Friday, June 19, 2009

VBAC or c-section....the constant debate in my head

During my appointment today we talked a lot more in depth about what i want to do for labor. If i want a VBAC or c section. I did not think it would be such a hard choice, but I can not seem to figure out what i want to do!

I love my doctor though, and all the doctors at my doc's office because they are all VERY supportive of a VBAC and encourage it! I have always been told this is not normal so i am glad that my doctor is!

Back story on why I had a c section in the first place! I had been sick a few days before i went into labor with Jackie. I went into labor sometime during the night. I woke up around 7 am with contractions that were 5 minutes apart. Now i was not aware that i was in labor, lol i just kept getting stabbing pains in my back every 5 minutes, after speaking to my mom and doctor they told me it was labor and to come get checked in to the hospital.

Me being the skeptic i was about ever getting the baby out of me, decided to not go to the hospital but go up to the doctors and have them check me :) so I drove up, my doc was at the hospital doing surgery so i saw one of the mid wife's. She said i was at a 3 and most likely in labor just having back labor. I was very concerned because since i was having contractions I had not felt Jackie move much at all, which was odd because she was a VERY active baby when i was sleeping. So i had a NST (non stress test) which showed that her heart rate was very low and was drooping even lower when I was having contractions. So she told me to go to the hospital because they needed to keep a good eye on her. She told me to watch out because if it got lower she would not be able to make it through labor and i would have to have a c section.

I got there got all hooked up got my wonderful epidural, and well the heart rate kept dropping. They broke my water to find merconium, Finaly at 8:30 it was too low and they decided i needed a c section. So i was rushed in and out came Jackie. She was having breathing issues from an infection she got. But all turned out well.

SO NOW my delima is what do i do!! I have so many pros and cons to each option, and the doctor had some for me too.

I have a consent form that i have to sign stating what option i chose, and its full of information. I have been to many websites and read up on a lot talked with a few dulas and mid wife's and still yet i can not seem to decided.

The risks of something happening are really low less then 1% and then the risk of something bad happening if the uterus rupturs is about 25%. So its low, very low but those risks are pretty scary! I mean knowing that something could happen to the baby that i could have prevented...and something could happen to me! He kept assuring me that they can monitor it really well, they will be there at the hospital or at the office which is next door, so they will be close. But still i have that worry, but i am a worrier.

I also worry about the recovery from a VBAC, funny i know! I had the easiest recovery from my c section, i was fine after a week. No pains no nothing, i did not even need pain killer when i got home from the hospital. I worry about having a worse recovery from a VBAC.

But there are SO many good benefits. Its better for baby, less risk of infection, less risk of breathing problems, quicker recover, less time in the hospital, easier time breast feeding!

a few down sides I can not be induced so if she is late I will just have to ride it out. My mom wants to get time off to be here, if i have a c section it would be easy to arrange, if I don't it would be a lot harder for her. I think it would be really nice not to have to worry about when the baby will come and to just know when it will be.

So i just don't know. I think i want to just plan on a VBAC and then i guess if i get to worried while in labor i can always just tell them to cut me open! So i don't know....sorry to ramble so much, but it helps me think :) i would love your input! :)

6 comments:

Katie said...

I know several women who have had VBAC's successfully with no complications. I know it's a completely personal choice, but my take on it is that if you are planning on having an epidural anyway, then you will be all set to go in case they do have to perform an emergency c-section. Then you could just labor normally until you either deliver vaginally or have a c-section. It's a hard choice because you don't really know until you get there, but that's my input. :) Good luck with your decision and your pregnancy! You look gorgeous by the way!

Steffy said...

Since you have the same doctor I had let me tell you what happened to me. I was originally suppose to have a csec and he told me he though I could have my baby vaginally. I thought he was crazy, but he told me to pray about it (awesome huh) and I did and I decided the best thing was to trust my doc. I'm so glad I did! So my advice is pray! I know Dr. P prays about each of his patients. Good luck!

Unknown said...

Having been in a similar situation since Ryker was a c/s also, I know it can be tough. For me, after I started reading up on things, I just didn't feel comfortable with another c/s. Like others have said, if it gets to the point that you have to have one anyway, at least you know that you tried and that you did what was best for the baby. Even though there are some small risks associated with VBAC, there are also risks associated with c/s. I like the idea of my baby coming when she is ready and "fully cooked." I say plan for VBAC, but if later in the game you change your mind, you can. I've never heard of ANYONE regretting a VBAC. Best of Luck to us both.

Patrick, Adrienne, Isabella, & Makenzie said...

i vote plan for vbac, then as it gets closer you can change your mind, if you'd like to. and if something goes wrong during labor, you can go c-section. but i vote vbac. might as well try it and see if it will work well that way!

Unknown said...

I had another thought too, your c/s recovery will be totally different this time around. Now you have a 2 year old to entertain and chase around. The thought of not being able to pick up Ryker for 6 weeks breaks my heart.

Caitlin Carroll said...

To quell your fears and boost your confidence, I would read successful stories. Don't read anything negative, you've done the research, you know the risks for both. Just now read positive stories. There are a lot of birth stories on the blog Unnecesarean (there's a link on my blog). There is also an amazing section on VBAC in Ina May's Guide to Childbirth. They did home birth VBACs with no ruptures and have only had two women not have a successful VBAC but went to the hospital for a non-emergency cesarean because there was the possibly of rupture.