"My first baby was born by cesarean section. My husband and I worked with the same midwives for both births and had desired a natural childbirth with the first. In the first case, I believe that the intervention of surgery was wise. The baby clearly had distress in labor and was born, full term, at only five pounds."When my second baby was conceived, we again longed for a natural childbirth. Despite discouragement from doctors and medical advertisements, I was able to birth vaginally this second child. Three conditions especially undergirded this birth: supportive assistants, a pregnancy of heart and body, and an active birth."
Birthing Again: A VBAC Experience is a wonderful article written by Melissa Aberle-Grasse for Mothering Magazine about her VBAC Birth Experience. Please click on the link to read the article in its entirety and learn how Melissa prepared for and followed through with her plans for a Vaginal Birth After Cesarean.
I am pregnant with my second child, and while I tried for completely natural childbirth the first time through a midwifery, I did not have the experience I had intended. I am going back trying a VBAC this second time, much more determined and aware of how I was rushed by nurses and pushed to do things I did not enjoy. It seems my only options are a home birth (which my husband is not comfortable with or supportive of), or to wait until the last possible minute to avoid needless monitoring and people telling me to push way too early so it stresses the baby out. Thank you for the posts you do. I feel much better informed, and bolstered up to do things the way God intended.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for your comment, Red. I'm really glad my blog posts can help someone. That's why I do this, because I want to spread good information to help inform people of their options.
ReplyDeleteHave you tried searching for a doctor or midwife in your area who is willing to let you do a VBAC? If you're interested in finding other women who are planning VBAC's and connecting with them, there is a great community website you can check out. It's called My Best Birth, and it has various groups you can join and post comments and questions back and forth with. There is a VBAC group: http://www.mybestbirth.com/group/vbacmoms
I do think laboring out of the hospital as long as possible is a good idea for anyone who wants a birth with as little intervention as possible. It's also a good idea to hire a birth doula who can be with you during labor, wherever you decide to labor. A doula could coach you throughout the labor, help you focus and breathe through the contractions, offer information and support including positioning and movement and comfort measures. My doula was essential in my first unmedicated birth, because it was the first time I was experiencing labor without all the interventions and I needed the support so I could figure out how to labor naturally. My husband is great labor support, but it really helped to have someone there who was trained and knew specifically what to do and how to help. If you need help finding a doula, please check out www.dona.org or ask me and I'll help however I can.
Good luck with your VBAC! I'm very excited for you!