Hi, this is Antony, husband of Priya, writing the birthing story of our second child through a natural VBAC.
WHY VBAC?
Wewere blessed with a girl, 7 years back. The pregnancy was normal throughout, and the water broke a week earlier than EDD. Since there were no contractions even after 5 hours of inducing, it ended up being a caesarean.As someone who has always wanted to undergo joy of labour, it was very difficult for my wife to accept it. She found it hard to go through the constraints that followed a caesarean, which was aggravated by a long and painful PPD.
When we decided to have our second child around 5 years back, my wife was hoping for a VBAC. We were in the US where VBAC was considered a possibility. Unfortunately, the pregnancy, while in the US, ended up being a miscarriage after 9 weeks.
BIRTHING CLASSES
After our return to India in 2017, we were worried, as we weren’t sure, if VBAC was even an option in India. Luckily,wechanced upon Bloom birthing centre. We attended Jayashree mam’s birthing classes without much expectations. We registered for the full course, as we felt good just after the first class. Through the sessions, we understood more about child birth, the process, preparation and the birthing options.
Firstly, it was refreshing to hear about people who think that VBAC is a feasible option and come to know of mothers who have had this -especially, with the standard guidance for a pregnancy with first as caesarean, is a follow-up C-section.
Through the sessions, we got to understood about the various options and how VBAC is not such a risky option as has been perceived.
BIRTH CHOICE – Natural VBAC
By God’s grace, the entire pregnancy was normal and we were getting ready on deciding on delivery options. My wife got interested in natural birth, and through the course of the pregnancy, her inclination toward it grew stronger.
As the birthing partner is the decision maker, my wife kept insisting me that I somehow make it anatural birth. However, my goal was to avoid a follow-up C-section, and was ready to go with any option as long as it avoids a C-Section. While I didn’t commit anything to my wife, I said to myself that I will do my best to make this a natural birth. I was conscious of the pros & cons of having an epidural (especially, its impact in the later stages of the labour for VBAC)
THE LABOUR – Preparation
- On Aug 12 (Sunday), Priyahad mild painless contractions(around 15 mins apart). EDD was Aug 20
- The next day, contractions were 15 mins apart with some pain. Had some brown discharge as well. We were a little excited, as we knew the time was near. Spoke to Jayashree mam, to check on things to be ready with.
- On Tuesday morning, we visited the hospital to check on the effacement. (Jayashree mam said, I could have done this myself, had we been diligent on the perineal massage). It was just 1 cm dilation with 25{546178b582b4107a249d87014674d827b097557b53a94b92825166609a84e980} effacement – we were a little disappointed as the doctor it could be another 5 days.During the day, she started have irregular but frequent contractions (between 7 & 15 mins) and each lasted about 30 secs. But the pain was that of a period. She sat through the whole night with no sleep, as lying down multiplied the pain.
- Through Wednesday, the frequency was continuing to be irregular, but the pain was a bit more. Around noon a thick brown discharge happened. Post which pain subsided only to return stronger later in the evening. Though the doctor asked us to wait till EDD, given the pain symptoms and the frequency/duration of the contractions, we got excited again and wanted to have a check-up.
THE LABOUR – Water breakage
On Wednesday, we went to the hospital at around 9:15 PM, and waited for the gynec to arrive. Meanwhile, we were told to take an NST. The nurse had difficulty getting the readings in the sitting position, as my wife could not lie down due to the aggravated pain. The gynec arrived around 10:30 PM, and made an internal examination. It was found the dilation & effacement has remained the same (just around 1 cm). Disappointment again& also confused, as the frequency/duration of the contractions seemed like that of a Labour! But just around the same time of examination, the water broke. We were told to get admitted.
Given that we had opted for a natural birth, we had the option of getting admitted, or go back home and come back at regular intervals for check. But, we decided to get admitted. An IV line with antibiotic was added. Jayashree mam clarified, that since the water broke, the antibiotic was to avoid any infection. And she also confirmed that, this would still continue to be a natural birth, as this does not intervene the birthing process.
THE LABOUR – Labour Pain
I know my wife as a mentally strong person, and how much preparation she has made toward labour. Labour kicked in around 11 PM, and the very moment, all the preparation went for a toss -she asked for an epidural. I knew this was coming, but definitely not in the first contraction. I can only imagine how the pain would have been, for her to give up at the first contraction. Around 1 AM, the doctor said the dilation was just 3 cm but no difference in effacement. I know, this could go on for much longer. Priya was literally begging me for an epidural every minute. I was preparedto help her through the pain, but I was unsure if she was physically capable, as it has been 3 days since the start and this was the second sleepless night. Spoke to Jayashree mam, but she reassured it was going to be alright – just believed her!I just had to keep calming Priya(which never worked) through the night. Through the night, another couple of NST were taken. (By the way, each NST lasts for 20 mins – not a woman would want during labour). Around 4 AM, the gynec checked again and it was around 4 – 5 cm with 25{546178b582b4107a249d87014674d827b097557b53a94b92825166609a84e980} dilation on one side and 50{546178b582b4107a249d87014674d827b097557b53a94b92825166609a84e980} on another side (Till then, wasn’t aware that there could be varying degrees of dilations). My wife even blurted that a c-section is fine too (Now, I didn’t expect that!) as the pain was out of the world and she would die of it. I had to somehow keep her going till Jayashree mam arrived in the morning. At around 6 AM, I spoke to her and she said, we can definitely make this a natural birth and we were only a couple of hours away – I didn’t understand this, as dilation was just around 4 cm and all through the night this has not progressed much.
Around 7 AM, they were getting the labour room ready and getting my wife prepared to shift to the labour room. Though I myself, was not clear, I kept telling Priya that the time is near and it is just going to be just an hour or so. Anyway, she didn’t believe me, and wanted an epidural at least to get intermediate relief. By around 8, we were shifted to the labour room and laid on the labour bed. She wasn’t comfortable in any position. By this time Jayashree mam had also come, which was a big relief for me. We setup the floor bed (which we had bought and kept in the car trunk). Once ready, Priya wanted to move to the floor. She tried many positions, finally, got comfortable in a position, where I was supporting her back. After this, it was just pushing and our bundle of joy was out in a few minutes. Ethan was delivered on August 16, 2018 at 9.42 AM and the pain stopped the very moment. We were also surprised to see the amount of fluid that came out (not much had gone out from the water breakage).
THE LABOUR – Stage 3
I left the room after I saw the baby, and they were getting my wife ready for Stage 3.
While I was away, the placenta was removed, the pain was similar to that of a period and thegynec massaged the lower abdomento push it out.
THE LABOUR – Perineum tear
All through our preparation, the only thing, that we couldn’t decide on was the episiotomy. My wife wanted it to be completely natural (no episiotomy), but I didn’t decide either way, as a tear would naturally occur in most cases.We decided to go with my discretion at the time of delivery. However, during labour, things went one after the other and the perineum tear was not even in my mind and nothing was done. The delivery resulted in a 2nd degree tear and shegot 4 stiches. Later Jayashree mam said, we could have reduced the tear, had we been diligent in the perineal massage (we couldn’t do it regularly, as it was difficult to get some private time and energy with a 7-year-old in the house)
ALL IS WELL!
It has been 4 months since the birth, and the mother and baby are doing fine. Looking back, Priya is very happy and couldn’t really belief, how this turned out to be a perfect natural VBAC. She keeps thanking me for making it to happen. And our thanks to Jayashree mam for the guidance and support through the pregnancy and during the birth
Some pointers:
- Unless you have a strong reason to opt for a natural birth, you might end up not having one
- If you really want a birthing of your choice, it is primarily through the knowledge and support of the partner (mother will not be able to make any decision during the labour)
- As a husband, I wasn’t prepared until at least the 35th week, which is not sufficient. Please be prepared much ahead.
- Finally, there is always God’s guidance, as all events have to align right. In our case, by His grace, the pregnancy was normal throughout the 39 weeks.
