Ada Isabel: Born by VBAC in Nov. 2009 in Iowa City, Iowa

In December of 2006 I had a c-section for failure to progress. I missed being induced (for suspected big baby) by just a few hours by going into labor on my own. My labor was typical, not too fast, but I was complete and pushing about 14 hours after I went into labor. I just wasn't able to figure out pushing due to my epidural and made no progress in two hours. The OB suggested a c-section and I didn't object.

At two weeks postpartum, I asked the OB if she thought I could have a VBAC with my next pregnancy. I left the office with tears welled up in my eyes because she told me, "Probably not a good idea. The same thing could happen and you could end in another c-section after a long labor." I knew better.

About a year later, I started to get serious about VBAC. I was searching like crazy online and found ICAN. I started attending meetings monthly and I also read every VBAC book I could get my hands on. I was determined to have all of the wrinkles ironed out before getting pregnant.

I had decided that my best shot at a normal birth was to go to Iowa City to the UIHC with their midwives. I had called to inquire about VBAC with them before getting pregnant and was pleasantly surprised when a midwife actually answered the phone number I called. She was more than happy to chat with me and share information. They had a low c-section rate and the midwife even told me that they love supporting VBACs.

I got pregnant right away and started my regular trips to Iowa City. We would make a fun day of the trip and go out to lunch and visit the Children's Museum. The midwives allowed me to extend the weeks between my visits so long as I was healthy and everything looked normal.

November 2009

On the Tuesday morning, three days before my due date, I woke up to go to the bathroom and noticed a small amount of clear fluid (a teaspoon or so). I was nearly positive that it was amniotic fluid. I remembered that when I was pregnant with my son (baby #1) the same thing happened the day before I went into labor. Regardless, it still worried me that my bag of waters might break and I would not be in labor. All day, I guzzled water and was really careful not to lift anything. No more fluid and no contractions though. I went to bed with a feeling that the next day may be it...

On Wednesday morning ~430a, I woke up to mild contrax. I laid in bed for another hour, making sure that they had some sort of regularity before getting up. I also wanted to rest since it was so early. Around 5:30a, I got out of bed and told my husband that I was in labor and then headed to shower. I dried my hair, put on a little makeup and brushed my teeth (things I did not do last time and wished I would have) and then we took our son to our friend's house around 6:45a. The 2 hour ride was surprisingly manageable. (Of course, I texted some ICAN friends to let them know we were headed to IC) This labor was more mild in the beginning than my first had been. Contrax were coming ~ every 4 minutes during our drive. My biggest fear about birthing in Iowa City was that I would have to go to the bathroom along the way and not be near a rest stop. Luckily, that did not happen!

We arrived in Iowa City and called a chiropractor that my doula had recommended to adjust me. On the way to back to the car after the adjustment, I had three major contractions! But, I could tell I wasn't quite ready to head to the hospital, so we went walking around campus, visited some of our favorite old spots (from college). I am sure students were wondering what the heck I was doing as I would stop for a contraction. Contrax were still pretty mild but were every 2-2.5 minutes.

Around 11:15a I was tired of feeling like a nomad, wondering around town and decided to check in to the hospital. We stopped at a coffee cart and got a yogurt before heading up the elevator to L&D.

Upon arrival, the MW checked me and I was I was 5cm, fully effaced, -2 station. She also made sure that I had eaten recently (and I had a Clif protein bar and yogurt, and she was okay with that). I was hoping for a bigger#, as I was a 6cm when I checked into the hospital with my first, but my contractions had been much more intense at that point. It was different timing labor/hospital check-in when you have to drive for two hours... L&D was full, so were in a triage room for an hour or more, hooked up to the good ol' monitor. I called our doula and she came about an hour later and really helped us advocate to get a room so we could use the telemetry (wireless monitor).

I used the birth ball to labor on all fours and my husband would put his hands on my sacrum-the warmth was all I needed, not much pressure. The MW for the day had to leave from 2-4p to teach a class and the new midwife covered for her. Before she left, I asked her to check me (she told me just to ask if I ever wanted to be checked, otherwise they wouldn't). I was 8-9. Booya! I continued laboring in the tub until I started feeling kind of pushy, then asked to be checked again. Since the MW was teaching a class, they asked if it was okay for a resident to check me and if I was complete, they would page the MW. The resident came in and was surprised when he went to check me and I was able to move my legs. Apparently, unmedicated birth is not the norm with his patients. I was indeed at 10cm, and bulging bag at +2 station.

Around 4p, the midwife arrived and I started pushing and broke my bag of waters with the second push. I tried squatting, all fours, semi-squat. Squatting really seemed to bring the best results, but my legs were getting so tired! I would squat and then rest until the next contraction and then pop back up into squatting again. Almost 2 hours after I started pushing, she came out. Both MWs were there and one caught her and handed her right to me. I got to hold her and start nursing for an hour before they did the newborn exam. My doula filmed the last couple of pushes and it was really neat to see everyone else's faces on the video. One MW started clapping and had a huge smile when babe came out. I was so happy that I did it! Everyone was so curious to see how much she weighed because she was kinda chunky looking!

I did have a tear that needed some minor stitching. One of the MWs was more into active mgmt than the other two. My birth plan specifically asked for no pitocin after delivery. One MW was there and said something like, "she's not bleeding much, she looks good" and even was holding her hand in between the nurse who the other MW had asked to bring the pit (as if to say, "just wait and see"). Ultimately, the one I was bleeding more than she was comfortable with, so I told her it was fine when she asked again and she did give me a shot. I had a feeling that is how it would play out (and how it routinely might with her) b/c she had an issue with it at the clinic when we went over my plan. But, all in all my birth plan was not questioned (besides the pit issue) and I couldn't have asked for a better team. My nurse even told anesthesia that he didn't need to talk to me about opting for an epidural because I wasn't interested.

She was 9 lbs. 7 oz. and 21 inches. My VBAC baby was a pound bigger than my first!

I can't say that my VBAC was pain free, but the recovery was so much easier than my c-section recovery. Emotionally, I was over the moon.there was no comparison. I am so grateful for the women of ICAN and the support that I have found!