Question Aout Inducing vs Planned C-section

Hi L.,

I'm a doctor and I know alot about natural childbirth. The reason your daughter wasn't coming down was because she wasn't ready. There is no danger in having a baby 2-4 weeks past your due date. If you induce this time that would be one of the only things that could cause your c-section scar to tear. Why not wait and let your baby come out when he/she is ready and you can have a VBAC without induction and no c-section. Dr's are too quick with all of the interventions... most of the time they are not needed and done only out of fear for their own malpractice. I had my son at home all natural and I'm due in July and I'm doing it the same way. I have a home birth midwife. Let me know if you want to just speak to her about your options... I will give you her #. Don't let your Dr's fear cause you to do something that you don't want to do... c-sections are not good for the baby... natural birth is the healthiest for your baby and will allow him/her to have a healthier life.

Good Luck,
Allie

Hi L., instead of advise, i'll tell you my story. My 1st pregnancy i was 10 days late, & she was breech. Automatic c-section ( she was just under 10 lbs ). My 2nd daughter was a planned section. I had the option of a vbac, but chose a section just for the fact that we were not planning to have any more children. I had the section & had my tubal ligation done at the same time. ( she also turned out to be breech!! ) Its personal choice, but what ever you feel more comfortable doing you should do & not let your dr persuade you. It is YOUR decision. Good luck in whatever you choose!

From my experience and research I have found from my work as a doula. The chance of uterine rupture goes up with induction. The uterus acts differently when it is being forced to contract rather than it doing it on its own when baby and body are ready. My advice would be to wait until your baby and body are ready. Let them set the pace. Your chance of a c-section also goes up when you are induced. Term pregnancy is 38-42 weeks to induce before that is cutting into the final stage of brain development for the baby. I would want to know from the Dr. why she thinks an induction is necessary at 39 weeks you should be treated as a first time mom because your chance of uterine rupture as long as you healed ok is the same. If she is thinking induction to avoid a big baby. The growth after 40wks slows so the difference would be minimal. Ultrasound at this point is to inaccurate to determine if this child would be big as well. Even if your first child came into the world via a c-section and was big doesn't mean another 10 pound baby would also need a c-section to be birthed it all depends on the position of the baby. The head being cocked a certain way can make all the difference. Hope this information is helpful. Best of luck to you and your baby. I wish you a happy birthing day which ever way you choose.

I was in a similar situation but my ob wouldn't induce labor because I had had a prior c-section and she said that inductions create stronger and faster contractions that may increase my risk of uterine rupture.
I also didn't want to go through an induced labor.
My first child was an emergency section since she was discovered to be breach after 9 hours of labor.
I wanted so badly to have a vbac. My doctor wouldn't let me go up to my due date, and we decided that if I went into labor before my due date then we'd try fora vbac. Otherwise we'd have the c-section.
Well, I never even hinted at labor- so we had a planned cesarean. It was just fine. Much easier than the unplanned section. Recovery was faster and I knew what to expect so things didn't seem as bad.
I hope my experiences can help.
-S.

Hi L.-
Sounds like you had a tough time of it the first time around! The statistics show that the chances of having a C-section after being induced are pretty dramatic (plus all the induction meds are often responsible for stressing out the baby). There's really nothing wrong with going a week or so over your due date. Doc's tend to be pretty quick to rush the baby out. :) If it were me... I would wait to see if I went into labor on my own (up to 10+ days past due) and then go from there. Our bodies are so amazing and capable of so much! Check out Dr. Sears book called "The Birth Book". They have a lot of good advice for avoiding 2nd C-sections. Best of luck this time! You can do it!! :)

I'm not sure about a suggestion but I wanted to let you know that I had a surgery to remove scar tissue, cysts, and a fibroid tumor that left scarring similar to that of a c-section and had 2 successful deliveries I had discomfort in that area during my pregnancies but no problems w/ the scars from the previous surgery that I had had. All I can say is good luck to you and I hope everything goes well and CONGRATS!

L.,

Induction is not recommended for women with prior c sections. I have my first by c section and then was going to try a VBAC with my second. The Drs kind of scared me out of it with the uterine rupture and shoulder dystocia risks, so I had a second c section. I totally regret not just trying a VBAC and now when I have my third I am pretty much stuck having a c section. I would recommend you try naturally. If you end up with a c section at least you tried. Natural birth is better for moms and babies.

Good luck either way!

-L.

L.,

Ask the doctor to do a sizing ultrasound for you. It might make your decision easier. If the baby is estimated at 8lbs then you can try for the vaginal birth but if they estimate over 10lbs you might want to do the C-Section again. Just remember they aren't perfect but close and that can help you decide.

Good luck,
L. M

Before you go ahead with an induction, know your Bishop's score. A low score (less than 8)usually means that the induction will fail because your body isn't ready. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bishop_score

If you're really serious about VBAC'ing, spend some time at http://www.ican-online.org/

My son was born surgically after labor stalled. I was so afraid of another surgery we hired a midwife and I had my daughter at home. Best thing I've ever done.

Hi L.,

Congratulations on your pregnancy! I had a planned c-section with my first daughter (she was also big... 10 pounds, 2 ounces), and then chose repeat c-sections with my next three. Because my second daughter also appeared big on ultrasound (she ended up 9 pounds, 8 ounces), we decided to go with the c-section. Does your second baby appear to be another large one? I was very happy with my decision, although, of course, the c-sections were painful! My third c-section was also fine, but I did have problems with my fourth. It was my fourth c-section in 5 years, so the scar didn't hold too well. It had split open inside, which they didn't discover until delivery. Luckily my son was fine, but I had to be given general anesthesia immediately after his birth, as the repair was extensive.
I wish you the best of luck no matter what you decide!

Hi L., I had a c-section for my twins. They were premies, my son weighed 4 lbs. 12 ounces and my daughter, 5 lbs. & 2 ounces.
It was my decision to have a c-section because I do not tolerate pain very well. I was mainly scared of having to push out two babies instead of just one.
I had a great c-section, but when I went home, I guess I did too much and since my daughter was in the NICU I went to visit her for a week every day. My staples were removed at the hospital the morning I left, but at home, my pad I had on the insicion line, it was full of some blood, waters and whatever it was, it wasn't good. I then, had to have a nurse come to the house for a month and a half to take care of that. In overall, I would have loved to try and have a natural birth . My hands are full now with my two at the same age level. I wanted to try for a 3rd, but we can't have children the natural way. My babies were miracle babies IVF and did work on the very first try. what a blessing and lucky too .

Good luck to you...keep us posted on here, hope all goes well whatever you choose to do .

First of all, congratulations on your pregnancy and upcoming birth!

Being a doula and childbirth educator, I have a lot of experience and knowledge about birth and how it tends to be "managed" in a hospital. I would be very reluctant to induce in this circumstance -- the guidelines for a safe VBAC include no induction. I would wait for your body and baby to be ready for labor and give it a try, but only if you feel comfortable with this. Fear can prolong or stall a labor. Without intervention, uterine rupture during a VBAC is pretty rare -- the risk goes way up with the use of pitocin as it makes the contractions much stronger and longer than they would be otherwise and therefore puts more strain on the uterus.

A good person to talk to would be Nancy Wainer at Birth Day Midwifery -- she's a homebirth midwife in Newton (I think)and author of the book Silent Knife and came up with the term VBAC, and is the most knowledgeable person I can think of on this topic. If you google her name, you'll find her website.

I also highly recommend having a doula -- experienced support during labor can really help in preventing a cesarean birth.

Good luck!

HI L.!!...I love you and your husbands plan,I think you should tell your doctor you both want to stick to your plan,they can always book the c/s and cancel if you go into labor and deliver vaginal!!I honestly would not worry about your scar bursting!!Stay focused on the positives..good luck with everything and CONGRATS!!!!

L., my kids are 13 months apart. My oldest child was a c-section and my obgyn highly recommended a c-section for my second because chances were high that my uterus could burst during vaginal delivery. I was lead to believe that the statitics were much higher for kids so close together. Good luck with your decision.