As Evelyn’s first birthday approaches, I thought it would be good time to write about her birth story. But gosh, this is so hard to write about. In a way I feel like getting it all out is a form of therapy. I know that how you birth your baby doesn’t define you as a mom but I really feel like I’m missing out here by having two c-sections. Here’s Evelyn’s birth story of trying for a VBAC.

These are simply my opinions as a mother and a woman and everyone has their own story and plan for birth. I am not a doctor and I have so much respect for all doctors, especially my own because they brought my two beautiful babies into this world!

You can read about my birth with Harrison (my first) here on the blog. I was induced due to high blood pressure at 38 weeks and never progressed. I ended up having a very routine (and somewhat easy!) c-section and Harrison was born at 6 lbs, 10oz and perfectly healthy.

Trying For a VBAC

With my second pregnancy I knew I wanted to have a VBAC (Vaginal birth after cesarean). I listened to all the podcasts, read success stories, studied the risks, and spoke to my doctors. Everything was going smoothly, I was on a baby aspirin to keep my blood pressure down and I didn’t have a single problem throughout my pregnancy.

From the beginning they made me schedule a c-section. WHY. Why would we do that knowing I do not want to have a c-section. More importantly, I don’t need a c-section. One of the reasons was “to get on the schedule”. The c-section was originally scheduled for my due date, August 28th. Something got mixed up and months later they called to say it needed to be moved to Friday, the 30th. Since I wasn’t planning on going in for it anyway, I didn’t really care when it was scheduled for. So every appointment that came, I would ask – so what happens when we get to August 30th, and the answer I typically got was, “well you have the c-section”. This made me question a lot of things.

What makes you a good candidate for a VBAC?

90% of women who have had a cesarean are candidates for a VBAC. Here’s some of the criteria according to americanpregnancy.org.

• No more than 2 low transverse cesarean deliveries.
• No additional uterine scars, anomalies or previous ruptures.
• If the original reason for cesarean delivery is not repeated with this pregnancy
• You have no major medical problems
• The baby is a normal size
• The baby is head-down

VBAC Statistics and Risk Data

The new data indicates there has been some success on the VBAC front: Across the U.S., the VBAC rate rose from 12.8% to 13.3% between 2016 and 2018 – an increase of 7%. But that rate is unlikely to meet the federal government’s Healthy People 2020 target of 18.3%.

“If the current annual rate of increase continues … the total VBAC rate would reach this goal in approximately 10 years,” the report says.

usnews.com

Some hospitals don’t have the capacity to offer a VBAC, mainly because the way they are set up would not allow the patient to be transferred fast enough to an OR if something were to go wrong. My doctor explained to me that I would have a special color on my chart so that all the doctors and nurses would know I was attempting a VBAC.

The greatest risk would be a uterine rupture which could be life threatening for the mother and the baby. It could also result in a hysterectomy preventing you from having any more children. The risk of uterine rupture is .2 to 1.5% according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG).

Recently, ACOG stated that VBAC is safer than a repeat cesarean, and VBAC with more than one previous cesarean does not pose an increased risk.

americanpregnancy.org

Does this statistic have you thinking what I’m thinking? What’s the fate of baby number 3 (if there is one ☺️). Not pregnant – just thinking to the future.

Due Date Comes and No Labor

As I got closer to my due date, they checked me and I wasn’t dilated, AT ALL. They tried to strip my membranes but couldn’t because my cervix was so closed. But being dilated is not a sign of going into labor. You can be 0 cm dilated and 24 hours later have a baby.

I like to think I was supported in my decision to have a VBAC, but it was hard. My husband was afraid something very bad was going to happen (rightfully so) because worst case scenario he could lose me and/or the baby. Some of my friends thought I was crazy for opting to have a vaginal birth instead of a scheduled c-section. Any friend I had in the healthcare field was telling me it was too risky.

I was 40+ weeks pregnant and completely content! I feel like the baby could have stayed in there two more weeks and I wouldn’t have cared, as long as we were both healthy.

Everyone wants to tell you “a healthy baby is all that matters”. Hello, I’m her mother – of course I know a healthy baby is all that matters but no one could give me any reason as to why my baby wouldn’t be healthy if she stayed in the womb a few more days, or even a week! I was only 2 days overdue and based on when I ovulated I wasn’t overdue at all.

So my due date came and went. They never did any tests on the fetus to check fluid levels or anything. They never explained to me the risks of going overdue. My doctor explained to me that since my body had been in labor before (induced with foley bulb and Pitocin) that it should know what to do and I should be dilating. She actually told me that the baby might try to take the path of least resistance and push on my scar causing a risk. This sounded a bit crazy to me but I’m not a doctor.

I spent the last few days of my pregnancy in tears because I didn’t want to have the c-section. It felt like I was giving up on what I wanted and had no other choice. I just didn’t understand why the baby needed to come out on August 30th, just because it’s on the calendar at the hospital? In the back of my mind I also felt that I needed more time, more time than they were going to give me to go into labor. So I agreed to the c-section.

Delivery Day – August 30th

On Friday, August 30th I go in for the c-section, as scheduled. We got to the hospital and weren’t even sure what entrance to go in. Even though we had been there before, I guess I blacked out that part. They also had done a bunch of renovations since we had been there with my son. I told Evan let’s just turn around and go home. I actually asked the nurse when I got there if people just simply don’t show up for their scheduled c-section. They nurse said to me, “You must be so excited”, and I remember telling her “well no not really, I don’t want to be here. This is not what I wanted.”

I wanted to be excited, we were getting to meet our baby! But nothing about this felt like having a baby. It felt like a surgery. I felt more calm than I did with Harrison, I guess because I knew what to expect and hadn’t been contracting and laboring for 24 hours prior 🤣.

Scheduled Cesarean

When you have a scheduled c-section, they give you a spinal block instead of an epidural. The spinal block has a time limit vs. the epidural where they can inject more medicine because there is a live line. So they give you the spinal block in the OR so that they have as much time as possible to do the procedure. I knew I had a fibroid, I had one with Harrison as well. I was more closely monitored but it never caused any problems. Well, as they began the surgery they ran into a problem.

The fibroid had fused my abdominal wall and my uterus together essentially. It took a long time, way too long to get to the baby. I was starting to panic because I knew it felt like it was taking way too long. Once they FINALLY got the baby out, still no name at this point, they had to try to remove the fibroid. As I’m laying there, I started to panic. I felt like no one was telling me what was going on. They told me I was a very good communicator probably because when I get anxious I talk a lot.

Things Start to Go Downhill

They started asking me questions such as “Do you think you want to have more babies?”. Not something you want to hear when you’re already panicked and starting to experience pain. They were trying to take their time and remove the fibroid in a way that would allow me to safely get pregnant again. The rest is somewhat of a blur.

The baby was having breathing problems and they informed me that they had to take her to the NICU. They let me see her for a few minutes but I was in so much pain I told them to just take her away. I felt like a baby, I wanted to have a vaginal birth but I couldn’t even handle this pain? It’s different when you are expecting the pain. I was supposed to be numb, this was not normal. The spinal block was wearing off and they eventually put me under.

After the Birth

I woke up in a hospital room alone, with no baby. It was horrible. I’m writing this with tears in my eyes. I feel like I should have advocated for myself more and I still have so many questions. The surgery was very difficult and I am grateful for the amazing team of doctors who so carefully operated on me and and my baby. I just wonder if we waited a little longer, could the surgery and that traumatic experience have been avoided?

Evelyn was born August 30th, 2019 at 2:52PM weighing exactly 6 pounds. She spent 3 short (but what felt like long) days in the NICU due to a pneumothorax. This is where air gets trapped in between the lung and the chest wall. She was only on a ventilator for a few hours but they kept her there for monitoring and did x-rays every morning to make sure the pneumothorax was improving.

We were able to bring her home three days later and in three days we are celebrating her first birthday! I can’t believe it. Even though I didn’t get the experience that I hoped for, I have this beautiful baby girl to be thankful for. Did you have a successful VBAC? I want to hear from you!

If you want to read about successful VBAC births, you can read a couple here from one of my favorite instagram moms @lovelyluckylife.

Auggie’s Birth in Photos – A Successful VBAC Birth Story

Emmy’s Birth Story – A Successful Induction VBAC Birth Story

I also found this podcast and blog to be helpful if you are looking for resources and support on how to have a successful VBAC.

Thanks for reading,