Vbac or c section after previous section?

Following as I had a c-section previously and now pregnant with my second! I change my mind daily on whether to have an elective this time or try for VBAC 😅

Interesting discussion… I gave birth in June 2024 in the UK and was advised to avoid the 2nd pregnancy for a minimum of 18 months. How are you feeling after 12 months? Presumably totally fine as if you hadn’t had a C section in the past?

My babies are 2 years apart, I had c sections with both, I really wanted to try for a vbac initially but when I met with the consultant to discuss my birthing options the risks of vbac scared me but I know lots of people do have successful vbacs so I think it’s down to how you feel personally knowing the risks of each

@Elina yes this is why I’m a little worried that I didn’t leave it long enough! I was never told to wait 18 months though. I had an elective c section last time as baby was breach but I’ve had 2 previous vaginal births so just not sure what’s going to be safest this time.

On the same boat and need to decide too

I had my son in May 2023 and I’m due (yesterday) with my second baby, just under 17 months later. I fell pregnant 8 months postpartum. I’m planning a VBAC and my midwives have been really supportive of it. The main risk is uterine rupture and it’s a 0.5% risk so a really small one, assuming you go into spontaneous labour of course. The only thing I’d suggest is do your own research to make your decision! Don’t take your doctor’s advice as gospel because they do try to scare you for their own convenience. I did loads of research on NHS leaflets online about VBAC (specifically NHS so I could quote it to my doctors and they can’t challenge it because they are NHS) as well as Royal College of Gynaecologists. Having 2 former vaginal births makes you an excellent candidate!

I had my son in November 21 and daughter in November 23. First section was scheduled due to being breech and when baby number 2 was still breech at 30 weeks I scheduled my second. I would have loved to try for a Vbac it saddens me I have 2 babies and have/will never experience labour or a natural birth. That being said my second section was so much better there was just no fear whatsoever just calm waiting to meet baby. Sadly there was some damage to my uterus from the previous section so I think I got lucky she was breech again really. I hope you get the birth you want, good luck 🙂

My plan is that if I go in to labour naturally I will attempt a VBAC but if I don't then I will be getting an elective section between 39-40 weeks (induction of labour would not be safe for me)

I had my emergency c-section in February of 2022 and just had a successful VBAC on October 9th this year! Like above, I planned to attempt the VBAC only if I went into spontaneous labor, but had an elective c-section booke for 40+3 in case I didn't. I went into spontaneous labor at 39+1! I would talk with your doctor about the reasons for your previous c-section and your chances of success for a VBAC. They have a calculator they'll use to give you a success rate. My success rate was determined to be 62% because my prior c-section was due to arrest of descent (stuck) and heart rate dropping. There is, of course, a risk of uterine rupture, but that risk is quite small (typically less than 1% chance depending on how long it's been). I did have some retained placenta, which I read that complication is more common after a prior c-section or any other abdominal surgery. Fortunately, it came out (mostly) on its own while still in hospital and my doctor was able to use forceps to pull the rest of it out and...

...ultrasound to confirm that it had all been removed. Overall, recovery has been a breeze compared to my c-section. Which is great since I do have a toddler to keep up with. I've been up and moving and taking my son to all the fall activities basically since coming home from the hospital! And my hospital stay was much shorter too. Unfortunately, I labored at home too long and was unable to get the epidural I desperately wanted, so I unintentionally had an unmedicated birth. This was somewhat traumatic for me and extremely painful, plus, if things went south and no epidural, they'd have to have knocked me out to do a quick c-section. So my advice is just make sure you get to the hospital faster than I did so you have pain management options 😂 it was my fault I didn't make it in time. I was being stubborn because my contractions had been on and off all day, my husband kept telling me we should go, and I kept delaying because I didn't want to be sent home 😂 Anyway, I'm an open book, feel free to ask away!

I had a section last July and it was horrendous. I won’t go into details because it’ll probably scare others. I then got pregnant again and had my little boy is June this year. I was given the choice of section or vbac and I wanted to try a vbac but little boy had other plans and I ended up having another emergency section d