International Cesarean Awareness Network

Hi,

 

I had my first baby cesarean, I pushed for 6 hours and she was stuck at

station 0 (in pelvis). When I got pregnant again, I researched what

happened. She was in ‘deep transverse arrest’ and not CPD as the ob

had said in the  delivery  room.  They didn’t tell me after the cesarean

what had really  happened. It’s at an evaluation exam apt that the

midwife told me exactly what happened. When I went to an ICAN

chapter meeting, the leader  there told me that  since my pelvis is a bit

small, and given that I was  pushing semi-lying down, my best option

was to be as vertical as  possible and that most likely I would be able

to deliver my baby vaginally.

 

So, that’s what I did. I labored mostly vertical, on my knees leaning against the head of the bed propped up and moving my hips, and in

the last 30 mins or so, I  was standing up next to the bed holding my

husband’s hands and in the last few minutes, my hands were resting

on the bed. Both my babies were 7 lbs 10 oz (second baby was

in fact 1 oz heavier, 1 inch longer and 1 cm wider in head than the

first one). Size doesn’t matter, it’s the position the baby is in your

body and how s/he can get out of it. You need to give your

baby room to come out. Lying and bearing down is not an optimum

position for delivering for you, it’s a good position for the dr

to catch the baby. The midwife and nurse that helped me during

delivery both sat on stools behind/under me and did a fantastic job at

catching my baby. Babies just don’t shoot out, the head comes first

and then there is a break, and the last push the rest comes out. So

there is time to catch the baby.

 

I wanted to have some pain medication, but by the time the

staff was ready to administer it to me I was fully dilated. I was

offered an epidural, but knew that if I did that, I wouldn’t be

able to stand, and that was important for me. I went without

any medication, and it took 2 hours for me to push the baby out.

It’s tough, but you have to think, it’s only 2 hours, and then it’s

over. So I went with it, one contraction at a time. I did it, women

a hundred years ago did it, so can you.

These conditions given to me to have a trial of labor were these:

-have fetal and maternal monitoring at all time;

-if baby was stuck at station 0 for 1 hour, then we go for the c/s.

 

After pushing for 1 h, baby had passed to station +1, and that

was the sign that it was a go for me.

 

So my advice to you is this:

 

- exercise frequently - keegles and stretches during pregnancy

- labor vertically - walk, sit , stand up - and that means no

epidural, but you can have pain medication if you are not

fully dilated

- push only when you feel the urge to push, don’t let them tell

you to push if you are fully dilated. Being dilated doesn’t mean

the baby is ready to come out, it means your cervix is ready for

the baby to come out.

-find out where your baby was stuck exactly. I suspect you’ll

be able to do a VBAC, but it is very important that you are

upright so you can move your hips to help your baby maneouver

itself down pass your pelvis.

-most of all, go visit your local ICAN chapter if you have one, they

will have good advice for you.

-seek the medical care of a less traditional pre-natal facility. You are

more likely to succeed in a VBAC within a VBAC friendly facility

or that has midwifes in their practice.

-Don’t let the l&d nurse run the show, you are the show, you take

charge of what’s going on. Read, research and talk to other moms

that had succes doing a VBAC. Make a birth plan that says

exactly what you want in what circumstance. There are plenty of

websites with birth plans, find one you like.

 

If you have more questions, you can email me.

 

Good luck,

 

Nathalie Martimbeau

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