The Birth of Andrew Zachary

When I got pregnant with my second child I could not decide for a while if I wanted to VBAC or just take an option of RCS. Based on my previous experience, RCS appeared to be more attractive, an easier option as the most trauma I received with my first was during the labor and recovery process. Having to go through almost vaginal delivery, pushing for 2.5 hours, having vacuum applied with no success and eventually with cesarean was pretty hard to recover from. When I finally selected to go VBAC route, my biggest fear was to repeat the same path I went through the first time. I did however learned a few lessons which I thought would set me on the right path even if things were to start going in the same directions. There were 5 things I was planning on doing differently this time:

1. If the water starts leaking with no contractions, I would delay going to the hospital for as long as possible (up to 24 hours) and explore various methods to get the labor started.
2. Once in the hospital I would eat light food and drink keeping in mind safety of course, but not letting the hospital to exhaust me to the point that I can’t push the baby out
3. Getting an epidural as late as possible so it doesn’t stall the labor (I was on epidural at 3sm with my first and for 13 hours before I even started pushing)
4. Hire a doula
5. Go to chiropractor regularly

My due date was on 5/7 so when I had more than a usual discharge on the evening of 4/25, I didn’t think much of it. By Tuesday morning I knew for sure that it was my water that has started leaking. Based on the previous experience I was determined not to go to the hospital for as much as I could. With advice of my doula I tried different exercises, walking, sitting on the birthing ball to get the contractions started. I also tried to eat and rest well so when I get to the hospital for the interventions I am well prepared. Later that afternoon I went to my doctor to verify that it was indeed the amniotic fluid which continued leaking. Once confirmed we decided that I would go to the hospital around 7pm that night. I was 2-3sm dilated and 70% effaced with baby being pretty high still (-3).

Once in the hospital, they started me on antibiotics and low dosage of Pitocin. By Wednesday morning the Pitocin was only at 4 which did absolutely nothing. But at least I could get 3-4 hours of sleep that night. I tried walking in the hallways of the Labor&Delivery, did more exercises, but nothing helped. When my doctor checked me Wednesday morning I was maybe 3+sm with the same effacement. Over the next few hours they increased Pitocin to 8.  With my doctor we have also decided that if there was no progress by 2pm they will disconnect me from everything, and let me eat and walk and rest for a few hours. That sounded so good. Once Pitocin was disconnected my barely noticable contractions went completely away. At that time I was already ruptured for 40 hours and in the hospital for 20 with no labor in sight. I can’t describe how grateful I am to my doctor and the hospital for not even once showing impatience with me and mentioning anything about c-section.

Once I was connected back to the monitoring and drugs I started feeling some contractions by the time Pitocin was at 6. My doula came to visit and we chatted for a while, my contractions were getting stronger as nurses were increasing Pitocin, but still not even close to what you would call painful. When doula left around 9pm, we decided I get some rest and call her when I need her. Well, it is then I realized I can’t sleep through those contractions (Pitocin was at 12 at that point) and soon after I needed to stand and breath through them. The nurse came in and said the contractions were 4 min apart and they needed those to be 3 min apart, so she increased Pitocin to 14. Well, finally they achieved what they were looking for. I was in pain and contractions were close enough together. My doula returned around 10:20pm and this is when I needed her the most. If you remember one of my objectives was to hold off on getting the epidural as long as possible. The nurses told me it would take about an hour to get an epidural in. I called for it around 12:45am after trying every position I could and the shower. I also felt guilty getting the epidural as I knew not much time has passed. My doula was very supportive though and told me that Pitocin contractions are much stronger so I should get it if I feel I needed it. But she advised me to be checked before it. I was 5-6sm, 100% effaced and baby at 0. It was a great progress and all I needed was to dilate some more. I felt really optimistic about the progress and that I would definitely have a successful VBAC this time around. The baby appeared to be smaller than my first one and I was in much better position (physically and emotionally) before they put the epidural in.

We slept for a bit and at 2:30am I was dilated to 10. The nurse has asked me to sit in certain position to “labor down” for an hour while they would call the doctor. I was closer than ever to my baby. I felt strong and rested compared to my first labor. When my doctor came in she advised me not to push, but rest some more. However my contractions felt painful down there and I really could not sleep through them. I either needed to push or another dosage of epidural. She agreed to have me start pushing. I had a mirror up and felt I was pushing way better than with my first as I could see what I was doing. However after an hour no baby has shown up. The doctor came in and called for anesthesiologist and said I really needed to rest. In the series of pushes my first push was good, but the second and third were weak. It was 4:30am Thursday morning.

At 6am we resumed, the doctor did not like how swollen I was down there, but she had the best attitude ever. She looked at me and said that we were going to push this baby out in 30 min. She said I needed to get mad during the pushing and assured me that I can certainly do it. I was super excited and empowered. However, 30 or so min later things didn’t progress as planned and because of the swell she could not assist me as she wanted to. Moreover I tore a bit and while she was trying to get that taken care of there were some concerns in their voices. At that point I didn’t have the mirror up and was not sure what was happening. It was the bleeding. They could not understand why I was bleeding so much. It was then when my doctor told me I needed to push this baby out in 10 min. I tried to push him out with the next push, but it was not successful. At that point the baby’s heart rate dropped, my heart rate skyrocketed to 130, my blood pressure fell to 80/40 and I felt sweaty and about to pass out. My doctor looked at me and said that I was bleeding very much and she just doesn’t know if this is from my uterus (aka rupture) or from somewhere else. I asked her what would she advise to do next and she said c-section. I had no doubt in my mind it was the best and safest decision at that point. There were no external factors driving that decision. Just my health and the health of my baby. And I was so in peace with it. I remember thinking “what was taking them so long to get me to the operating room”.

It turned out I was bleeding from the cervix, but my uterus was very thin. It hasn’t ruptured though, which was great. Baby had the cord around his neck and did have a big head and wide shoulders (according to one of the assisting doctor). While they commented that the baby was big, he was a whole pound less than my first, so for me he was tiny at just 7lb 12oz.

My recovery has been great. Physically and emotionally I feel very good. The baby latched to the breast right after the surgery and has such a strong grip that I am having a hard time unlatching him even with my finger. Very strong boy.

Here I was, having gone through exact same steps as I had with my first baby and which is what I was most scared off and yet feeling completely different about my whole experience. I am convinced it is the journey not a destination that is so awesome about the opportunity to VBAC. I have learned so much and have met so many awesome providers that I don’t regret a one bit that I have chosen this path. I hope you get your VBAC, but even if you don’t, through this journey you will have the opportunity to find the answers to the questions that may have been unanswered with your first c-section.