[kazlou]

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This post has been edited by kazlou: 19/12/2012, 09:37 PM

[mummame]

I found no way around this. My hospital was adament that I be monitored continuously. I was very shocked when I worked this one out but was told telemetry would be available. Well all good in theory until you turn up to hospital and the ONLY telemetry machine is being used by another woman. I was told to get up on the bed, cannula inserted and I was not allowed a bathroom break. I was in tears thinking about being stuck to that bed for my labour it was so painful sitting up having contractions. But my story had a happy ending because I had come to hospital 7cm dilated so I only had to sit up for about an hour before my DD had arrived. But ouchy!

[Lokum]

I had continuous monitoring during my (failed) VBAC attempt, except for toilet trips.

I was reassured by the monitoring, because my first Ds went into distress, I had insulin-controlled GD etc.

Despite the monitoring, I spent 5 of my 7 hours in labour in hospital OFF the bed. I stood and rocked beside the bed, or bounced on a fit ball beside the bed. When I got on the bed to be examined, it was excruciating, but it was no trouble to be tethered to the monitor and still moving around, changing position etc. The midwives helped me. (The midwives said I was moving well, it wasn't the position or the monitoring that led to my failure to progress at all.)

I also wouldn't object to the canula - it has a purpose in case things go wrong.

I was hungry, because I hadn't really eaten before the labour got going, so was approaching 24 hours on a muesli bar and a glass of milk. I sneaked two bites of banana bread, which everyone got cross about because a c/s was always possible... but really it was enough to give me a tiny sugar lift and then I could feel it sitting, undigested.

[bambiigrrl]

Just want to point out that this is not to try and be difficult but because if your VBAC doesn't work and you need a C/S it is better for your well being to not have a belly full of food so telling the staff where to go is a little silly. Ice chips are the most sensible thing to be consumed in active labour.
Women should not eat much when in labour anyway as digestion slows down terribly. It increases the chances of vomiting and as I just explained it can cause issues in the unfortunate event of an emergency c/s.

while i didnt eat during labour, as it started out hard and fast with contractions 3 minutes apart right from the start, I really did need to drink water and keep my fluids up. I hadnt eaten but just from a normal labour i had diareahh, vomiting and was sweating like nobodies business, i was dying of thirst the whole time and desperate to guzzel water which was refused. It is a fact that dehydration stops the uterus from contracting efficiently, as well as causing severe fatigue. I was progressing well and by planning so much for a possible c section in this way it becomes a self fullfilling prophecy.

http://www.midwifeupdates.com/prolongedlabor

[soontobegran]

while i didnt eat during labour, as it started out hard and fast with contractions 3 minutes apart right from the start, I really did need to drink water and keep my fluids up. I hadnt eaten but just from a normal labour i had diareahh, vomiting and was sweating like nobodies business, i was dying of thirst the whole time and desperate to guzzel water which was refused. It is a fact that dehydration stops the uterus from contracting efficiently, as well as causing severe fatigue. I was progressing well and by planning so much for a possible c section in this way it becomes a self fullfilling prophecy.

http://www.midwifeupdates.com/prolongedlabor

We are discussing a VBAC here where there is an increased chance of C/S, not a normally progressing labour or even prolonged labour?
This is why women who have prolonged labour will have IV fluids to rehydrate them without the need to guzzle water and eat. A constant intake of sips of water and chips of ice is all that is usually required. If your labour is looking prolonged and you are becoming dehydrated you will be treated accordingly.

[bambiigrrl]

well i just dispute the theory that your chance of a repeat c section is greater in a vbac then in a normal birth. I was in labour for 14 hours with contractions 3 minutes apart the whole time, 20 months after my previous section and there was not a hint of a tear that entire time. The risk is only fractionally higher then in a low risk birth. You have a higher chance of bleeding out in a normal low risk birth then you do of having a uterine rupture during a vbac. The fact is that the risks are greatly over estimated and there is a lot of scare mongering going on. IMO if you treat a birth like an c section is going to be the likely outcome, then it will be.

If you treat it like any other birth then your chances of success are higher, which is why they tell you to stay at home as long as possible before coming into the hospital, because once your there your on the clock and subject to all the hospital protcol which is in the best intrest of the hospital not the labouring mother. If a vbac is so risky, then why are many women, myself included, told to stay at home as long as possible? Wouldnt they want you to come in asap if it was so incredibly dangerous?

And yes, sips of water would have been great during my vbac, but i was only aloud ice chips. Ever tried quenching your thirst with ice chips? Would you give someone running a marathon ice chips? I didnt think so.


An iv is great if you are already hooked up and strapped into bed, but if you want an active labour you dont need to be worrying about your iv. It is easier and more refreshing to drink water. If you are going to throw up anyway, whether you have water or not, then you may as well just drink water.

I also think all this preperation for a likely c sction is so mentally defeating for the mother in labour. She is basically aware that the hospital staff have zero confidance in her ability to give birth. Which in turn lowers her own confidance dramatically.

[Lokum]

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I also think all this preperation for a likely c sction is so mentally defeating for the mother in labour. She is basically aware that the hospital staff have zero confidance in her ability to give birth. Which in turn lowers her own confidance dramatically.

I think it's good risk management. The midwives told my OB they thought my contractions seemed insufficiently deep, and ineffective, and were concerned they were 2 mins apart and I'd been working hard but making no progress. However, they didn't say do to me. When I was discouraged to be at 2cm after 7 hours, they kept being encouraging.
They all agreed to give me more time, then to try augmenting with ARM. They didn't fess up tO me until the next day that it didn't look favorable.
They gave me a great chance to do it myself... It would have been a hell of a lot more convenient for my OB to do the c/s at 4pm than 11pm... But she went to the gym and came back, went home for dinner and came back... All in the hope I could push him out. They boosted my confidence.
I just don't believe this institutional Push to c/s exists the way it's described. My experience was that my emotional welfare and the baby's and my physical safety were all of greater concern than anyone else's convenience.

[bambiigrrl]

I think it's good risk management. The midwives told my OB they thought my contractions seemed insufficiently deep, and ineffective, and were concerned they were 2 mins apart and I'd been working hard but making no progress. However, they didn't say do to me. When I was discouraged to be at 2cm after 7 hours, they kept being encouraging.
They all agreed to give me more time, then to try augmenting with ARM. They didn't fess up tO me until the next day that it didn't look favorable.
They gave me a great chance to do it myself... It would have been a hell of a lot more convenient for my OB to do the c/s at 4pm than 11pm... But she went to the gym and came back, went home for dinner and came back... All in the hope I could push him out. They boosted my confidence.
I just don't believe this institutional Push to c/s exists the way it's described. My experience was that my emotional welfare and the baby's and my physical safety were all of greater concern than anyone else's convenience.

thats great that your experiece was good, but unfortunatly every hospital is different and a lot of other women out there dont feel that level of support at all.

[Franni]

I had scalp clip monitoring, this enabled me to be as active as I liked. I went private in qld at a hospital that has high ceaser rate but my OB was very supportive

[Lokum]

thats great that your experiece was good, but unfortunatly every hospital is different and a lot of other women out there dont feel that level of support at all.

My hospital has up to 45% c/s rate, is private with lots of well paid OBs. It's not known for being all enya-birth-centre-natural blah blah. I think they have a good balance of patient choice and clinical best practice (though of course that would depend on the individual Dr.)

I just wonder if people 'feel' unsupported because of all this anti-monitoring, anti-IV bung, anti-establishment ideology... telling each other all the time that we're being set up and we're doomed to c/s, and we have to fight for a VBAC.

If people were encouraged to believe that generally their drs and nurses care about their patients (which is surely the truth?), maybe they would feel more comfortable and confident about things, and less affronted when they don't work out as hoped.