My VBAC Experience

Baby A at one day old.

If you follow my blog (which most of you don't- but should) you might recall that I had a CBAV with H because he was breech.  I was devastated because I had the first two vaginally and the recovery was quick and easy.  I did NOT want to deal with a cesarean and the healing process.  But, I had no choice.  Well, when I found out I was pregnant with baby #4, all I could think about was how much I did not want to go through a c-section again!  The hospital where I had my first 3 is not allowed to perform VBACs because you have to have an anesthesiologist in the hospital 24/7 and smaller hospitals only have them on call during off duty hours.  So, I talked to my ob/gyn about my options and he told me that his hospital and one 90 miles away had a "share care" option where you could see doctors at one or the other and then delivery at whichever.  I felt intimidated as I had never been to the bigger one and I was used to MY doctor.

I had to go at 20 weeks and then 36 weeks and up to the bigger hospital.  I was randomly assigned a doctor because I had no idea who any of them were.  Boy, did I get lucky!!  The doctor I was assigned was one out of like 10 who I could have gotten.  Apparently this one was the best and everyone who worked there let me know it.  She was so invested in my pregnancy and making sure that the VBAC went as smoothly as possible.  She's totally someone I'd have as a best friend... if it were a possibility, which it isn't... anyway, I was set to be induced at 41 weeks if Baby A didn't come sooner... which he decided not to.  Apparently they don't want to induce sooner than that for VBACs.

So I was induced- I arrived at 8AM and all the boring vitals and hooking me up with an IV and blah blah blah... the hospital I went to was a teaching hospital, so there were a few things here and there that could have been handled a little better.  For instance, the first resident that "broke my water" supposedly put a hole in the bag and it was supposed to slowly leak (which I've never had done) and my labor was barely progressing.  About 6 hours later a 4th year resident checked and "rebroke" my bag and guess what- the Hoover Dam flooded and my labor started to progress extremely quickly.  This meant my epidural was not anywhere near being prepared, so I had to wait awhile for that.  I finally got it and maybe an hour or so later MY doctor came in, checked me and said push on the next contraction... 4 minutes later, there he was!  No tearing!!!  I felt fantastic.  I won't get into the demon doctor who was on the floor that shift, because she was one of the most uber-twatastic people I have ever met.  Five minutes before MY doctor came (just to check on me after the clinic closed) this "doctor" was saying I might have to have a c-section and suffocating me with an oxygen mask.

Anyway, I would do the VBAC again in a heartbeat- by far one of the best decisions in my life!!