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I disagree, please pick a Dr who is competent, not based on some philosophy. You should want a Dr who will give you the necessary information to make the best decision, not one who cavalierly favors one procedure over another.
Certainly you deserve a Dr who will try to accomodate you where possible, but not at the risk of your health or your baby's. Your well-being should be their primary objective, if it isn't, find another Dr.
Pro-VBAC doesn't mean VBAC at all costs. It means a doctor that will let the body do what it was design for. Give birth. And if complications occur then a do c-section.
Something that commonly ends up in the OR is failed inductions. Reason being that not all babies have to be born by week 40 or else. A normal pregnancy ranges from 38 weeks to 42 weeks. Some babies just need a little more time. I know my first OB told me if I hadn't gone into labor he was going to induce me by my due date. I was going to go along with it because I was ignorant.
One of the mom's who we met in the NICU was there because of that. Her baby had been subjected to strong pitocin-generated contractions for a couple of days till they did a c-section on week 40. Mom never dilated. Unlike our dd this baby did have brain damage.
It is very hard to now if a doctor is telling you the truth. Here is my case. My second OB told me I was the worst candidate for a VBAC because I had made it all the way to complete and not been able to deliver. He said we'll scheduled you a c/s at 39 weeks. I said OK and went on to get pregnant. Then I joined ICAN and I learned what questions to ask. I asked him to look at my medical records and tell me what position my dd was at birth. He told me it doesn't say. I asked him a couple of times. Same answer. At this point he was willing to let me VBAC because I asked. When he joined a group I fell apart because it was repeat of my last pregnancy. Then I changed to a new OB. Guess what my medical records did say what position my dd was at birth. I also learned I was a great candidate for a VBAC because I can dilate easily.
I must be really unlucky to have had such lousy doctors. What are the chances?. They were 2000 miles apart.
Miasmommy - where in the world did you give birth?! I think you probably have somewhat of a lawsuit on your hands, if you cared to take it that far - but I can tell you if the baby is rotated, trying to birth a breach is not advisable.
The HepB is absolutely not to be forced, the nursing was your call - and if you have at least not filed a complaint against the hospital and staff - I would do it now - regardless of how long it has been.
I gave birth in March of this year, never made it past 7cm, and after 15 hours had to go c-section. My water had broken at home - 4:30 on Saturday a-noon - so I could not walk around as far as they were concerned. Would not even let me get up and go to the potty! Bed pan, then a cath after the epi. I was on as much pitocin as I could be given, and nothing was moving. I cried all the way to surgery, but it was for the best. He is perfect, and thankfully was never in any distress.
I made it clear from the get-go no vaccines of any kind - including the Vit. K shot - which they did not offer because he was in such great shape. We signed the papers to waive the HepB and were never questioned. I did bottle feed - and the only problems I had came from the Nursery. They wanted to feed him first - I told them NO, bring him to ME. The night nurse wanted me to wake him up for feedings if he had not eaten within a certain time - and even did a blood sugar reading my last morning there because I allowed him to sleep 6 hours straight without a bottle. SHE was a nightmare - and by the way, his BS was fine. He is my third - I was 41 at the time -not a teen with no knowledge. LEAVE ME ALONE!
I had the c-section on a Sunday morning, we were home Tuesday morning - I got out as fast as I could!
To answer your question - I know many women are able to have a vaginal delivery after a c, I suggest finding perhaps another OB - or just switch hospitals. Make your doc aware of ALL the turmoil during your first pre-natal visit, and make sure they WRITE DOWN ALL of your wants and want NOTS in your chart. That way their is NO mistaking what is to be done from the docs standpoint, and I would ask for a copy of orders regarding these wishes to take to the hospital for delivery.
Tell every nurse or doc who comes to see you during delivery and labor what your wishes are - and make sure you have an advocate - hubby, mom, etc., who can get these things carried out if for some reason you are unable to communicate your wishes.
You have rights the hospital cannot ignore - it is only in a true emergency situation they must do what needs to be done - and you have to find a hospital you trust. Look around.
I had my child in Louisville, KY - and one of the nurses there told me (after they tried to shove an epidural at me at only 5 cm) Louisville is a city that believes in pain-free birth. They do not allow moms to walk out the pain, keep them flat on their back with meds dripping, and the c-section rate is HIGH. This nurse cam e from Hawaii originally, and had worked in Seattle - natural is their point of view - even she is amazed at the mindset here. I have NO IDEA what the reasoning is behind it all, but to me -a healthy birth is better than pain-free.
God love ya - I feel for you. Just start looking around at docs and hopsitals before you plan another pregnancy. Take the tour, write down your directives, have them notarized if possible (crazy, I know), and try not to worry. You can make sure the next time is not such an EVENT as before - and seriously - you need to file a complaint. I did - against the Nursery nurse. Have no idea if it did any good, but I felt better !
...Something that commonly ends up in the OR is failed inductions. Reason being that not all babies have to be born by week 40 or else. A normal pregnancy ranges from 38 weeks to 42 weeks. Some babies just need a little more time. I know my first OB told me if I hadn't gone into labor he was going to induce me by my due date. I was going to go along with it because I was ignorant.
One of the mom's who we met in the NICU was there because of that. Her baby had been subjected to strong pitocin-generated contractions for a couple of days till they did a c-section on week 40. Mom never dilated. Unlike our dd this baby did have brain damage.
It is very hard to now if a doctor is telling you the truth. Here is my case. My second OB told me I was the worst candidate for a VBAC because I had made it all the way to complete and not been able to deliver. He said we'll scheduled you a c/s at 39 weeks. I said OK and went on to get pregnant. Then I joined ICAN and I learned what questions to ask. I asked him to look at my medical records and tell me what position my dd was at birth. He told me it doesn't say. I asked him a couple of times. Same answer. At this point he was willing to let me VBAC because I asked. When he joined a group I fell apart because it was repeat of my last pregnancy. Then I changed to a new OB. Guess what my medical records did say what position my dd was at birth. I also learned I was a great candidate for a VBAC because I can dilate easily.
I must be really unlucky to have had such lousy doctors. What are the chances?. They were 2000 miles apart.
There are a few reasons why you would induce before 40 weeks: an elective induction if conditions are favorable, the cervix is favorable, the baby is too small/has stopped growing, there is no amniotic fluid or dangerously low, high pressure, diabetes, when it will be safer for mom or baby (I realize that's vague), or an NST with a lot of variables. Otherwise, it is not normal to induce labor arbitrarily at 39 or 38 weeks.
I don't know what "dd position" is, maybe you could tell me what that means. Do you mean op?
As far as a pitocin drip, standard practice, and this will occasionally change with the doctor or the mother, is 4 hours. If the cervix is not changing, then most competent docs will re-assess the situation and look at other options.
It would be highly unusual to have someone on pitocin for 2 days. Pitocin itself is not usually the problem, but too much of it or mismanagement of the dosage can cause too many contractions which can decrease the oxygen to the baby, which causes brain damage. This may be what happened to your friend, and she would certainly have a lawsuit.
There are a few reasons why you would induce before 40 weeks: an elective induction if conditions are favorable, the cervix is favorable, the baby is too small/has stopped growing, there is no amniotic fluid or dangerously low, high pressure, diabetes, when it will be safer for mom or baby (I realize that's vague), or an NST with a lot of variables. Otherwise, it is not normal to induce labor arbitrarily at 39 or 38 weeks.
I don't know what "dd position" is, maybe you could tell me what that means. Do you mean op?
As far as a pitocin drip, standard practice, and this will occasionally change with the doctor or the mother, is 4 hours. If the cervix is not changing, then most competent docs will re-assess the situation and look at other options.
It would be highly unusual to have someone on pitocin for 2 days. Pitocin itself is not usually the problem, but too much of it or mismanagement of the dosage can cause too many contractions which can decrease the oxygen to the baby, which causes brain damage. This may be what happened to your friend, and she would certainly have a lawsuit.
"Elective" inductions (which most inductions are... elective on the part of either the mother or the doctor!) tend to result in C-sections. Unless there are health problems, babies come when they're ready. Inducing a mother because she's 39 or 40 or even 41 weeks along and "tired of being pregnant" or because "I want to have the baby while Dr. Smith is on call" is irresponsible on the part of the doctor. I think you'd be surprised at the percentage of women who are induced. Babies on demand, and all.
"Elective" inductions (which most inductions are... elective on the part of either the mother or the doctor!) tend to result in C-sections. Unless there are health problems, babies come when they're ready. Inducing a mother because she's 39 or 40 or even 41 weeks along and "tired of being pregnant" or because "I want to have the baby while Dr. Smith is on call" is irresponsible on the part of the doctor. I think you'd be surprised at the percentage of women who are induced. Babies on demand, and all.
I certainly agree that being "tired of being pregnant" is a poor reason to induce labor. I'm certain this happens, but not to the extent you seem to think. It is the exception, not the rule.
By your definition of "elective", all medical procedures would be considered elective. Obviously, someone has to make the decision to have the procedure, that does not make it elective. This indicates you probably don't work anywhere near the medical profession.
I also don't know where you get your information from, it appears to be pure opinion, which is fine, but please don't pass it off as fact. In the hospitals in our county, nowhere near "most" births are elective inductions, let alone artificial inductions.
In most hospitals, Dr. Rayburn and Dr. Zhang reported, the instances of induced labor now exceed the combined number of Caesarean deliveries, vaginal births after a previous Caesarean and vaginal deliveries requiring forceps. The numbers are even higher in many community hospitals, where more than 40 percent of births are induced, with as many as three of four done for no compelling medical reason, according to a review of 7,000 consecutive inductions published in 1999 in The American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
Even the FDA, who we all know are more about protecting their money than protecting people, are against elective induction. Not surprisingly, the ACOG is NOT against elective induction (golly, I wonder why...):
The Food and Drug Administration and the Physician’s Desk Reference, the bible of information on drugs, recommend against elective inductions.31,35 The FDA “disallows” it; the PDR says, “Since the available data are inadequate to evaluate the benefits-to-risks considerations, Pitocin [the trade name for oxytocin] is not indicated for elective induction of labor.” By contrast, the American College of Obstetricians (ACOG) includes “logistic factors” such as “risk of rapid labor, distance from hospital, psychosocial indications” on its list of indications for induction. Inductions for these reasons would be elective inductions(ACOG 1999).1 And, by ACOG’s lax standard, “tired of being pregnant” would undoubtedly qualify as a “psychosocial indication.”
I have worked in the medical field. I fully understand that people "elect" to have procedures done because the benefits outweigh the risks. I also understand that people "elect" to have cosmetic procedures done and are (hopefully) aware of the risks. Electing to have your normal and healthy pregnancy disrupted because you don't feel like delivering when Dr. Smith is on call, or because you dont want to have to worry about your husband taking extra time off of work or because you're "tired" and "sore" is unsafe and unnecessary.
Even if we were going to go by anecdotal evidence, I can probably count on one hand the number of women that I know who were NOT offered a convenience induction (and I was one of them for my first pregnancy). Most of the moms I know (and I know a lot of moms) were offered a scheduled induction or even a scheduled c-section for no apparent reason. Why do you think the rates of c-sections are so high? Don't you think the human race would have died off if approximately half of women NEEDED c-sections or inductions?
Even the FDA, who we all know are more about protecting their money than protecting people, are against elective induction. Not surprisingly, the ACOG is NOT against elective induction (golly, I wonder why...):
I have worked in the medical field. I fully understand that people "elect" to have procedures done because the benefits outweigh the risks. I also understand that people "elect" to have cosmetic procedures done and are (hopefully) aware of the risks. Electing to have your normal and healthy pregnancy disrupted because you don't feel like delivering when Dr. Smith is on call, or because you dont want to have to worry about your husband taking extra time off of work or because you're "tired" and "sore" is unsafe and unnecessary.
Even if we were going to go by anecdotal evidence, I can probably count on one hand the number of women that I know who were NOT offered a convenience induction (and I was one of them for my first pregnancy). Most of the moms I know (and I know a lot of moms) were offered a scheduled induction or even a scheduled c-section for no apparent reason. Why do you think the rates of c-sections are so high? Don't you think the human race would have died off if approximately half of women NEEDED c-sections or inductions?
Where to start? 40% of births are induced according to your own statistics, which the study itself claims is higher than normal. Nowhere near your claim of "most".
Your misunderstanding of what constitutes an "elective" procedure continues to belie your familiarity with the medical profession.
It is probably impossible to determine through any study or anecdotal evidence how many c-sections are necessary and how many are not, that decision must be made by the Dr and the mother together after weighing the evidence. A c-section is not inherently right or wrong for a pregnant mother or her baby, the issue is far more complex than that. I only hope that all mothers understand the risks to both themselves and their babies.
As for half of women needing them, this is another reminder that before modern medicine, childbirth was the leading cause of death for women. If there were no c-sections, many more mothers and babies would die in the birthing process.
I don't pretend that my experience qualifies as representative of all women everywhere giving birth, but since my wife delivers more mothers in a few weeks than you will probably know in your entire life, I will consider her credible.
Keep in mind, I'm not promoting any particular procedure over another, my only agenda is hoping that every mother understands the full risks of each one. I do not care what procedure she may decline or ask for, as long as she makes the most informed decision that's best for her baby.
"Elective" inductions (which most inductions are... elective on the part of either the mother or the doctor!) tend to result in C-sections. Unless there are health problems, babies come when they're ready. Inducing a mother because she's 39 or 40 or even 41 weeks along and "tired of being pregnant" or because "I want to have the baby while Dr. Smith is on call" is irresponsible on the part of the doctor. I think you'd be surprised at the percentage of women who are induced. Babies on demand, and all.
Quote:
I don't know why this is in italics... I can't seem to shut it off!
Anyway, I did NOT say that "most babies are induced." I said "most inductions are elective." Which is a little off... about half are elective. I apologize for being flippant about the percentages. Regardless, you are misunderstanding what I wrote.
Ah, I just realized that your wife is an OB or a delivery room nurse. Now I understand your perspective. Got it. No real need for me to argue or explain further. Obviously half of all women did not die in childbirth before c-sections became common. Of those who did die, infection due to poor hygiene was the leading cause. Many doctors feel that the human race would not continue with the marvels of modern medicine... including things like pitocin, epidurals, routine repeat c-sections, etc.
I meant "without the marvels of modern medicine," of course.
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