This is mine! I apologize in advance as I am not known for my brevity!

We are military, so we don’t get to pick our doctors/providers and aren’t always guaranteed to see the same person for each appointment. I received prenatal care for both of my pregnacies at the same Women’s Health Clinic on the same base. I knew that they were pro-VBAC. The OB who did my c/s stressed that I could have a VBAC next time (and was not pushy about the decision to do a c/s… I ended up opting for it myself after being stuck at 7cm and 9cm for hours with a posterior baby who had a very large head – he came out with bruises on his head). I had also discussed VBAC with each of the providers I saw there for my annual appointments prior to getting pregnant with my second.

At one of my initial appointments for my second pregnancy, I said that I would be having a VBAC this time, and the provider I saw was not positive at all – she told me that if I went into labor before my due date they’d probably let me try a trial of labor, but she expected they’d section me if I went past my due date. It was a huge let down considering that most of the providers there had been positive about VBAC.

I found a nurse pratitioner who was supportive of my plans and scheduled as many of my appointments as possible with her, but as I neared delivery, I was required to have a VBAC consult with an OB where I would be advised of the risks and all that jazz. I was nervous that I would see the same provider who had been so negative early on, but instead I saw a male provider who was a bit older and more old fashioned – he had actually been the doctor who discharged me after my c/s with my son (but was not the doctor who performed the c/s). My NP told me that the OB was fascinated by surgery, so you can imagine how nervous I was for all the scare tactics that I was sure would come (I was taking Hypnobirthing classes and didn’t want any negativity).

At my VBAC consult, he did the usual prenatal checks and asked me my plans for delivery… when he found out I was planning a VBAC, he was extremely supportive and told me his wife had had both a c/s and a VBAC in the 80s. After his wife’s c/s, she had taken the baby out for a walk and had gotten stuck at the bottom of a large hill she was not able to push the stroller up due to her incision pain. She had ended up having to find a phone at a nearby store to call him to pick her and the baby up in the car. She went on to have a VBAC for their next child, and he said that watching her recovery after her VBAC was amazing and that he would never recommend a repeat c/s over a VBAC unless there was a very real reason for doing so.

He never did give me the risks that he was supposed to go over at that VBAC consult… the NP ended up having to give them to me herself since they were required and I had to sign a form acknowledging that I’d been briefed on those risks (not exempting them from liability), but she didn’t employ any scare tactics and was again, extremely supportive.

I’m happy to report that I DID have my VBAC… quick and easy, four days after my EDD, born into the nurses’ hands less than five minutes after arriving at the hospital! No drugs, no IVs, no monitoring… nothing but birth the way it was intended to be.