Posted by If you’re looking for VBAC success stories, I’m guessing it’s because your first birth didn’t go the way you wanted it to.
I know this all too well as I had wanted a natural birth with my firstborn but ended up with an emergency c-section.
When I got pregnant with my second child, I wasn’t so sure I wanted to go through the major surgery of a c-section again. Then I remembered that my doctor had told me that I could in fact try for a VBAC if I became pregnant again.
And thankfully, I was able to have one.
So if you’ve been googling things like “VBAC success stories” and “successful VBAC tips,” I’m here to share my personal birth story with you and why I think I was able to have a successful VBAC.
I hope you’ll be inspired to go for it!
Disclaimer: I am not a doctor. This is my personal story and meant for informational purposes only. Please seek medical advice from your provider for your unique situation.
Commit To Having A VBAC
The first step to having a successful VBAC is just committing to this birth plan if your doctor has approved it.
If you’re on the fence between having a VBAC or just going in for a scheduled c-section, ask yourself this:
- Are you ok with having a TOLAC (trial of labor after cesarean) but possibly ending up with an emergency c-section anyway?
- Are you willing to go through the pain of laboring (even pre-epidural)?
- Are you ok with having postpartum hemorrhoids from delivering vaginally that may take a year to completely go away?
If you answered yes to all of these questions, there’s no reason not to go for it.
I was only given a 50/50 chance of having a successful VBAC, but I knew it was something I really wanted to try even if it didn’t work out.
I’ll admit that it crossed my mind that going in for a scheduled c-section would be “easier” in the sense that I wouldn’t have to experience the pain of laboring contractions. But I knew that the pain that would come after the surgery would also be horrible and take much longer to heal than if I’d given birth vaginally.
This is exactly why I didn’t want to have another c-section. I remember the abdominal pain that didn’t allow me to sit up on my own or walk for days. And then being slow as a turtle.
Sure this was fine for the first kiddo. But now that I had a toddler at home…
I was terrified of this pain and that my 3 year old son would accidentally injure me just trying to run up for a hug.
I also didn’t want to be all loopy from the hard pain killers you have to take after a c-section.
So when a close friend of mine who had a VBAC told me that the postpartum healing was much easier than a c-section, I was curious (and now I know she was right).
This was enough motivation for me to at least want to try for a VBAC.
And so I committed to it.
Related post:
My VBAC Success Story
Then, at 37 1/2 weeks pregnant, I woke up around 6am with a trickling that quickly turned into my water breaking. It was the first sign of labor for me this pregnancy.
After my water broke, there were no immediate contractions to follow. But the hospital staff told me to come in right away as to not risk infection.
It was a calm morning as we gathered our hospital bags and left our almost 3 year old in the care of family for the next few days.
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The 15 minute ride to the hospital was unhurried and pain free. Completely unexpected and opposite of my first pregnancy.
And after being admitted to the hospital my contractions finally started. But they didn’t progress very far and actually stopped after a few hours.
Later that evening, I was given Pitocin to induce labor. If you didn’t experience Pitocin with your previous birth(s), let me tell you:
It’s like 0-90mph.
Contractions came on super fast and way stronger than with my first pregnancy which I labored through naturally without epidural all the way to 10cm dilated.
This time my body was convulsing uncontrollably at one point and I could hardly speak. It was the worst pain of my life.
I nearly missed my window for getting an epidural because I was trying to labor naturally for as long as possible like I had with my first pregnancy.
So why didn’t I get the epidural sooner?
One of the successful VBAC tips I’d read is that it’s best to labor naturally because epidurals can actually slow things down. Not ideal for a VBAC.
In my case, the Pitocin acted so quickly though. It was rough. But thankfully I was able to get the epidural just before pushing.
I labored for about 6 hours from my induction until my beautiful baby boy was born vaginally.
I remember feeling such a sense of accomplishment.
So what went right for me this time?
Successful VBAC Tips
VBAC Position (Baby and Mama)
A huge factor for me with my second delivery was that my baby was in the right position.
The reason I could not give birth vaginally with my first son was because he was “sunny-side up”. So he ended up getting stuck under my pubic bone and the doctor could not pull him out despite trying with the vacuum.
This time baby was in the anterior position as he should be.
Unfortunately, stuff like this is often out of our control.
But it’s definitely something to try to fix before you give birth if you even want a chance of having a successful VBAC.
If your doctor sees that your baby is in a funny position (like breech) close to your due date, there are some ways to try and get him to turn (here’s a good article on that).
As far as the position that I was in during delivery, it was just like you’d see in the movies. I pushed the entire time on my back, and I pulled my legs back with each push.
VBAC Diet and Exercise
If you’re wondering if my successful VBAC tips include doing any special diet or exercises to prepare for delivery, the answer is… not really?
I had a VBAC with gestational diabetes so I was already watching what I was eating to control my blood sugar with diet.
I kept in shape as best as I could with having a toddler around. This mostly meant taking leisurely walks and maybe some very light aerobic activity 20 minutes twice a week at home. I definitely wasn’t hitting the gym or doing a bunch of squats.
But I do think there is something to say for keeping your stamina up. Because as you know, they don’t call it labor because it’s easy.
Keeping healthy and exercising even moderately during pregnancy is always a good thing.
My Best Tip For A Successful VBAC
The real reason that I believe I had a successful VBAC though is because I had the right support.
I truly believe that if I hadn’t had the doctor I did, I would have given up.
Before he came into the room, I was laboring with nurses who were too “soft”. They weren’t really pushing me the way that I needed or giving me confidence.
In the back of my mind, I was already thinking, “This VBAC isn’t going to happen.”
When the doctor came in, he was getting in my face more and telling me to “PUUUUUSH!”…. “Another 10 seconds!”…. “This baby’s coming out in 15 minutes!”
He was confident, which gave me confidence in myself.
Of course, you don’t typically get to choose which doctor or nurses are going to actually deliver your baby.
So my advice for a successful VBAC would be to make sure you have the right professional support.
Does your doctor support a VBAC?
Will the other hospital staff support a VBAC if you end up with a different doctor during delivery?
Ask these questions.
If I could go back, I would have hired a doula. It’s important to have someone who is experienced with VBACS and will for sure be there to support you during labor and delivery.
Mine was left up to chance.
But I’m just grateful that the doctor I ended up with that night was really on board with the VBAC.
And of course, the stars aligned and my baby was in the right position and didn’t get too stressed (despite having the umbilical cord around his neck!)
I feel like a lot of doctor’s are quick to push c-sections when baby gets stressed for liability reasons, which makes sense.
It’s why so many birth plans just go right out the window. There’s no guarantee.
But, if you’re able to try for a VBAC, make sure everyone’s on board to give it the best shot.
And when you’re tired as shit of pushing, keep going.
You’re going to feel so proud of yourself when you give birth vaginally. And you’ll be happy you did when you go through a quicker and less painful postpartum recovery.
Thanks for reading my VBAC success story.
Good luck!
Related posts:
- Third Trimester Checklist: The Pregnancy To Do List You Won’t Want To Forget
- 21 Things You Need For Second Baby Registry List
Do you know any other successful VBAC tips? Let me know!
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