Advice and Tips...

[angelsgirl]

Hi!
I ended up having a Caesar with the birth of my first baby (11 weeks ago) and although I am not pregnant now, or planning to be in the near future, I was wondering if you ladies have any advice or tips about having a VBAC???
I would really like to try and have a VBAC next time.

Is there any length of time you need to wait between a Caesar and an attempted VBAC?
Is there anything I can do to start preparing myself for something that isn't going to happen at all soon?

My birth experience wasn't a bad one, even though i ended up with a Caesar... I would really just like to try and have a baby naturally.

Thanks!

[Tanstar]

Welcome to BB angelsgirl!!! You will find alot of support and advice here on VBAC and also general parenting advice too if you need it! Congratulations on your birth!

There is mixed advice out there about the time to wait but the most common timeframe given is 18mths between c/s and VBAC. I guess what you can do to prepare is just to read up on lots of positive birth stories, literature and ask lots of questions. I highly recommend saving up for a doula (labour attendant) as well, to give you the support prior and for your VBAC. Research hospital protocols regarding VBAC, find out how long they will let you labour for, when will they want to book you in for a c/s if you go overdue, do they want CFM.
Mmm that's all I can think of right now - there are some great books you can read too, I am about to get my hands on Silent Knife which is highly recommended, the VBAC Companion, Thinking Womans Guide to a Better CHildbirth, The Labour of Love and New Active Birth are great general books too.
Good luck!

[angelsgirl]

Can I ask a silly question???
What is CFM?

[Ozziehoffy]

Not a silly question at all!! CFM is continual fetal monitoring. Some hospitals have that as protocol in VBAC situations. Others may agree to monitor every hour or so, it really depends on them. Where I went they lean more towards CFM, but I didn't want that if all was ok. They were happy to be flexible. Although in the end with me they found he was in distress when I got there so all systems go and he had to be monitored which was fine with me. Healthy baby and mum are the main thing.

Like Tan said, research and reading and speaking to others who have had experiences with VBAC's will be of benefit to you. I did hypnobirthing and found that to be invaluable. It's also known as calm birthing. I didn't know much about VBAC's or anything until I came across the Belly Belly website. I went on to have a drug free VBAC and it was wonderful. There's lots of ladies here who can give you info and there's also sticky threads on it too. If you have questions... ask them even if you feel silly.

[*PinkLilly*]

Angel - I am in the same boat as you. DD was born via emergency c-section (she got stuck) after labouring for near on 12 hours. I really want to have a VBAC for baby #2.

Tan - when you say 18 months between, is that 18 months between the birth's or between the first birth and falling pregnant???