Two Amazing Hospital VBAC’s!!!

This mama had 2 VBAC’s in the hospital with midwives. She shares both here. Enjoy!

These are my birth stories for my 2 VBAC’s, I have three sons and my first was an ‘elective’ caeser due to him being breech. It left me with feelings of failure, which lead to breastfeeding failure and mild PPD. I then researched, researched, researched VBAC for any future babies. 🙂

First VBAC:

I would like to share my birth story about my second son. With my first son, Jake, I had an ‘elective’ caeser and I was quite devastated.  I never even went in to labour. He was breech and 4.6kgs so I had no choice really.

I always knew that any other children I had would be a VBAC, so when I fell pregnant with my second son I armed myself with information and went through a VBAC clinic.

I went into labour the afternoon before my due date, as I lay in bed having gentle contractions every 20 minutes. I was so excited about what lay ahead! They gradually became closer together and by 9pm they were 5-7mins apart. I just went into a zone and looking back it is something that I did quite naturally and barely even acknowledged my husband (who was with me the whole time). By 11pm they were nearly 2 minutes apart and we left for the hospital, which was about 15 minutes away.

The midwives (angels!) took me straight to the birth suite and I continued to labour. I paced and breathed through the contractions. I just had to keep moving and in between them I stood up against the bed and just tried to relax. Sometime around 1.30am, the midwives asked me if I wanted pain relief, an epidural. Another contraction came and I never got around to answering them and they never asked again. I just didn’t feel like I needed it, I was coping. It hurt A LOT, but I was coping.

I started to push at around 3, maybe 3.30am. As this was a VBAC, an OB had to be around to check on me. After I had been pushing for about an hour and coping quite well with the support from the midwives and my husband, the OB came in again and announced that I had been pushing for too long and I would need another caeser, as this was going to be another big baby.

I was in the ‘do whatever you want’ frame of mind by now, but my husband knew just how badly I wanted a successful VBAC, as did the midwives, and they spoke up on my behalf. The midwives got another 1/2 hour out of her! They were so fantastic!

My healthy, big (4.2kgs) son, Noah, was born not 15 minutes later, completely unmedicated to an extremely happy and proud mum!!!! I just kept saying ‘I did it! I did it!!’, and the midwives just kept saying “You sure did sweetie!!!!!”

Apart from a little gas as they stitched me up (I had an epesiotomy and some tearing), that was it. It was so great to be able to get up, have a shower and not have a catheter or fluids or anything else. Just me and my son 🙂

Second VBAC:

I would like to share my birth story of my third son, Rafael Antoine, born 18th Oct @11.17 pm, 10lb 6 oz!

This is the story of my VBAC#2 with my third son. I had a successful unmedicated VBAC 2 years ago and when I fell pregnant at the start of the year there was no question that I would do it again.

I was ‘due’ Friday 15th, Oct and it came and went. While I know they are a complete estimate, I still had it circled on my calendar and was counting down the days. I was so big and tired and uncomfortable. My mum came to pick up my boys for the weekend so I could get some rest as it was going to happen soon.

I woke up on Sunday morning at 7.30 am and rolled over and my waters broke! I was so excited!

My husband and I went to the hospital for a check as this was a VBAC and the midwives wanted to see me, just to make sure all is OK. Almost straight away I started to have irregular contractions that didn’t hurt, but I knew it was starting to happen. I spent all of Saturday in bed. I was so tired and I am so glad I got this rest! Nothing happened over night. I continued to leak and continued to have irregular contractions.

Monday morning we went back to hospital for another check as it had been 24 hrs since waters had broken.The midwives weren’t concerned at all and said they wouldn’t worry about it until they had been broken for more than 96 hours. Back home (the hospital is very close to us) and back to bed, I slept for a few hours and contractions stopped. When I woke up at lunchtime and sat up in bed I had an almighty contraction and knew that things were really one their way now!!!

By 4.30 pm we went to hospital, I manged the contractions at home by breathing, pacing and “oohing and aahing” (my husband said that’s how he knew this was it, when the sounds started!!) Contractions were about 3-4 mins apart and I was ushered into a nice big birth room where I could pace all I wanted!!!

For the next few hours I breathed and paced, chatted in between with my husband and the midwives, who very respectfully stopped talking while I was contracting. The room was dim and peaceful and going well. Not an OB to be seen.

By the time I wanted to push, the midwife did an examination and found that I was 5-6 cms dilated but very very soft. I immediately thought ‘Oh great, this isn’t happening as fast as my last birth”, but the midwife said, “What do you feel like doing?” I said, “I want to push!” She said, “You do whatever your body is telling you to do.”

I pushed and 27 minutes later and at 11.47 pm my beautiful BIG 10lb 6oz & 58cm long son came into the world. No drugs, no interference (small epesiotomy as he was very big!).

He breastfed straight away and stayed with me from then on. We had hours of skin to skin and I was home in 36 hours 🙂

My last VBAC was wonderful and I never thought I could top that feeling, but this one has healed my soul. There were no doctors, the word “caeser’ was never mentioned, or “ohh that’s a big baby for her small body”. I loved every second of it.

I am done having kids, my family of boys is complete and I am so glad that I was strong enough to do this and experience birth purely for what it is.

~Carissa Souroop (a very happy mama!)