C.L.
Hi J.,
I see that you got a recommendation for some people in the South Bay. Great. I just wanted to wholeheartedly encourage you to go through with the vbac and do everything you can to make that happen!
When I was pregnant with my first son, I was subjected to all the usual tests. When I questioned procedure I was made to feel a nuisance. When I refused an amniocentesis you'd have thought I'd committed some sort of unheard of crime. Three doctors came in to question me and attempted to make me feel I was a bad parent before my child was even born. My then husband and I had to go to UCLA, see a film and again be questioned by doctors. I was 42 years old and my husband 51. They said I was high risk and that there was a 1 in 26 chance that my baby would be born with downs syndrome or the like. I said "Well I guess I'll be one of the other 25." I told them it was a spiritual issue for me, I already loved my unborn baby and if it were to have special needs, then I would be a special needs parent. I had done a lot of research and found that the statistics of losing the baby after an amniocentesis was the real risk that know one seems to talk about.
I didn't mind giving my liquids for tests but didn't want to be injected with anything. When I refused a TB test, they flatly said that if I didn't take the test I couldn't have my baby at UCLA. My reply was "Well I guess I won't be having my baby at UCLA".
Instead I went to Good Samaritan. I suppose I was getting standard good care throughout the pregnancy by the doctor and "midwife", though I felt it constantly invasive. When I asked the midwife about what she thought of the book "Spiritual Midwifery" she'd never even heard of it. I told everyone I wanted to have as natural a childbirth as possible, but that fell on deaf ears and they proceeded to lose my birth plan.
I asked why the drastic increase in C-sections in the last few years other than it being a money making scheme by the insurance/medical/pharmaceutical industry. They played dumb and blew me off.
My doctor had told me at check up that I wouldn't be having the baby for another week because he had not descended. Anyway, later that same evening my water broke without any contractions. They immediately wanted to induce labor and I held them up for 36 hours and then they forced pitocin on me. 14 hours of heavy contractions due to pitocin with no dilation. Of course that effected the baby's heartbeat and an hour before my doctor's shift ended, he gave me a c-section. I was terribly disappointed but my joy at seeing my son overrode everything. He was perfect.
I was living in London for my second son's birth. I only ever met midwives every few weeks in a very comfortable casual setting. Completely non invasive and they just took it for granted that most women would be giving birth in the comfort of their own home unless like me they were at high risk because of age or prior c-section. They honored my decision to have a vbac at the hospital without giving me any scare tactics. It was the most wonderful empowering experience of my life.
I only met a doctor for a minute and it was a tiny older Nigerian woman who was my midwife. She really knew what she was doing. It was just my husband, the midwife and me. While I did opt for an epidural, everything else about it was natural and beautiful. I highly recommend the experience. All the very best to you and your family.
