VBAC

Yes, I did the squatting and scrubbing with DD, but at the end it didn't help much anyway. Am just squatting these days, really hope SOMETHING works. I do feel these sharp twinges during Braxton Hicks. I had a lot of BH with DD, but don't really remember any pain. Just a lot of discomfort. Or maybe my severe SPD pain overshadowed it.

Bounce on a birthing ball, don't recline at all on your back on the couch or in bed, they say getting down on the floor on all fours and scrubbing floors is a good way to get your baby into position, instead of scrubbing floors you can just sway though lol!! The evening Primrose Oil is to ripen your cervix. I used it on the night of my due date and 24 hours later contractions started - coincidence????? I don't know but will be using it again this pregnancy at the 40 week mark again :)

Yeah you do what you have to, its great if a VBAC can happen but end of the day, if you do need another sections, you'll manage, plenty of women do. I have no idea how the EPO works tbh, was just thinking about home remedies in general, what I was meaning was that if you somehow trigger things before baby is in the right place, odds of VBAC failing are higher. Also I know they don't induce you with cervix softenening gels etc when you have had a c section as they potentially also soften your scar. Maybe the walking being uncomfortable means baby is about to make its appearance anyway? I wouldn't kill yourself walking, you'll need that energy soon enough! Do you have a birthing ball at home?, I remember my midwife telling me to sit and bounce on that as often as possible during pregnancy (although that pregnancy ended up being a scheduled c section anyway and I never bothered with the bouncing second time around).

Thanks Kiwi. So, so bummed that they can't wait for a week or 10 days after the due date; but I guess baby's health comes first. I thought taking EPO just ripens the cervix but doesn't really induce unless you take it vaginally? I was planning to take a few oral tabs because apparently it also helps with diabetes. I'm not in favour of inducing however natural the ways are, only because I think that it's not right to rush baby out. But I just want to help him get into a good position so that he might start moving things at his own pace :) Don't know if I'm making sense? BTW, walking is turning out to be painful in the pelvic area. I walked for a bit last night, didn't even overdo it, but the pain in the pelvic region was insane. :(

Be upright a lot, squat like crazy yes, don't sit back in a chair or the couch! Taking things to induce labour, hmmm probably no because its not really the size of your baby that's the issue, its far more important that your baby is in the best position (which in itself will help trigger labour. Maybe get a size estimation from a radiologist/sonographer as they tend to be more accurate than the obgyns. I was crawling around in the softplay with my 2.5 year old while having contractions, haha probably that helped get my baby where she needed to be, certainly kept me busy!

Sorry Mallqueen for stealing your thread, but just wanted to share my news and get some feedback from everyone. at my last check up, the doc saw the size of the baby and said if I don't go into spontaneous labour by my due date, she will not like to wait. This is purely because of the complications and concerns because of my Gestational Diabetes. I trust my doctor completely and I do believe she wants what's best for me and the baby, but I know it will be h**l for my 2.5 year old DD if I can't pick her up after a c sec for a few weeks. This and a quicker recovery were the main reasons I wanted a vbac. My doc has asked me to not give up and walk a lot to help baby get into a natural labor position, but I was wondering if there's anything else that can also help? The Evening Primrose Oil thing? Or squatting like crazy? Or some other age-old tip? TIA

I had an emergency c-sec with my first baby (pregnant now with 2nd). You will know when your labour starts believe me :) Mine started the day after my due date in the evening, contractions were painful enough for me to actually hold my breath for a second or two till they passed and I couldn't sleep through them but could talk. They started at 5 mins apart and slowly over the next 48 hours (yes 48 flippin hours!) they got closer together until they reached 2 minutes apart. At 8.30 in the morning we went to hospital to be checked and I was 3cm dilated so they said I could stay in. I progressed slowly so ended up being induced. I was also told as it was Ramadan and a Friday the epidural guy was on call but was in at that very moment so did I want one? I panicked thinking if I said no I wouldn't be able to have one at all so I had one at 5cm dilated. At 7pm I was told I wasn't progressing fast enough and would have a C-section. I said no. The Dr said he'd wait an hour, he did and I was 8cm so they took me down for a C-section. On the way down I was so upset and nervous about being sliced open I told the epidural guy I could still feel my feet surely that wasn't right if I was about to be cut open so he kept topping up the epidural until I felt freezing cold and was a dead weight from the waist down. Biggest mistake of my life!! I got down to theatre and was told I was 10cms and to try pushing - I couldn't do it, couldn't feel a thing and didn't know what to do so my baby was born via C-section at 8.30. This time, as there is no medical reason for me to require a C-section, I am aiming for a VBAC with as little intervention as possible, I do not want inducing or my waters breaking or an epidural. I am going to research hypno-birthing and get a doula and I am searching for the perfect OBGYN who will let me just get on with it. I plan to stay at home until I feel I can't talk through the contractions and will keep active through them unlike last time. Of course if a C-section is required again that's fine at least I now know what to expect but they can knock me out under general instead this time as I would like the sleep lol!!! I've read that you use the same muscles to push a p**h out so next time you're sat on the toilet remember that's what you need to do to get your baby out ;) You'll be fine x

Cleo, I never had a labour at all with my first baby, he was a scheduled c-section due to position. I never even had a braxton hicks (with either baby)! At about 5am the day after my due date I felt twinges which were like period cramps, and went back to sleep. They got stronger during the day but it wasn't until afternoon that I was sure they weren't just braxton hicks. They were not debilitating at all, really I would say the day felt like the first day of a bad period until around 5pm then at that point I was definitely feeling something more, but I was still able to talk through them. I went to the hospital at around 8pm (after I put my son to bed) by that point I was struggling to talk during the peak of each contraction (for around 20 seconds I guess) but absolutely fine the rest of the time. By the time they examined me I was 7 cm/fully effaced and I went straight to he delivery suite. I didn't really have a lot of pain until I was around 9cm (obviously there was pain but not scary pain, I was sitting on the bed watching TV in between, actually it was really boring, if I had lived closer to the hospital I tink I would have stayed at home longer, once you are in the hospital you have no distractions and nothing else to do but sit there or pace around an ugly hospital room) at 9cm the OBGYN broke my waters, in retrospect I wish she hadn't, things got a lot more intense after that and I think it would have taken slightly longer but been less painful maybe if she had left things as they were, I can't help but wonder if she was getting tired and just wanted to hurry things along a bit (she technically wasn't actually on duty but came in as a favour to me). At 9cm my body actually started pushing, as in I wasn't trying to push but I could feel that I was probably actually pushing with each contraction, I would say I had about an hour of things being pretty full-on until I was fully dilated and got the green light to actually try and push, from that point apparently I pushed for 5 contractions and baby was out (so that's really only properly pushing for less than 10 minutes although I had no real concept of time). So all went very smoothly and it was technically an "easy" birth although I don't think there is really such a thing is there :). Everybody's labour is different though, some people have more pain and for some the pushing phase is longer. I do think it probably helped that I was active in the early stages (I took my son to the mall and even did a supermarket shop) and that because I didn't have an epidural I was able to be pushing in the kneeling position rather than on my back. I felt very calm/in control during my labour and honestly I would have loved it if I could have just been completely by myself at home in many ways (although I'm far too over-cautious to ever actually have a home-birth. I did try the gas and air but I didn't really like how spaced out it made me feel and I just couldn't really focus with the mask on so I didn't end up using it. I think you have to give yourself a break though, if I had felt the pain was too much I would totally have had an epidural, I just wasn't keen on an instrumental birth or emergency c-section which obviously result in more pain afterwards so I figured as long as I could cope then I wouldn't bother with one. One thing I would do differently if I could go back would be to have a doula present, my husband was great and my Dr was great but the nurses were not that helpful and I can see how a doula would actually have been really good and keeping them on their toes and suggesting ways to make me more comfortable. HTH xxx Thanks so much for sharing! I never got to experience labour either so this time around I'm a little paranoid thinking "how will I know" and "what will it feel like". Your labour and delivery sounds fantastic and I can only hope mine goes just as smoothly. I hope first of all- that i go into labour naturally- then i hope to stay home for as long as possible to labour at home. I remember when i was induced with my first, i had an epidural and couldn't feel myself push. My biggest fear is not knowing how to push or feeling the urge to push hence why id like to stay away from an epidural this time around.

Cleo, I never had a labour at all with my first baby, he was a scheduled c-section due to position. I never even had a braxton hicks (with either baby)! At about 5am the day after my due date I felt twinges which were like period cramps, and went back to sleep. They got stronger during the day but it wasn't until afternoon that I was sure they weren't just braxton hicks. They were not debilitating at all, really I would say the day felt like the first day of a bad period until around 5pm then at that point I was definitely feeling something more, but I was still able to talk through them. I went to the hospital at around 8pm (after I put my son to bed) by that point I was struggling to talk during the peak of each contraction (for around 20 seconds I guess) but absolutely fine the rest of the time. By the time they examined me I was 7 cm/fully effaced and I went straight to he delivery suite. I didn't really have a lot of pain until I was around 9cm (obviously there was pain but not scary pain, I was sitting on the bed watching TV in between, actually it was really boring, if I had lived closer to the hospital I tink I would have stayed at home longer, once you are in the hospital you have no distractions and nothing else to do but sit there or pace around an ugly hospital room) at 9cm the OBGYN broke my waters, in retrospect I wish she hadn't, things got a lot more intense after that and I think it would have taken slightly longer but been less painful maybe if she had left things as they were, I can't help but wonder if she was getting tired and just wanted to hurry things along a bit (she technically wasn't actually on duty but came in as a favour to me). At 9cm my body actually started pushing, as in I wasn't trying to push but I could feel that I was probably actually pushing with each contraction, I would say I had about an hour of things being pretty full-on until I was fully dilated and got the green light to actually try and push, from that point apparently I pushed for 5 contractions and baby was out (so that's really only properly pushing for less than 10 minutes although I had no real concept of time). So all went very smoothly and it was technically an "easy" birth although I don't think there is really such a thing is there :). Everybody's labour is different though, some people have more pain and for some the pushing phase is longer. I do think it probably helped that I was active in the early stages (I took my son to the mall and even did a supermarket shop) and that because I didn't have an epidural I was able to be pushing in the kneeling position rather than on my back. I felt very calm/in control during my labour and honestly I would have loved it if I could have just been completely by myself at home in many ways (although I'm far too over-cautious to ever actually have a home-birth. I did try the gas and air but I didn't really like how spaced out it made me feel and I just couldn't really focus with the mask on so I didn't end up using it. I think you have to give yourself a break though, if I had felt the pain was too much I would totally have had an epidural, I just wasn't keen on an instrumental birth or emergency c-section which obviously result in more pain afterwards so I figured as long as I could cope then I wouldn't bother with one. One thing I would do differently if I could go back would be to have a doula present, my husband was great and my Dr was great but the nurses were not that helpful and I can see how a doula would actually have been really good and keeping them on their toes and suggesting ways to make me more comfortable. HTH xxx

yes but not in Dubai, I had a VBAC in Doha last year. My Dr said it was best not to induce as this increases the risk of rupture, her htoughts were that labour should happen spontaneously or not at all. If I had gone longer than 10 days past my due date without going into labour then the plan would have been scheduled c-section. I actually did my own research and to me it looked like the risk of induction was really only when the induction was after your due date. There did not seem to be an increased risk if induced early or with spontaneous labour up to 10 days after due date but maybe do your own research on that. She also told me that they would be more conservative in terms of monitoring and progression of labour. I basically stayed at home and kept moving as long as possible so that I would not be sitting around at the hospital in the early stages. I chose not to have an epidural so that I could have freedom of position and my Dr was actually pretty good at agreeing not to do continous monitoring although I was monitored probably more than I regular birth Kiwi, I'm planning a VBAC here in Canada with #2. I was induced with my first and never actually went through 'labour' and didn't feel a thing with an epidural- no contractions, no pushing.. nothing. I'm planning on doing it drug free this time (wish me luck). I just wanted to know, how was your labour experience? Was it long? Did you have any trouble with the pushing phase? And when did you decide it was time to go to the hospital? Im just afraid of unnecessary interventions this time around and want to do what I can to avoid another 'unecesarian'

yes but not in Dubai, I had a VBAC in Doha last year. My Dr said it was best not to induce as this increases the risk of rupture, her htoughts were that labour should happen spontaneously or not at all. If I had gone longer than 10 days past my due date without going into labour then the plan would have been scheduled c-section. I actually did my own research and to me it looked like the risk of induction was really only when the induction was after your due date. There did not seem to be an increased risk if induced early or with spontaneous labour up to 10 days after due date but maybe do your own research on that. She also told me that they would be more conservative in terms of monitoring and progression of labour. I basically stayed at home and kept moving as long as possible so that I would not be sitting around at the hospital in the early stages. I chose not to have an epidural so that I could have freedom of position and my Dr was actually pretty good at agreeing not to do continous monitoring although I was monitored probably more than I regular birth