VBAC

I've been meaning to post on this for sometime, but we've had so many great new things to report about Mia that I haven't had a chance. I've been doing quite a lot of research about having a VBAC (Vaginal Birth After Cesarean) because it really is my hearts to desire to not have another C-section. And Brad and I are both encouraged to try this, we have no clue whether or not my body will be able to deliver a baby vaginally, but we are encouraged to try for several reasons. The first being that I never had a chance to try a normal delivery with Mia, she was breech, I had no choice in the C-section. The second being that even though a VBAC comes with its own risks, those are actually lower than having a repeat C-section. A C-section is major abdominal surgery and even though it is so common these days, people often forget that it is a major surgery. With that, we have a few concerns about having the VBAC, one being that Brother has been measuring larger on his ultrasounds than his gestational age. That could be because of human error with the ultrasound or he is just a bigger baby, which wouldn't be completely unrealistic since Brad and I are not petite people. At my next appointment, we'll discuss whether or not we think we should have another ultrasound to get another size measurement, the good news is that I've been measuring exactly normal at my visits, so I'm encouraged that Brother could be a normal size baby.

I wanted a realistic view of a VBAC, so I read a bunch of horror stories and a bunch of positive stories of people who have had a VBAC and it was very informative. The biggest concern I learned was when they induced a VBAC delivery. It just causes your contractions to be much quicker faster and as a result often times causes the uterus to rupture. What was so amazing to me is that even in deliveries where a previous C-section had not happened, inducing a woman was still a significant cause of uterine ruptures. That was really interesting to me, inducing really isn't a great thing for our bodies and I know at some point that baby has to come out, so you have to weigh the risks of what is important. So, if this baby ends up having to be induced, it won't, it will definitely be a repeat C-section.

One of the other concerning factors of the horror stories were hospitals that just weren't prepared to deal with a VBAC. The good news about that is that our hospital is prepared with an anesthesia team on standby just because of this, so if that baby needs to come out in a hurry, it will. And of course most of the other problems came from women who had tried to deliver vaginally before and couldn't, but wanted to try again. And they weren't realistic in realizing that their baby wasn't dropping, they just kept trying for hours and hours and hours...so, knowing that and going in with a game plan, we are encouraged to try this out. So, you can be praying for the medical team, and us as we prepare for Brother's delivery, which hopefully won't be until August at least. :) Because there are still risks, but with everything, there are risks and I think going into it with our eyes wide open and as much information as possible will help us at the time, and of course, the most important factor, trusting God for this precious tiny life, that he would be delivered safely and be healthy...that's what we ultimately want, what's best for him and for me.