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Chloe, My first child was a planned c-section due to a breach presentation. My second child born 22 months later was by VBAC. Very successful. I loved it for many reasons - easier, more involved, swifter recovery, less pain, etc. I am prone to preeclampsia but it only shows up right before delivery ( a week or two). I am currently 39 weeks, 4 days pregnant with number 3. They told me at my last appointment that if I did not go into labor on my own by my due date (Thurs. 1/5) that I should come prepared to schedule surgery. I cannot tell you how angry I am over this. They are not even taking into consideration the healthy delivery by VBAC that I had with my last child. It is almost as if I am not a part of the equation at all and I have no say over what happens to MY body. I would much prefer a VBAC because the c-section recovery was awful. I too am wondering why I am being forced into a procedure I don't want. I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow and have made a plan. Since it is obviously too late for me to doctor shop at this point, I will go in and schedule the appointment for surgery, but I will make it for next week. While she is examining me, I am going to demand that she strip my membranes (which put me into labor for my second child 2 days later). Then hopefully I will not have to worry about showing up for my forced c-section. One last thing, I believe the prevelance of forcing a woman to have a c-section, just within the last 5 years is the increase in people trying to win the "litigation lottery" and doctors are leary of such lawsuits. So, they tout the studies regarding uterine rupture, but fail to tell the woman that the incidence of uterine rupture is .5 - 1%. Also a uterine rupture could happen to anyone, not just women who have had a previous section. I could talk about this for hours as it is a situation I am currently going through. I'll see how my appointment goes tomorrow and possibly post again in this regard.

Good luck Tracey! Another option would be to schedule the section for the end of your 42nd week, so you most likely would go into labor on your own,

EXACTLY TRACY!!! I so understand all that you said! I would like to use some caution, really watch your BP, I would hate to think your health or your baby's was ever compromised due to that. :>) You are most a__surdedly correct in regards to the shift away from VBACs...people are sue happy and have lost sight of the fact that life has unexpected events and sometimes we must simply deal with them as fallible beings. I hope you get the doctor YOU HIRED to at least strip your membranes, without amnion rupture you can at least expect him/her to do that at your bidding. Keep us posted, and best wishes for a healthy, safe and VAGINAL delivery! I am in the best shape of my life after my VBAC a month ago, and I am so ecstatic I can't stop singing. But I would have done a c-section if anything went amiss. Godspeed to you and your wee one.

Gemma, Thank you for your concern about my blood pressure. I have been watching it faithfully at every appointment and it has been outstanding, thankfully. My last child, 2 days before delivery my regular appt revealed that my BP had shot through the roof and they sent me to the hospital for evaluation. That's where the doctor on call stripped my membranes (I was contracting every 5 minutes anyway) and they kept me overnight for observation. I continued to contract every 5 minutes all night long. They sent me home in the morning with a RX for pain and I was back in the hospital Saturday am in full b__wn labor. My daughter was born later that evening with the help of an epidural and "shock" Pitocin to help regulate my contractions. I in no way want to compromise the health of my baby or myself, but I at least want the freedom of choice to have the kind of delivery I prefer. If at any moment during a VBAC they or I felt there was some danger, I would not balk at a c-section. They have just decided to take that freedom away from me without my consent.

Jamie, I agree I could try to schedule it for the 42nd week but they are adamant about me not going 2 weeks over - again trying to cite the uterine rupture cases, aging placenta, death to baby jargon. I can probably get away with next week, but doubtful about the following week. My brother, born 2 1/2 years before me, was 15 days late. Where did those days go where a woman was allowed to let her body do what God designed it to do (on it's own I might add)?

Well, I had my appt. at 3pm and my BP is elevated. I had the doctor strip my membranes, nothing so far. However, she was totally on my side as far as me not wanting a section. So, she called to see who was on call at the hospital and it was an "old school" doctor who doesn't like to do unnecessary sections. Yeah for me! They are sending me to the hospital for some labs and to monitor my BP. The doctor there will determine what he wants to do, whether they will break my water and start my labor or if there is any danger then go ahead with a section. I am so happy I am getting what I wanted - the Lord just worked everything out. They did an U/S at the office to determine how big my boy is and they estimate that he is about 9lbs 1oz. My second child (a girl) was 8lbs 11oz. So I've delivered a "big" baby v____ally before which is also in my favor. I will let everyone know in a day or two how everything transpired. Thank you for the encouragement. I'll be thinking of you Chloe.

Tracy, I am sure i speak for ALL of us, May God Bless you and keep you both safe and in his loving arms.

Hey Tracy, are you out there? I hope went well with you. As soon as you are able please let us know how you are getting on. Jamie, the state I live in is Washington and the lady injured by a forced repeat section is one of the junior senators aides (if I recall correctly) This will be interesting as insurance companies are BIG lobbysists in the Pacific NW.

To Chloe, I see you are trying to get as much info as poss, so here is my story, At 37 weeks i woke up in a bed full of blood, and went to the bathroom and a clot the size of a softball came out of me, of course called the hospital and off we went, they had me push for 3 hours not knowing what had caused the bleeding for it had stopped. after 3 hours doctor came in, baby had not moved so the sent me in for a emergency c-s. The pain meds did not take and i felt them cutting me, so they had to put me under.lost 900 cc,s of blood, what was going on was that my plencta was ripping, that was what all the blood was and anylonger and my little girl would have lost oxygen and lord only know what would have happend then. (she is perfect) My second child, they planned a c-s and i was scared to death after what happend with the first,they a__sured me everything would be fine, well again i went into labor early at 37 weeks, and again the meds did not take with me and they had to give me two spinals which took me 8 hours to feel my legs againafter words! (perfect little boy, which pa__sed away on july 25th 2005 at 8 months and 15days). I am now preg with our 3rd, and have just moved from the us to the uk and have to have a3rd c-s. i am an emotional reck inside but i do have to have a c-s for it is my third. The only thing i can say is you have to do what you have to do! Good luck to you.

Thank you, Angi, and I am so terribly sorry for the loss of your baby son! I can't even begin to understand what you must have/are going through with that situation. I see why you had c-sections, you had life-threatening reasons. I have only had problems with my section, I was blessedly immune from ANY problems during my easy v____al birth and look forward to another like it. I will always put our health first, but so far I am going for another v____al birth. The c-section was called for a very subjective a__sessment of "slow progress", no one was ill or anything and I thought everything would be over....well that is when things went badly and i don't want to repeat it. Good luck to you, I understand what you say and wish all the best to you in the UK.

Okay here is my story...I got prego and since I had HPV the doc said there wa sa chance should I have a break out that I would need a C-Section. I didn't mind at the time because I understood why. Had I know two years later that I would be prego again and be foursed to have this one now by C-section I would have NEVER had the procedure! I am so angry that these doctors are not even considering the idea of me giving birth v____ally. The only reason I had to have the first this way was because of a HPV outbreak and they dont understand thatI am 100% sure my body can handle a normal delivery. Too bad this uninformed docs dont wanna give that a try. Oh by the way I am living in Italy....wher eeverything is second rate and I am scared to let them do anything too me! give birth let alone cut me open!

Hi all! Well, here is the end of my story. When I got to the hospital with the high BP they decided to admit me (at 7:30pm) even though my labs came back negative for preeclampsia. I'm just prone to high BP at the end of each of my pregnancies. The doctor at the hospital was indeed the old school doctor I was describing earlier. We agreed that I needed to be delivered as the baby was potentially very big and my BP was not coming down. I was laboring because I was contracting every 5-6 minutes and they were pretty big ones (even though I didn't have really much pain with them). He further stripped my membranes and we went from triage to a labor and delivery room. I stayed in the L&D room for about 16 hours waiting for my labor to progress. My contractions were pretty steady and strong and I dilated to 4cm. He broke my water at 6am Wednesday morning (we had come in Tues. night) hoping that would speed up my labor and dilate me to 10, which happened with my previous child. Well, unfortunately, I did not progress at all and at 12:30pm, another doctor in the practice (who coincidentally delivered my first child by section) who is also pretty old school, and I discussed whether I wanted to continue or throw in the towel and procede with the section. I decided to not prolong the agony and go with the section. I had not progressed at all and my contractions were starting to become slower and weaker. So at 2:38pm on Wed, Jan 4, James David was born wieghing in at 8lbs 2oz and 20 in long by c-section. The Lord was certainly watching over us both too because as the doctor went in to get him she discovered that the cord was wrapped around his neck which was preventing him from descending and would have most likely strangled him if I had continued to try for the v____al delivery. I have to say, I was extremely disappointed, not to mention emotional about the repeat c, but eternally grateful that something horrible didn't happen to my baby. She looked at my uterus closely to check for any damage or rupture and there was absolutely nothing to report - which was good. So, even though I did not get what I wanted - I did discover why. I came home yesterday afternoon from the hospital and I have to say that the recovery this time is NOTHING like it was with my first section. I am not in as much pain, I'm able to move around better and sooner. It is just so much better than it was with the first. Chloe, find someone who supports you and what you want for your body. The doctor at the hospital really exhausted all avenues he could to work it out so I could have a v____al delivery. It wasn't their fault a section was necessary. I hope my experience helps you make some decisions as to what you would like to do. Let me know if you need more information that I may have left out.

Man, Tracy, sounds like you gave it your best shot, and yes, sometimes those c-sections really are life savers. You had a valid and necessary one. Glad you and baby boy are doing okay. How are you doing? To Ursala in Italy...do you worry about the quality of care? I am concerned for you, be careful. I imagine they will do the surgery as sterile as possible, right? Good luck and let us know, although I don't think anyone can MAKE you go into the OR...that would be considered ASSAULT AND BATTERY here in the States unless your baby is dying before their eyes, then they would still need a court order. But no good mom would let it go that far. I think you need to research the laws in Italy and to monitor your v____al health at term to make the best decsion for the both of you. And to Angi, man, what can I say about feeling your c-section being performed and the horrible loss you have suffered, may God Bless you. Good luck, ladies and let us know how you are all getting on. I guess I am lucky to have had a successful VBAC and wish that all of you can in the future.

Tracy, congratulations on your little boy - I'm so sorry you didn't get your vbac, but you made the right decision! I hope your recovery goes well, and that you're able to enjoy and cherish every moment with your little one.

Jamie, thank you. I still have disappointment that I couldn't have my VBAC, but the results far outweigh those thoughts. The Lord is gracious to always give us what we need, not necessarily what we want and keeping that thought in the forefront of my mind has helped tremendously. My son is healthy and beautiful and I am concentrating on enjoying him, not dwelling on what could have been.

Hi all, Congrats to Tracy! I am sorry I haven't written, I am trying to lay low, my little boys both have a stomach flu and it has been rounds of cleaning up what has come out of both their ends...ick, I know. I am also trying desperately NOT to get it, because of the issues I have had with pre-term labor. Baby girl is growing nicely and only minor contractions held in check with meds. I see the doctor tomorrow and will update you all. Hi Jamie! Oh, did anyone's scar start itching like CRAZY in the last few weeks?