Thread: *~*~Robin's (nibor_55) Birth Lodge~*~*

Welcome to your lodge, hope to hear about your successful VBAC in a few weeks

How are you feeling today? I hope your doing well, and I look forward to hearing your sucessfull VBAC story soon

I have been feeling pretty great! I have to admit i think a lot has to do with the chiropractor. I no longer have back pains during the night and interrupting my sleep. between the chiro visits and my new bed i really cant complain about sleep. Although I wouldnt mind a catheter be put in until after delivery LOL. I dread getting up to use the bathroom anymore! I am stressing about getting taxes done, baby gear washed and maternity leave papers done... and its kinda sinking in that I have about only 3 weeks left to get all this done. I have a OB appointment today, then see the perinatologist on monday. Thats really the big one I care about. I talked to the hosptal about their monitoring and IV rules for VBACers and they said its all up to the doc so ill have lots of questions. I had already talked to them a little and they told me they dont want to induce if im late which I dont want anyway! and my US on monday will estimate how big the baby is. Hopefully they wont give me the too big baby bit and i will start labor on my own. my first was 8lb 10oz. but, I honestly feel like they are on my side and have done lots of successful VBACs so i feel like im in good hands. I just need to do all I can on my end to make sure things go differently.

That's great that you're feeling so well!! GL with the perintologist!!

Well I have been into see my OB for the last time, everything looked good. I declined the cervical check. I don’t really have any issues with them except I personally just didn’t see the point and lets face it, they aren’t fun. During my first pregnancy it felt like I was getting checked at every single appointment and I kid you not. I thought it was the norm, but when I switched different OB’s this time, they said they only do them at 12 and 38 weeks. It was so awesome to go through a whole pregnancy without getting poked down there. I can barely stand DTD right now. There will be a time where I will give in and hopefully that will be labor. I was also informed that if I think I am in labor I need to go in and they will determine and send me to the bigger city by ambulance. I understand I am technically their patient, but will definitely find a way around that. I will either drive up on my own or stay up there a couple days prior and after my EDD. It just totally threw me off. I’ve had a plan this whole time, and an ambulance was not part of it. I think it’s safe to say that I will not have my baby in the car on an hour and a half drive to the hospital. If anything I am expecting the drawn out labor that I had with my first.

I finally got my medical records from my first pregnancy. Cephalo pelvic disproportion was not what was listed as the cause for C-section. Even though that’s clearly what she said it was the minute before they were preparing me for surgery. I was diagnosed with FTP and chorioamnionitis. Even though I made it to 9cm and can be I think if I waited a little longer I could have reached 10 and was able to get up and moving around he could have turned to more easier position. Now, I am not a doctor so I could be very wrong, but that possibility that it could have went differently kind of upsets me. I looked up the chorioamnionitis and it sounded a lot like what happened and was likely caused by AROM and occurs in up to 2% of births in the US. Seems kind of low and am baffled as to how I could be in that 2%? But that’s in the past, and I need to focus on things going differently this time. It was just a little interesting to learn after all this time…

I saw the perinatologist last Monday and got an U/S. Baby is measuring 6lbs 14oz and I was guessing he was about 7 lbs by then. I spoke to the doctor about monitoring and he wants me to be monitored, hopefully they will allow me to move around and not be monitored constantly. He also said by 40 week, which is the 16th, if I’m not dilated or have any kind of cervical change they seriously recommend c-section by that time. I told him that if by 41 weeks if nothing has happened we can talk about the c-section as long as nothing is out of the ordinary. I have been having some contractions, not overly painful and nothing consistent but I feel like they are doing something. I feel very different this past week. I still don’t think anything will be happening until around my EDD, but I honestly don’t think I will go past my due date. But I am the type that doesn’t like restrictions. He said he doesn’t think I will have any problems. Which is nice to hear, but his attitude sure did change from when I saw him at 27 weeks. I have an appointment again today with the perinatologist only I will see another doc in their office. I guess they have a couple of midwives and kind of hoping to see one of them. Where I will be asking the same questions just to double check and get a better idea of what I am dealing with. I am still feeling pretty good about all of this, but my EDD is in 10 days and I have to prepare for anything. I am trying to wrap my mind around the fact that I could possibly end up with another c-sec and I know I must prepare myself to be ok with this, but it’s going to be much harder than last time. But I am much more confident with the knowledge I have obtained the past few months and feel much healthier than I was at the end with Johnny. I have been seeing a chiropractor and have gained less than half of what I did with Johnny. I haven’t had much noticeable swelling and I’m feeling great with less than 2 weeks left.

I am relieved that I have gotten my maternity leave papers for work finished, clothes washed and put away, P&P, bassinet, and car seat washed and ready for baby. Hopefully taxes don’t and tires bought and put on by today or tomorrow! I’m slowly getting there, but am relieved already with what I did get done.

I'm with you on declining cervix checks. I would prefer to avoid those. Yeah, I wouldn't want to go from the dr office to the hospital in an ambulance, either. It's good that you found out more about what happened last time so you can understand how to avoid another c-section.

Does your hospital have remote monitoring that would allow you to still move around while being monitored? If they don't and they want to monitor you continuously, I've heard you can just ask to go to the bathroom a lot.

I think you are wise to push of scheduling a c-section until after 41 weeks.

I haven't had a cervical check yet, I didn't realize some places did them as early as 12 weeks! Hopefully your little guy will come in the next 10 days so you won't have to worry about fighting off a c-section, but good for you standing your ground til at least 41 weeks!

So I had my appointment with the perinatologist yesterday and it turned out to be a pointless and frustrating trip. We left at 12:15 and got there just in time at 2:00pm. I waited for about 45 minutes before asking what the holdup was. I understand that appointments can run behind and especially in a bigger city, but I saw 10 women go in an out before me when they came in after. I finally asked the receptionist what the holdup, after all this was only supposed to be a consult to see a different doctor in that office. She said that doctor wanted to do a cervical check and was waiting on a room. I didn’t feel like going into a whole discussion on the issue so I figured they would send me in a little. So about 20 minutes later she said they are ready for me in the other office. I walk into the other office and there is another full waiting room full of unseen patients that came in after me. So they take my blood pressure, I take a urine sample which I thought was weird because they never do that. So finally after an hour and a half of waiting, the nurse takes me into the room and says the doctor wants to do an exam, I told her I would like to decline it. She looked at me confused for a minute and said ok, let me tell them that you decline. The doctor comes in and says “what was the reason you wanted to be seen”. I quickly said Dr. D wanted me to come up here for another consult with a different doctor in this office. I was just so upset because these people didn’t even know why I was up here and I wanted to cancel the minute I made the appt because I didn’t see the point. He apologized for being confused and just figured I was up here for a cervical exam. OMG! The discussion afterwards didn’t go much better. He said next time we really recommend a cervical exam, at which point we can see how you are progressing. If there is no cervical change then we will recommend a RCS at this time will be at 39.5. I asked him how common is it for a pregnant woman to go into labor before 40 weeks? He said it’s very common and because of VBAC they really don’t like to see a woman go past her EDD. I don’t have a degree to be a doctor but I thought it was more normal for a woman to go over her EDD? Then he said if you are dilated and soft then we will probably rupture your membranes to get you started. He was just really pushing this 39.5 week, getting labor started thing. This is in one week too! I asked him if he recommended anything natural to start first. He said “rupture of membranes, that’s the most natural its going to get”. I had to say “Artifical rupture of membranes?” What part of artificial means natural? He replied with “that’s what happens anyway when a womans body starts labor”. Really Doc? I was just so fed up! I told him they did AROM and that’s what likely caused my chorioamnionitis and I am trying to stay away from that whole scenario! Why am I making such an effort to do this VBAC far away from my home to have the same exact thing done as last time? He set me up with another appointment back up there so they can do a cervical exam to see how I was doing. I just went along and nodded towards the end or I would have burst into tears. I knew that by next week they wouldn’t even remember the conversation or me anyway. So I set up an appointment but was confused about transfer of care and billing issues. I don’t really care about billing issues, just give me the damn appointment. She said something about my reg OB and if I should see him or just keep going to them and asked what would be easiest for me. I told her it would be easiest for me to not drive 75 miles for a 2 hour consult. She nodded in agreement and said well we will be down there in SV next Monday so I quickly took that appt. Knowing they wont try anything at that time, because I wont be in the hospital campus and I would be 75 miles away with 3 more days till my due date. I just don’t understand these people! It is almost the exact thing I am trying to get away from except they will let me “attempt” to have a VBAC. He said I have a 70% chance of success, and we really want to help you. I just thought ya maybe with another doctor. He said I absolutely have to be monitored the whole time, but that I can also get up and move around because I guess they have telemetry. Like I said, I am just really having a hard time accepting these restrictions. I really have to start walking, DTD anything I can by the end of the week before they start pressuring me. It is just really upsetting! I could cancel my appointment and just go to the hospital when I am well into labor. My sister avoided her doc the whole week past her EDD, her doc got on her a little saying “why haven’t you come in, we would have had that baby last week.”

I understand the further I go past my EDD the more risks of complications arise, but why do they need to intervene at 39.5 weeks? I think a lot can happen between 39.5-40.5 weeks. That’s all I ask, and I am confident I will be able to push for that. It just really stinks that they pretend to be confident and in my corner until the last week. Am I being careless and selfish? Or does this guy sound like a total whack job?

On a happier note! The trip didn’t end in TOTAL disappointment. I got to come back with dunkin donuts and eegees! LOL

So sorry to hear about your disappointing appointment, and the seeming lack of support from the only people who seem like they should be supporting it.

Do you have a doula? Maybe if you have a doula it would help you get the support you want/need at the hospital. After all, it can be tough to be in labour let alone have to maintain your consciousness sufficiently to argue for you and baby’s best interest. If someone else who is on board with you and you trust can help you, that would be great.

That appointment does sound like a total bummer! And the doctor sounds little clueless about how pregnancy actually works, are you SURE he has a medical degree? I really hope you get your VBAC after all the work you put into it, doctors in AZ sound less than supportive