I had my first baby almost 1 year ago and we would like to try for a second baby next summer. During my pregnancy at 20 weeks I started cramping and having irregular contractions. I am a nurse who at the time worked 3 12 hours shifts a weak ona n orthopedic floor and worked out 2-3 times a week. Needless to say mu OB put a stop to working and working out altogether. I was not palced on terbutaline, just told to rest and keep my activity level down until my 37th week. The contractions (still irregular) started again around 28 weeks. They started monitoring me 2x a week. By week 38 my blood pressure was slightly high, 136/92, right around there. Anyhow an induction date was set for thefollowing week, 5 days before my due date. My OB was obviously not to worried or he would have induced earlier. The four days before the induction date I had to go in for prostin gel(very uncomfortable). By tuesday my cervix was changing, I had dilated to one and was about 50% effaced. I still had to go in for gel 2 more days. Thursday night we went to the hospital thinking we were in labor. I was at 1 plus and about 60% effaced(totally subjective I know!). I walked around to try to bring the contractions closer- no luck we were sent home only to have to be induced the following morning. On friday at around 8:30 the pitossin was started and my OB broke my water around 9:15. By 1:15 the contractions were 1 1/2-2 min apart and I was dilated to 3. My OB suggested an epidural. Prior to labor I was open to either receving an epidural or not, I had no idea how I would do in labor, so I did not make the decsion ahead of time like a lot of women do. At this time I was up in a chair and hurting so bad I almost did not make it back to bed. By the time I got the epidural almost 2 hours later I was dialte dto 4. By 7:30 I was dilated to 8. By 9:30 I was back down to a 6(I had no idea this could happen). The OB on call said the baby was too big and was causing swelling in my perineum which is why I was going back down. Anyhow they obviously did a c-section, the one thing I was dreading the most. Although my recovery was quick(I received 3 units of blood the next night for an H&H of 6 and 17!) I felt much better after the blood and not taking that horrible MS in the PCA. Breastfeeding was going fine. I was however terribly disappointed that I had to have a c-section. My daughter Maya weighed in at 8pounds 1ounce and was 21 inches long. I have no idea if this had any bearing on my fate but my mother had 6 c-sections, ny oldest brother was breech, back then you had one c-section you had them all by c-section. My sister had 3 sections, she would not dialte past 2, my other sister had 2 sections, she did not progress either. Thank you for reading all of that. My question is: Is this my fate with future pregnancies? I realize no one really knows the answer to this, but in your opiniion what are my chances of this happening again? By the way I work only one day a week when my husband is home with Maya. Hopefully my body will handle my next pregnancy better since I am not working so much. I really appreciate your time. My friend used a doula and had an excellent experience. Please let me knoe what you think. Sincerely-Jennifer Gutierrez

-- Jennifer Eileen Gutierrez (jenandvic@earthlink.net), December 11, 2001

Answers

What ever the fate of your next delivery a Doula would of great help. I don't believe that you will nessarily need to have a repeat c- section, many women deliver vaginally after a first c-section. Your Doula can dicuss with you how to avoid having a c-section. Your best hope of avoiding a c-section is by hiring a Doula. Hope this info helps in your decision. Carmen Hanson Gentle Birth Choices Owatonna, MN 55060 507-451-0608

-- Carmen Hanson (mchanson@bevcomm.net), January 06, 2002.

I would suggest the book: The VBAC Companion by Diana Korte.

Reading your birth story, it seems quite likely that what you had was a failed induction. One intervention leads to another which increases your risk of c-section. That's why it's crucial to know the risks and benefits of each procedure to be able to make an informed decision.

Another great book is "The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth" by Henci Goer.

Best wishes to you,

Kellie Fuller North Bay Doulas

-- Kellie Fuller (kelliegotmail@yahoo.com), January 07, 2002.

I agree with both anweres you have received. Any woman who has experienced a birth with a lot of interventions will go into her next birth experience with a lot of fears. Those fears can be even greater if the interventions that she experienced didn't seem to do what they were supposed to. I believe that you would benefit greatly from a doula, as well a good chilbirth education classes -check to see if they specifically have a VBAC (Vaginal Birth After Cesarean) class-, and a pro-VBAC OB that believes that a woman's body can give birth without multiple medical interventions (because your OB's confidence in your body's ability to birth naturally speaks multitudes for the way you will be able to handle your birth, both physically and emotionally), and RESEARCH RESEARCH RESEARCH. I am not saying that your OB is to blame for the outcome of your birth, but there are different philosophies among OBs even in small communities. Some doctors feel more comfortable with administering medical interventions, while others feel it is better to let mom go into labor naturally. If you are interested in a website that really believes in natural birth, check out MIDWIFERY TODAY. I don't have the actual adress with me, but they put out a weekly on-line newsletter that I have found to be an alternative view point to what I have traditionally understood a hospital birth experience to be. I would be interested in the results of your research. Briana Clark dog_bites@hotmail.com -Beautiful Births - Wichita, KS

-- Briana Clark (dog_bites@hotmail.com), January 12, 2002.

I came across your question and birth story this morning, a Doula would be wonderful to have with you for so many reasons. I wanted to say to you that you can have faith in your body, it knows what to do and probably knew what it was doing before. Reading about your last birth journey I could see you most likely weren't ready to birth. Your body was being forced for whatever reason to labor prior to it's wisdom system's initiation. I'd be willing to bet you, yourself, had some concerns and worries at the time thus producing catacolamines, which interfere with labor. This is a key reason a Doula present with you on your next birth journey...like a tour guide, would be wise...she can help you reduce the production of these chemicals. Sure there are all kinds of fancy things to say, however, the bottom line is: each woman should feel safe to BIRTH...birth is a physiological, emotional, mental and spiritual JOURNEY, not just a medical emergency. This really isn't the time to be treated as another patient who's in need of medicine. This is a time when you need to be assisted in hearing your inner voice, when you need to be attended to tenderly and encouraged, allowed to discover your own strength and wisdom....your Motherhood. The facts are if you get the nutrition your body needs...this takes active research and we know our food alone doesn't contain all we need, attend to your emotional/mental needs as well, surround yourself with those who believe in you...you can have a normal, happy, miraculous birth journey.

Read any books by: Penny Simkins, Polly Perez, Hency Goer, Gayle Peterson and/or Dr. Sears.

If you go out to www.DONA.org you'll find a list of books that would be worth your time and effort to read.

Regina Riggs Doula

-- Regina Riggs (TenderMomentsBLS@aol.com), March 10, 2002.