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Dr has stright rules on VBAC! very depressed!
So I left my OB crying today again, now this being the last three times there. For those who don't know me I have had 4 babies already. Three natural and one emergency c-section. I am pregnant with my 5th, 24 weeks and doing great! I have already had a VBAC with my last, had a low trans-verse insision also.
I am high risk only due to my history with pre term labor with all other 4. I am doing great this time and they found I have low progesterone and NO problems this pregnancy as I am on shots for it. Absolutly not a high risker this time except from being labled and watched cuz of my history.
OK so now as I am 24 weeks I had my birth plan in hand and ready for my OB to sign it! I get there and he is not there and I get pushed to the MNP as usual, (note: being high risk he has only seen me once this whole pregnancy and missed 9 appointments with me so far) So anyway the first thing she tells me is "We do not sign birth plans" then " NO one has ever even brought one before". So my smile goes away and she starts to read it telling me how the (only 1 ) Ob has to look it over, but she sees problems with it already. As a VBAC patient first thing I will be asked to come to the hostpital ASAP with the first contraction and will have to have the baby in 16-24 hours. Then she says how I will also as being VBAC have to get a cathether and iv ASAP and not be allowed food or drinks and not be able to get up at all. I will have to lay in bed the whole time! She says that if I have to have a BM I will be allowe dup but the toliet is in the room and there is not a seperate bathroom! OMG that is like prison! So then I ask about gravity and tearing and being able to help labor with walking, NOT A CHANCE, she says! She said that if I am in labor I will labor no matter what postition! I ask about the pain it will cause and she says I can always have a c-section but positions do not help pain! So then I am very upset and say I do nto agree to it and what willhappen if I get up and she says they ahve called CPS before (the hospital nurses) for the same thing happening before. How can they do that??????? Then she tells me how they have none privatte rooms for afterwards and my DH will not be allowed to stay after visiting hours no matter waht time the baby is born! Then they do not allow rooming in during the night or when you are alseep, and VBAC's have to stay for 3-4 days. That the baby will have to go to the nursery right after birth to get checked by the pediatrician and no one is allowed in there cuz there is ony room for two baby beds! That is not even legal! I plan on breastfeeding also and they would only bring the baby to me on their 3-4 hour schedule!
So I live in the mountains and the closest hospital but that one is like 2 1/2 hours away that does VBAC's. So I now have to find a midwife! I am not upset about that but for this dr lying to me that he loves VBAC"S and does them offten, which he does, but on his horrible terms! He is the only OB in the 4 counties around me and NP are not allowed to deliver VBAC's here so he is the only one.
So now I am having a big baby and I labor fast and will give birth at home with a midiwfe and doula. At least I can use a tub and pool!!! auhh I have to think positive! right?!!!
Well how can hospitals be so far behind?? This is depressing as I thought I had it all planned out! It is goign to be hard now to find a midwife that will come to me that is not seeing another woman. They are all about 2 hours away from me:( What to do??????
I am high risk only due to my history with pre term labor with all other 4. I am doing great this time and they found I have low progesterone and NO problems this pregnancy as I am on shots for it. Absolutly not a high risker this time except from being labled and watched cuz of my history.
OK so now as I am 24 weeks I had my birth plan in hand and ready for my OB to sign it! I get there and he is not there and I get pushed to the MNP as usual, (note: being high risk he has only seen me once this whole pregnancy and missed 9 appointments with me so far) So anyway the first thing she tells me is "We do not sign birth plans" then " NO one has ever even brought one before". So my smile goes away and she starts to read it telling me how the (only 1 ) Ob has to look it over, but she sees problems with it already. As a VBAC patient first thing I will be asked to come to the hostpital ASAP with the first contraction and will have to have the baby in 16-24 hours. Then she says how I will also as being VBAC have to get a cathether and iv ASAP and not be allowed food or drinks and not be able to get up at all. I will have to lay in bed the whole time! She says that if I have to have a BM I will be allowe dup but the toliet is in the room and there is not a seperate bathroom! OMG that is like prison! So then I ask about gravity and tearing and being able to help labor with walking, NOT A CHANCE, she says! She said that if I am in labor I will labor no matter what postition! I ask about the pain it will cause and she says I can always have a c-section but positions do not help pain! So then I am very upset and say I do nto agree to it and what willhappen if I get up and she says they ahve called CPS before (the hospital nurses) for the same thing happening before. How can they do that??????? Then she tells me how they have none privatte rooms for afterwards and my DH will not be allowed to stay after visiting hours no matter waht time the baby is born! Then they do not allow rooming in during the night or when you are alseep, and VBAC's have to stay for 3-4 days. That the baby will have to go to the nursery right after birth to get checked by the pediatrician and no one is allowed in there cuz there is ony room for two baby beds! That is not even legal! I plan on breastfeeding also and they would only bring the baby to me on their 3-4 hour schedule!
So I live in the mountains and the closest hospital but that one is like 2 1/2 hours away that does VBAC's. So I now have to find a midwife! I am not upset about that but for this dr lying to me that he loves VBAC"S and does them offten, which he does, but on his horrible terms! He is the only OB in the 4 counties around me and NP are not allowed to deliver VBAC's here so he is the only one.
So now I am having a big baby and I labor fast and will give birth at home with a midiwfe and doula. At least I can use a tub and pool!!! auhh I have to think positive! right?!!!
Well how can hospitals be so far behind?? This is depressing as I thought I had it all planned out! It is goign to be hard now to find a midwife that will come to me that is not seeing another woman. They are all about 2 hours away from me:( What to do??????
WOW I would be finding a new DR. and place to have the baby. They should have told you all of this wayyyy before now. So sorry.
Well I am doing great this time so far. I am on the shots which help and I have never gone into labor or really contracted so far yet. I was having some contractions when I got measured but I think it was braxton hicks. I am planning on goign full term with this one or at least make it to 37 weeks. They take me off the shots at 36 weeks and I will try to hold off a week or longer. The high risk dr said there is no reason right now that says I woudl go early with this one. So tht is reasuring. if I do I would have to be air lifted to that hospital with the high risk dr. They don't let you ride for that long to get transported. If I am not stable then I would deliver here and the baby woudl get air lifted there. I had that gut feeling something was wrong the whole time with my others though and I don't with this one so I am very confident on not going into labor at least untill I am taken off the shot. You know we have so many rights but are not given them! Then you have woman who abort and allowed to have a baby that can survive and even be bron alive and they get respevted and theri rights get fought for more then us! This world is very sad!!!! I am not telling my regualr OB I am not coming back yet though. They give free car seats at week 28!!! I told DH that they put me through enough I deseve to get it still! hahaha They give free vouchers to get what you choose at the Walmart here. It will be great for back up!
I hope you have a great birth too!!! And don't feel stressed about it all till then, that in it self we don't need huh!!
I hope you have a great birth too!!! And don't feel stressed about it all till then, that in it self we don't need huh!!
I'm glad you've made a decision that you both are comfortable with. I too had thought about driving further to another hospital but in the end I opted for just going back to the ob i had last time. My only real prob with him was that i felt rushed during my visits but my overall experience wasn't bad. The birth went great. I didn't mind the cath or the iv becuase I got an epidural that time. I had my other kids with us to experience their little brother being born and didn't want to scare the crud outta them by being in so much pain. Plus being induced i had no choice in the iv thing. But Things went great. So hopefully we will have a similiar experience this time. I hope all goes well for you and that you are able to make it the 2 1/2 hrs to the hospital :) How much longer are you SUPPOSED to have (I know you said your others came early)
Well my other c-section was because like I said I have had all 4 pre mature. L was born at 30 weeks and three days prior I had PROM with her and thye had me in bed on intermitent monitors becasue I still had enough fluid and had not started contracting. They said each day she would stay in there saved her a week in the NICU. Well right after a monitor session I had an overwheling feeling she was in dier distress! It was one of the most urgent feelings I ahve ever had! I called the nurse and told her she was not moving and I thought something was very wrong. She said she would check her in another 40 minutes that she was fine on the monitor. Well as she would nto listen I called my OB's office and he was at the hospital on the floor. Came in with an us machine and gave her a 2 put of 10 for good fluid levels of all things, on her bio physical profile. She was not making movements or breathing movments but she had a heart rate still. So he wheeled me to the or and had her out in 26 minutes from the time I told the nurse. I have VBAC after her 17 months later and was in labor for 26 hours! Actually the VBAC is lots of the times safer at home studies have shown. I am not concerned about it. I know how my body works. Also my scar is not big becasue she was early and weighed 3lbs 8oz. You know she would of died if it not been for him coming and getting her out then!
Well for me to VBAC at home I would actually get to the OR in any emergency the same time as at home! They do not keep antisthesoligists on site there and he lives 25 min away from the hospital. So I have less time actually to get there then him so that makes up for the prep time.
But sad to say that my DH is scared as he does not know what is normal and not normal during birth. He sad his anxiety would be so high if we choose home birth, but note he has NO problem if I deliver in the car on the way there:) He has had two kids prior with both being natural. The first his mom was strapped down( in 1993) to the bed just like in the 50's! She had a 37 hour labor and thye had to do a Y cut to get him out and she was on her back as well. So he is more scred of goign to that hospital then home birth! But he wanted other options too.
So after much deliberation we have choosen to give birth with my high risk dr I am seeing so I would nto ahve to find another OB. I was seeing the HR and my regular one. And we will drive the 2 1/2 hours there. I t scares me that if I go fast there is 1 1/2 hours we will be 1 hour form a hospital instead of the 22 minutes (driving fast:) here. but I guess I just have to trust we will make it. The do individualized birth plans and natural. They have birthing tubs and a level 3 nursery. You stay in the same room form the time you get there. They also will ahve the new birth center open two months before I am due. So They do not require the things my hospital does and they incourage rooming in. They also have perinatal massgae techs on site for the deliveries. They talk of all this on the web site all open! I do have the option of getting my labor started with a slow drip of the pit then stopping it or AROM, but beign VABC tht raises the risks of uterine rupture and cord pro lapse. Even though the chance of that is even lower then the less then 1% of somethingg happening with a VBAC. I really want to go as natural as I can! I want to catch my baby and all myself!
So if this hospital really does what they say, and I will call them on Monday I guess we will go there. That way it will be enjoyable to DH as well and not a bad stressful experience for him. I really want a home birth but I also need my DH not stressed to support me through the birth. Maybe next time once he sees how I labor;)
Well for me to VBAC at home I would actually get to the OR in any emergency the same time as at home! They do not keep antisthesoligists on site there and he lives 25 min away from the hospital. So I have less time actually to get there then him so that makes up for the prep time.
But sad to say that my DH is scared as he does not know what is normal and not normal during birth. He sad his anxiety would be so high if we choose home birth, but note he has NO problem if I deliver in the car on the way there:) He has had two kids prior with both being natural. The first his mom was strapped down( in 1993) to the bed just like in the 50's! She had a 37 hour labor and thye had to do a Y cut to get him out and she was on her back as well. So he is more scred of goign to that hospital then home birth! But he wanted other options too.
So after much deliberation we have choosen to give birth with my high risk dr I am seeing so I would nto ahve to find another OB. I was seeing the HR and my regular one. And we will drive the 2 1/2 hours there. I t scares me that if I go fast there is 1 1/2 hours we will be 1 hour form a hospital instead of the 22 minutes (driving fast:) here. but I guess I just have to trust we will make it. The do individualized birth plans and natural. They have birthing tubs and a level 3 nursery. You stay in the same room form the time you get there. They also will ahve the new birth center open two months before I am due. So They do not require the things my hospital does and they incourage rooming in. They also have perinatal massgae techs on site for the deliveries. They talk of all this on the web site all open! I do have the option of getting my labor started with a slow drip of the pit then stopping it or AROM, but beign VABC tht raises the risks of uterine rupture and cord pro lapse. Even though the chance of that is even lower then the less then 1% of somethingg happening with a VBAC. I really want to go as natural as I can! I want to catch my baby and all myself!
So if this hospital really does what they say, and I will call them on Monday I guess we will go there. That way it will be enjoyable to DH as well and not a bad stressful experience for him. I really want a home birth but I also need my DH not stressed to support me through the birth. Maybe next time once he sees how I labor;)
This time around I was told that even tho I have had FOUR successful VBACS that no one around here would do one. Well I know that's cr@p becuase I had one a year and a half ago. And I was induced to boot. You can also check the ICAN-online website (International cesarean network). They have some good info on VBAC practices what is allowed by law etc
Becuase you ARE at a slightly higher risk for uterine rupture or other complications I personally would not opt for a home birth. Becuase if that slight change became reality and something went wrong, would help be able to get to you fast enough?? I'd much rather have an OR down the hall than down the road.
Becuase you ARE at a slightly higher risk for uterine rupture or other complications I personally would not opt for a home birth. Becuase if that slight change became reality and something went wrong, would help be able to get to you fast enough?? I'd much rather have an OR down the hall than down the road.
Why did you need that 1 c-section? While I agree with you 100% that the policies are ridiculous, I fear a home birth is not a safe option for you. While the risk of rupture is not high, IF you did rupture you would be putting both your baby and yourself in serious danger. And medical interventions would not be at hand. I actually feel it would be irresponsible for a midwife to deliver a vbac in a home setting. Out of 4 births, you needed emergency interventions for 1. That's 25%. Unfortunately, I feel that given these cr@ppy circumstances, you really have either give in to their ridiculous conditions (are you SURE that's the way it's done there?) or you need to have a c-section. Having 3 vaginal births, you are a good candidate for a vbac, so it is a shame. But if God forbid anything went wrong, would you ever be able to forgive yourself?
If i were you, i'd consider traveling the 2 1/2 hours to a better hospital. I'd be leery of any hospital with those policies anyways. Also, check directly with the hospital to see if that truly is their policy. I would be surprised if it really is that dated. And if it is, you should be reporting them to ... i don't know exactly... the state? I was just talking yesterday with my neighbor who is a LC at a local hospital. She was explaining how they HAVE to stay current with all the current recommendations or the state will come down on them. Which she was thrilled about, because the state wants every possible thing done to support bf'ing such as rooming in, nursing immediately after birth, etc... Look into it and be an advocate.
If i were you, i'd consider traveling the 2 1/2 hours to a better hospital. I'd be leery of any hospital with those policies anyways. Also, check directly with the hospital to see if that truly is their policy. I would be surprised if it really is that dated. And if it is, you should be reporting them to ... i don't know exactly... the state? I was just talking yesterday with my neighbor who is a LC at a local hospital. She was explaining how they HAVE to stay current with all the current recommendations or the state will come down on them. Which she was thrilled about, because the state wants every possible thing done to support bf'ing such as rooming in, nursing immediately after birth, etc... Look into it and be an advocate.
All hospitals and OB's are different, but no matter what, they should always discuss the mother to be's birth plan in a much better way than what you received.
I agree with the home delivery 100%! If I had the insurance to pay for an at home delivery, that would be my first choice. There is just to many medical procedures these days that make delivery not so enjoyable.
I have always been considered high risk since my first child(working on #5 too) because I lost her at birth cause of a genetic disorder. BUT the doctors who delivered my other 3 children were amazing. We were always able to find a happy medium to what I wanted and what they felt was safe.
Anyways, I would totally high five you if I could for deciding on a home delivery!
I agree with the home delivery 100%! If I had the insurance to pay for an at home delivery, that would be my first choice. There is just to many medical procedures these days that make delivery not so enjoyable.
I have always been considered high risk since my first child(working on #5 too) because I lost her at birth cause of a genetic disorder. BUT the doctors who delivered my other 3 children were amazing. We were always able to find a happy medium to what I wanted and what they felt was safe.
Anyways, I would totally high five you if I could for deciding on a home delivery!
I am so sorry that they are not respecting your wishes and are pushing you to have a home birth. I don't know how you should handle them not taking your concerns seriously. I would say go to another hospital but you already explained why that isn't possible. :( My heart goes out to you and I hope that everything goes well for you and you get to have a nice relaxing home birth with little to no complications :) Another thing, I would never have my baby where they would keep the baby and only bring them to you so you can breast feed! OMG! There has to be something wrong with that. Having a baby is a family affair and I thought most hospitals thought that way :(
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