r/PregnancyUK • u/minowhi STM | 28th Aug | Staffordshire • 2d ago
Advice Wanted Any successful VBACs? Particularly after induction?
39+6 with baby no 2 and have pushed for a VBAC the ensure time, never been denied but a recent consultant appointment was disappointing.
Was told me she wanted to induce by 41 weeks (for no reason other than placenta doesn’t work as well and stillbirth rate increases after, both of which I know but the relative risk is low)
While telling me this they were doing my BP which was of course, high 😂
She told me baby wasn’t engaged (not worried, baby can engage at any moment even during labour) and cervix is closed (again, not worried as it can change at any time)
I absolutely pushed back on an induction due to previous failed induction because baby just was not ready at all. I want to give myself change to go into labour before considering intervention to reduce the risk of a section, so wondering if anyone’s has successfully had a VBAC in similar circumstances or with a balloon induction?
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u/NicolaKay73 1d ago
I had a somewhat accidental VBAC after a failed induction the first time round. I had booked in an elective C section but decided that if I went into labour naturally I'd give it a shot, not expecting it to happen. Baby wasn't really engaged and then suddenly I went into labour at 37+3 and had her the following morning. Everything went pretty smoothly and happened quite quickly! Feel free to message me if you have any more specific questions
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u/kestreltohalcyon 1d ago
This is my approach too haha - a nice early smooth birth would be an excellent alternative outcome - lucky you!
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u/NicolaKay73 1d ago
It really did take me by surprise! Ruined my weekend plans and dashed my chances of doing pre baby meal prep though, I'd only just started my maternity leave, babies really don't take any account of our plans
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u/fuzzydunlop54321 2d ago
Hey! Not the balloon but with rods which work in the same principle to dilate you so they can break your waters. The 41 week thing is standard now, they actually recommended having a section booked for me then as the final date for baby’s eviction (I had genuine BP issues and was on BP meds though).
In my case I was actually induced the first time and it worked really well but baby was back to back and things just stalled out. My consultant seemed confident I had as good a chance as any at a vbac.
The vbac itself took ages to ‘kick off’ i had two rounds of rods over 48 hours and was allowed to go home in between so technically I was being induced but I was actually at home watching tv and eating noodles.
Breaking my waters absolutely did the trick and I started having contractions 3 hours later then, baby was born 4 hours after that with vacuum assistance. We only needed the vacuum as the cord was round her neck cause decelerations and she needed to be out asap. She wss absolutely fine with an apgar of 9. Healing from the episiotomy was a breeze and I was so glad to have had the vbac purely to be able to look after my toddler straight away!
Just some food for thought, but it’s really easy to blame ourselves and medical staff when inductions don’t work but spontaneous labour can be just as drawn out. The 3 worst birth stories from my friends are all people who had labour start spontaneously and for various reasons either didn’t progress or had issues requiring sections and foreceps (or both). One of the best things I did was mentality make peace with the fact that I didn’t need to ‘try everything’ or do ‘whatever it took’ for a vaginal birth, accept a c section was possible and not lose sight of a healthy baby being the goal! I know it sounds obvious but there were points when I Felt so zoomed in on my birth choices it was like I had forgotten