Friday, April 17, 2009

VBAC is a go (well at least I hope so...)

I finally got the "official" go ahead to do a trial of labor after C-section from a Dr. at the hospital I will be (hopefully!) delivering our second daughter at! The dr. did say that there is a 75% chance of delivering vaginally-so I was encouraged by that.After going back and forth, we are going to try and have a doula attend the birth. What pushed my decision over the edge was my discussion with the dr. yesterday.

Although it was the most encouraging meeting with an actual dr. regarding VBACs, he said he had no idea how much "face time" I'd have with their staff of midwives. He said it really depending on the person and how busy they were. If I have a long hard labor and Daniel gets exhausted or overwhelmed, I'd really like someone to be able to tell him its okay to take a break. We both agreed after our birth class that there was a lot we'd forget in the stress of the moment and it would be good to have someone to suggest new labor positions, pain management techniques, etc. So I am going to be talking with some doulas that might be able to give us a discount in the next few weeks due to our tight financial situation.

Its hard to believe that its almost the end! I've been drinking my red raspberry leaf tea religiously (and getting some intense braxton-hicks to go along with it) and trying to stay active. I have almost constant heartburn now that makes it tough to sleep (even though I have a prescription antacid now!) Baby O is getting stronger and bigger by the day it seems...with kicks and movements that take my breath away at times:) Blood Pressure and swelling are still within normal limits, so no PIH for me (yet anyway:). We are almost 1 1/2 hours from the hospital (in normal traffic for that area) so we were encouraged to leave almost immediately when labor seems to be beginning. That's not so fun, but oh well...I'll take what I can get to have the chance:)

2 comments:

Jamie said...

I'm so glad you decided to have a doula!! They make a tremendous difference in VBAC success and are so great (for all those reasons you cited)! Having someone so familiar with the process who can be encouraging you and by your side the whole time makes such a difference. I'm excited for you!!

You might check to see if you can find a doula in training who would be willing to to it for free as part of their certification. They'd have less experience, though.

Seattle Moms Deal Finder said...

Hang in there, and good luck with the VBAC! Thinking of you!