and I was already in established labour on arrival at hospital, maybe each hospital has it's own policy on this, worth a check.

[Oya]

What about just avoiding induction, they can't make you be induced... That was where things went wrong...

[Josh]

What about just avoiding induction, they can't make you be induced... That was where things went wrong...

Oya, when you have a c/s then attempt a vbac you cant stay in labour for too long because of the risk of rupture, so they try to hurry the labour along to be as quick as possible for the safety of both mum and bub, it surely helped mine along my son was born only 30 minutes later.

[Oya]

Oya, when you have a c/s then attempt a vbac you cant stay in labour for too long because of the risk of rupture, so they try to hurry the labour along to be as quick as possible for the safety of both mum and bub, it surely helped mine along my son was born only 30 minutes later.


I know of many women who have had succesful VBAC's with no time limit put them on them, some lasting days.

'They' don't have to do anything.

[Josh]

I know of many women who have had succesful VBAC's with no time limit put them on them, some lasting days.

'They' don't have to do anything.

These women that you talk of would not have been induced, of course you can labour for ever if you want to, but once your labour starts to have problems then in the interests of both mother and baby it is better to get things over and done, after all their safety is paramount, not a womans desire to see how long she can labour for.. thats ridiculous.:eek:

[Oya]

These women that you talk of would not have been induced, of course you can labour for ever if you want to, but once your labour starts to have problems then in the interests of both mother and baby it is better to get things over and done, after all their safety is paramount, not a womans desire to see how long she can labour for.. thats ridiculous.:eek:

Yes exactly, they were not induced. Because it was unneccesary. Safest thing for both bubbby and the mother.

[Josh]

Yes exactly, they were not induced. Because it was unneccesary. Safest thing for both bubbby and the mother.

Maybe.. but you have to remember every woman has a different pregnancy/birth each time, I will tell my short story on birth experiences/and or inductions...

my first induction was my 3rd child, he had severe heart decelerations so they had to get the synto in quick smart, or he would have died for sure...

my second induction was for iugr,again they had to start the drip as soon as I arrived at hospital, my dd was born at only 4lb full term, she needed all sorts of help afterwards to breathe and so on...

my third induction was my second vbac,I had completely stopped dilating and my son had meconium in the water, so again more safety concerns... so as I said all pregnancy's are different all my labours and births have been sooo different from each other, each woman has to weigh up all her docs advice and her own research and come to a decision on her birthing choice each time she is pregnant, I know I have.:yes:

[Oya]

Maybe.. but you have to remember every woman has a different pregnancy/birth each time, I will tell my short story on birth experiences/and or inductions...

my first induction was my 3rd child, he had severe heart decelerations so they had to get the synto in quick smart, or he would have died for sure...

my second induction was for iugr,again they had to start the drip as soon as I arrived at hospital, my dd was born at only 4lb full term, she needed all sorts of help afterwards to breathe and so on...

my third induction was my second vbac,I had completely stopped dilating and my son had meconium in the water, so again more safety concerns... so as I said all pregnancy's are different all my labours and births have been sooo different from each other, each woman has to weigh up all her docs advice and her own research and come to a decision on her birthing choice each time she is pregnant, I know I have.:yes:

You just contradicted your earlier post.

Why should the OP just have a c/s when she could quite possibly have a fantastic VB? Her body didn't fail her.

[MamaKoala]

Not sure about this I was induced for my second vbac, because I wasn;t dilating fast enough, and I was already in established labour on arrival at hospital, maybe each hospital has it's own policy on this, worth a check.

I believe that they have to use a lower dose of pitocin to induce VBAC labours because hyperstimulation can cause rupture.

As for OP's question, I believe because you have had 1 c/s already you are now classed as high risk and will have an OB (if you don't have a private one). As far as I know, a c/s for subsequent pregnancies is automatically inferred in public and private hospitals alike unless you state that you want to try for a VBAC, so you would get the option of c/s if you wanted it.
I say this only from reading and talking to other people, books and articles online with no personal experience, but I do know of one person within my family circle who was offered a VBAC but also told that she did not have to have one and could skip straight to booking a 2nd c/s after her first emergency c/s.
Good luck with working through your trauma and having another baby which ever way s/he comes into the world:goodvibes:

[Josh]

You just contradicted your earlier post.

Why should the OP just have a c/s when she could quite possibly have a fantastic VB? Her body didn't fail her.

Sorry dont understand:dizzy:, what did i say that contradicted anything, please explain.

[Angiebear74]

Oya, you are correct. My body didn't fail me. It - and my baby - were not ready. At all. RPA is a conservative hospital (so they told me) and would only allow me to go over the 10 day mark by 1 day. I wanted an extra 3 because I was in pre-labour - had started having random contractions and lost my plug 2 days prior - but no dice. I had done hypno-birthing classes for 3 months, but that didn't really help me on the day because of the intensity of the induction. Perhaps this will help me next time and I can have a successful VB............

[fai firinne]

Jazzah, I don't quite understand your posts because VBAC women are usually never induced. Usual policy is to not induce VBAC women because it can increase the chances of uterine rupture. I'm very suprised you were induced after having had a c/s. Also, VBAC births (the ones that aren't induced) usually do unfold slowly. That is because the mother had her own emotional landscape to navigate and perhaps it is natures way of letting things progress gradually, so it is safer and mentally easier for the mother.

A woman being in labour longer does not increase the chance of rupture. Perhaps in your situation it was different because they did induce/augment your VBAC labours after weighing risk/benefit because of the other risk factors you were dealing with.

Trying to hurry up the labour is the last thing you want with a VBAC normally.

Angiebearm you are right, your body did not fail you and you were pushed before you were ready. (Have you seen the Pushed Birth (http://www.jenniferblock.com/wordpress/?page_id=9)website? With the medical monopoly in USA, there's a lot of pushed births there so one woman created this website. There's a special section on VBAC.)

I had a client with a similar story to yours. She was induced for no other reason that because she was 42 weeks (by what system of counting? Estimating due dates is an in-exact science!) Her body just was not ready. (The other concern with inducing women, especially first timers, is that they fail to wait patiently for the BABY to position him/herself in the right position for his/her intended route through the pelvis, and by forcing the baby before s/he is ready, the baby can end up wedged in the wrong position.) She only dilated to 1cm despite hours of painful labour. They told her that her cervix was defective, it couldn't dilate, and that she would always need c/s.

She called me when she was 37 weeks with her next baby. She's had strong bh cx and basically had a panic attack remembering the pain of last time and thinking, "I can't go through that again!" She was wondering if she should just have the elective c/s.

At 37 weeks, after reading some articles, she and her dh decided to hire a couple of independent midwives and plan a homebirth.

It took a lot of courage for her to wait patiently for labour to start naturally. She'd been told that her body was incapable of going into labour by itself. She did chiropractic care, and we did rebozo work and pelvic work on her as well. Finally - labour day.

During labour we transferred to hospital because there was some meconium in her water, and although she and the baby were well, it seemed the prudent thing to do. Later in hospital, supported by her doula (me) and her own two midwives, she pushed her little baby out all by herself.

It is your right to make the right decision for you. You have some options: elective c/s, or hospital VBAC, or VBAC at home with midwives you choose yourself (who will help you either give birth at home; or stay with you when you transfer to hospital if you needed to.)

The Birthrites - Healing After Caesarean (http://www.birthrites.org/)website might be a helpful resource, with info and support both for elective c/s and VBAC.

Good luck!

[Gruffalo]

Jazzah, I don't quite understand your posts because VBAC women are usually never induced. Usual policy is to not induce VBAC women because it can increase the chances of uterine rupture. I'm very suprised you were induced after having had a c/s.

Dont be surprised it really does happen. My vbac was induced via syntocinon and for no reason either, just because I asked for it. My doula was also surprised that a hospy would do it for the sake of it but they did :)

With vbacs in most hospitals Oya you do need to dialate a certain amount for every hour when in hospital. It is monitored and it is very common practice. Ridiculous yes - but true.

[eeyorethedonkey21]

my vbac was booked to be induced as well because i didnt want to go past 41 weeks. as it turns out tho i didn't need to be induced.

i went to my midwife appointment at lunchtime on a monday had a stretch and sweep (second one) came home and at 10.30pm that night contractions started and by 7.25am my little boy was born. 9hrs of labour which for a person that had not laboured before after having a c-section was a pretty quick labour. the midwives were quite surprised that it all happened so quick for me.

[studentmum]

Many vbac labours are being augmented these days at very minimal levels, this is due (once again) to OBs wanting to "hurry things along" and believing that women's bodies are incapable of labouring enough to have a successful vbac.

Research has indicated that certain levels of augmentation DO NOT increase the risk of rupture, just as the risk of rupture has been exaggerated over the years it seems that the risk of rupture with augmentation has been exaggerated after a few years of over zealous augmentation in the US which did see rupture rates rise.

VBAC's do not always take a long time either, if you do checkout the birthrites website you will see a few recent vbacers who have had quite tame "first births" - my vba2c in January was a very cruisy <9 hours from start to finish and included only 11 minutes of pushing.

There is no "rule" when it comes to birth, no one can say "This is how it's going to be" the key is to feel comfortable before you get to the point where you will be going into labour, if you can convince yourself it will be okay then you will be more relaxed and that will help you to birth your baby whether it be a long or short labour, an induced or spontaneous labour, a drug free or semi-epidural labour.

Let's say right now all the women in Australia needed to walk to Uluru, we would all take a different route, even those that leave together may stop and look at different things on the way. Most of us will get to Uluru - some don't make it, some get there so hurt and bruised that they can't even look up, some arrive crawling, some running, some are so happy that even though they're exhausted they climb to the top of the mountain!

It would be ideal that regardless of the outcome, all women could say "Wow, it's beautiful the journey was worth it" But of course we don't live in an ideal world and there is still much work to be done before the path to birth is a smooth one.

Sarah