normal birth after 2 c sections?

Question

saw my consultant for the first time on monday, im 29 weeks now and was told initally by one of his team that a normal birth was not something they would consider after 2 sections
he said that i had to have an internal scan to see if the scar tissue was thick enough for delivery and if it was he could see no reason why i couldnt give it a go but they would not be able to induce me or anything
has any one else delivered naturally after 2 sections? if yes how did it all go?
thanx xx

Answer 1

I haven;t'had a c-section but I do know some facts about Vaginal Birth after Caesarean.

It's completely possible to have a VBAC, what you want is a VBA2C by the way! The reasons doctors are reticent about your labouring ability is that the risks of uterine rupture increase after C-sections, and more so after 2 C-sections. HOWEVER, most of the statistics that have been gathered on unterine rupture hadto be gathered before the 'once a csection, always a csection' mantra was introduced, by necessity. Obviously they couldn't conduct a study on incidences of uterine rupture on women labouring after caesarean if no women were doing it!!! So the data that doctors are working on is very old, and is based on a study done in the days when a Csection cut was a vertical incision straight down your belly and womb. These types of cuts, as opposed to the modern bikini line cuts, are much much more likely to rupture during labour. If you think about the downward pressure of a contraction you'll understand why immediately. So the risk of uterine rupture (which is a life threatening occurence for both mother and baby and not to be taken lightly) - but the risk of uterine rupture in a VBAC is actually lower than the risks of repeated major abdominal surgery - in other words, you're more likely to die on the operating table than in a vaginal birth, even after two previous c-sections. Sorry I didn't mean to be so fatalistic!

You'd need to be prepared for your labour to be long and fairly hard, depending on why your Csections were performed in the first place and how much you laboured beforehand, if at all. The longer you've laboured before, the shorter the first stage of labour is likely to be, but as you've never pushed a baby out, the second, pushing stage is likely to be longer than average for a third baby, much more like that of a first baby as everything has to stretch for the first time. You have to be careful that doctors don't put a time limit on you at this stage, as they can panic and whisk you off for a repeat section just because they think you're taking too long.

In the UK, 67% of women have a repeat c-section after 2 c-sections. But that means that 34% have a vaginal birth! This is mainly due to midwifery care and encouragement.

I would recommend, depending on where you live, that you consult a midwife instead of a doctor and consider going to a birthing centre for your birth. A water birth is said to lower the risk of uterine rupture as the water supports your belly throughout contractions. I would recommend you don't have an epidural but keep as active and upright as possible, as this will help you feel what your body is telling you. If something is terribly wrong, you're not going to know when you're numb from the waist down!

Anyway I wish you all the luck in the world and some positive labour vibes to you. Pushing your baby out is one of the most wonderful feelings you'll ever have and I do hope you get to experience it!!

Check out the links below for more information.

Answer 2

Well, I have had 3 successful deliveries after 1 C-section. It used to be, before "once a c-section, always a c-section". I read an article awhile back that some hospitals will refuse to allow a normal delivery for a woman who has had c-section previously, because the hospital doesn't want to risk the chance of being sued by the family for tearing and what not that could happen. Notice I said "could happen", as this is not always the case. My first daughter was a c-section and less than a year and a half later my second daughter was born by a normal delivery, so could my internal scar tissue thick enough for it? Anyhow, I wish you all the best.

Answer 3

Most of the time the doctor is going to want you to go ahead and have another c-section. However if the scare tissues is not to bad and you and the baby are healthy you can ask to try a "natural" delivery. Though you will want to keep in mind that it might very well end in another c-section in the end.

Answer 4

a friend of mine delivered naturally after 2 sections but it took a long time she was in labour for 32 hours but had no problems

Answer 5

out of 5 births i only had 1 c-section

Answer 6

the risk of uterin rupture after multiple csections is (<5) is actually only about .1%. however, with multiple sections docs usually want to induce early for some unknown reason. one of the drugs they often use to induce is misopristol. couple problems with this drug, its contraindicated in pregnancy, and it has a very high risk of uterine rupture.

Answer 7

Not sure i had a natural after 1 c-section. but im sure youl have to have another after having 2.

Answer 8

go for the c section its the safe bet

Answer 9

yes i think it would be good for u to havea c-section