What advice can you give to other mamas who want to go natural?
I am so excited to share my successful VBAC story. My second son's birth went exactly as we had been praying for it to go.
My first son was born in June of last year. His birth was an intended home birth, but after 36 hour stuck at 6 cm, with irregular contractions due to baby positioning, we decided to go to the hospital. After being administered pitocin, I made it to complete and was able to push. We saw his head with a head full of hair, but after over an hour of trying without progress, I was told I would need a cesarean In hind sight, there were things I might have done differently or would have liked to have tried in order to have the vaginal birthday hoped for. He was asynclitic, and the reason for the Cesarean was listed as deep transverse arrest. It was pretty disappointed with the birth that I had because it was so drastically different from the one I had planned and wanted.
We were surprised when, only seven months later, we found out I was pregnant again. The state where we live requires 18 months between births following a cesarean for a midwife attended home birth. So, I was tasked with finding a vbac friendly OB who wouldn't be too concerned with my children's close birthdays or my strong opinions. After a couple of interviews and learning that several doctors in town wouldn't take my insurance, I found a fantastic OB to whom I am so grateful. Not only was she happy to let me try for a vbac, but she put up no resistance when I told her we didn't want to listen to the baby's heart rate throughout the pregnancy and we wanted as few ultrasounds as possible. We also hired an incredible doula who had worked with numerous VBAC clients in the past.
At 36 weeks I agreed to a vaginal exam and learned that I was 3 centimeters dilated. I was so excited to hear I had already made some progress and was thinking I might have an early delivery. No such luck. 38 weeks came and went as did my due date. I learned that, while I thought my due date was September 29th, my OB had my due date listed as September 24th. I was worried this would lead to being pressured into induction. At my 41 week appointment I agreed do an ultrasound to check on the baby. Everything looked great! We decided I would make an appointment for the next week to have my membranes swept. I made the appointment for the end of the week, which was 42 + 1 by my count , 42 + 6 by my OB's count. In the weeks that led up to this, it took a lot to ignore the well-intentioned comments of friends and family who wanted to know when I would be induced or if I would be having a voluntary C-section since the baby was "so late."
A few days before my appointment to have my membranes swept I started having contractions. They were mild but regular, about 10 minutes apart. Then they would stop for half a day and I would have nothing. I began leaking fluid. It was clear and odorless but I was again worried about being pressured to go to the hospital for antibiotics and an induction. I decided to monitor the leaking fluid carefully for any change in color or odor. I also made sure I never had a fever. Contractions were still irregular the day before my appointment, and on the morning of my appointment I woke up around 6 and felt like nothing was happening. I decided to try using the breast pump for nipple stimulation to see if it would get anything going. Within 5 minutes I had a contraction that was stronger than any I'd had before. I used the pump for about 25 minutes, stopping during contractions, before I was able to stop using the pump altogether and the contractions continued. I called my Doula to see if she thought I should still go to my appointment or if we should just wait and go to the hospital. I decided to keep my appointment even though I was worried about what the recommendations would be.
When checking on the baby we saw that there was no fluid visible on ultrasound. I told them I suspected I had been leaking but didn't say how long I had suspected it (2.5 days). While I was there I had several good contractions. My OB checked me, and I was six centimeters dilated 80% effaced. In spite of all of this, she told me I could go home if I wanted to walk around, have a snack, Etc. She knew my birth plan was to labor at home as long as possible.
So my husband and I went home. He grilled some burgers, and I ate lunch while bouncing on my exercise ball, pausing for contractions. After lunch I decided I want to take a hot shower. My pelvis was hurting, especially during contractions, and I thought the heat might help. The shower felt so nice, and I had several strong contractions while I was in it. I told my husband I felt surprisingly tired considering I'd had a good night's rest the night before, and he suggested that I lie down. I was only able to do that through one contractions , though. My husband then suggested that I get on my hands and knees for a contraction to see if it put pressure on my cervix differently. He was right, it did! I spent three contractions that way and they were incredibly strong. I had to go to the bathroom. And when I got on the toilet the amount of pressure in my pelvis and butt specifically was really intense. I told him I thought it was time to call our doula for support. She said she was on her way. After one more contraction I told him we needed to meet her at the hospital instead.
We threw our hospital bag in the car and headed to the hospital, 15 minutes away. The contractions in the car we're pretty unbearable, and when we arrived at the hospital my doula was waiting. I somehow managed to communicate that I wanted a wheelchair. Her presence and calming voice really helped to ground me. We got up to labor and delivery and made it to triage, when they checked me they told me I was complete and needed to resist the urge to push.
I was wheeled into a room, which is all a whirl and got up on the bed, facing backwards on my knees, hugging the top of the bed. I spent two intense contractions that way before asking to switch to a side-lying position. I remember requesting a peanut ball but things were moving so quickly. The next contraction was really intense, and my body was pushing without much help from me. After two pushes I heard, "Good job we have a head! One more push!" I couldn't believe what I was hearing, but I pushed one more time and everyone in the room cheered. My Doula and husband helped pull my dress up and my OB placed a beautiful crying baby boy right onto my stomach!
I arrived at the hospital at 1:45pm, and he was born at 2:07pm Friday, October 14.
I can't express how successful and overjoyed I feel. The sense of inadequacy that I felt after my first birth has been replaced with a feeling of strength. We were made for this, ladies!
A due date is not a deadline.
Surrounding ourselves with the right support people is invaluable.
I personally am grateful for all of the stories and words of encouragement on this Facebook page. There were definitely times when I questioned my decision, especially as time went by, but I'm so glad I stuck with what I wanted. What a redemptive experience!