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I wanted a VBAC because I was afraid recovery from a RCS would be pretty tough on me since I had a 30lb toddler at home who couldn't even walk yet. Unfortunately I ended up needing a RCS due to issues stemming from gestational diabetes. And I was right, my recovery was awful and took forever.

@Ash: I would definitely talk to your doctor and go for it, you can always change your mind! I was pretty dead set on a VBAC, but as I was diagnosed with GD, then had to go on medication for it, then was told baby was measuring big, then started having some not so great tests at the doctor's office, it became clear that I needed to come to grips with it going either way so that I wouldn't feel too disappointed in the end. And I didn't really, a VBAC would have been nice and the RCS recovery kind of sucked, but it's still a temporary thing. I'm four months postpartum, so I'm totally healed and at the point where it doesn't really matter to me how he got out.

What were the reasons for your c-section besides baby's size? I know my doctor said that the main time a VBAC is less likely to be successful is when failure to progress is one of the reasons.

Ok so this is not me, but my SIL but I hope it helps... She had a c-section first time around, wanted a VBAC for 2nd just b/c she missed out on natural birth the first time, and also recovery will be tough with the older one not even being 2. She had to have a doctor that was very supportive of this, b/c she was stalling and the doctor was very open to trying different things to get her going and push for VBAC which did end up happening for her!

I don't qualify because I never had a cs, but I have a few questions. How open is your provider for allowing you to labor in different ways, like walking around with intermittent monitoring or laboring in water? Would you be allowed to labor at home before coming in? What is the policy regarding moving around after the water is broken? Does your provider/hospital require you to come to the hospital as soon as your water breaks? These are some things you'd want to know.

@Ash: obviously you know I didn't have a C section, but your last thing got me :"I was dead set on having a RCS but now I feel like I'll be heartbroken if I'm told I have to have one." Is part of this feeling like your choice was taken away the first time and might be taken away again? I know you wanted a water birth before...would that be a possibility this time? I think my Bradley teacher talked about VBAC water births.

@Ash: I had a C/S for breech the first time around and a scheduled RCS for #2. I really wanted to try for a VBAC and my OB was open to it. I work in OB/L&D (as I know you do or did) and spent tons of time reading all my textbooks and all the most current data I could find and none of it completely sold me either way! Since my first was breech and I had never gone into labor or stalled, I had a good chance of success so that helped convince me. I guess there was a part of me that wanted to experience labor and "real" childbirth although I don't feel disappointed at all by either of my birth experiences.

My OB was very open to either option, my area is VBAC friendly so there was no pressure from her or from the hospital either way. She helped me make my choice by saying I could schedule a RCS and try for a VBAC if I went into labor before that. As she said, some people feel like scheduling at 38 weeks is right, some wait till 39, 40, etc. We had our RCS on my due date and I still sometimes feel guilty that I didn't wait a few days beyond that. The recovery after the second was more difficult for me - I've heard from many people that recovery gets easier every time so you never know what to expect. I did have a 35# 22 month old but my DH was home with me the entire time so its not like I had to do any lifting. (Except for one time when he fell off a bench and hit his head on the wall and I had him in my arms before I even realized what I was doing, ha ha.)

I do plan to try for a VBAC this time around, even though I've had 2 C/S. However I'm comfortable with whatever happens.

Keep doing your research and know that no matter what decision you make, you still might ask yourself what-if... Impossible to know what will happen or what would have happened! Try to be open to the possibilities, and find a provider you trust. There are some good questions here for your OB, but keep in mind that the big risk if you TOLAC is uterine rupture and if this happens while you are at home unmonitored, there is very little that can be done for baby by the time you get to the hospital. I don't say this to scare you but just keep that in mind when you consider how long you want to labor at home.

Sorry to write a rambling novel GL with this tough decision.

I am not pregnant again but I do have another LO I have my heart set on a VBAC. I want to experience a vaginal birth and I want avoid my nighmarish recovery from last time. I also think that all the interventions of my first birth interfered with the success of breastfeeding so that's another reason I want to avoid a RCS if possible.

Having said that, I do have thoughts that a scheduled RCS would be more peaceful than trying to VBAC and ending up with another C-section anyway. I would not be worn out from labor and I would have already dealt with it emotionally. Everyone who I've talked to that has had a great C-section recovery did not labor for a long time beforehand so I think that makes a huge difference.

With my first I had wanted to have a natural med-free birth but due to DD1's posterior and brow out position, 3+ hours of pushing with my midwife didn't advance her at all. The OB on call checked me and said that she was too stuck to even try vacuum extraction. I was devastated at the time that all my efforts with hypnobirthing and lasting through labor plus pushing sans meds was wasted. DD1 was born healthy and I am super grateful for that, but part of me mourned the loss of my ideal birth (in hindsight, I was being silly). When I got pregnant with DD2 I immediately had talks with my OB about a VBAC attempt. She was encouraging but warned me that if I have another big baby (DD1 was 8lb 1oz) that's posterior, I would be looking at a RCS. She pushed me to try to curb my weight gain and I got a lot of flack about nutrition throughout my whole pregnancy even though I ate super healthy. I had gained 38lb with DD1 and my OB wanted me closer to 20-25. I surpassed that at 30 weeks and assured her that's just the way my body carries a baby. I personally we never worried about my weight gain because I knew it was just my body doing its thing (I lost all my pregnancy weight within 4 months with my first pregnancy and felt great throughout my second pregnancy). With the 41 week RCS deadline looming, I began to get very anxious around37 weeks. I asked for my membranes to be swept but OB refused saying j had to wait my due date. I was at 2 cm but not effaced. At 38 weeks I was 3.5 cm and by 39 weeks I was 4 cm but still no contractions. She finally swept my membranes saying she gave me an "aggressive cervix check" on paper. Nada. I was still at 4+ cm at 40 weeks and by then I almost just mentally threw in the towel but tried to keep at it. I ended up going into labor at 40+4 in the morning. Even though I was at 4+ cm and my contractions were at 5 minutes apart, I wasn't progressing after 2 hours so my OB offered to break my waters. Within an hour of breaking my water contractions ramped up and within half hour of that, I was having contractions 1-1.5 minutes apart and so intense I couldn't breath through them. I even said out loud to my husband that I don't remember contractions ever being so painful with DD1 and my waters didn't break until 8 cm. I convinced myself that this was more painful because my OB broke my waters and I lost my mental concentration. At this same moment, my OB informed me that my contractions are too close and I am too tense, and not allowing my body to relax enough to dilate. She gave me a choice of either an epidural or drugs to slow down labor. I started crying and begged for an epidural. I didn't want to take drugs to slow it down to only have the chance of needing Pitocin if it slowed too much, which would likely lead to an epidural anyway. Prior to labor I had told my husband that even if I ask for an epidural, to encourage me to push on without unless I really beg and use the code word. Well, I ate my own words because I was begging for one but he kept encouraging me that I didn't need it. (He told me afterwards that the nurses and OB gave him the dirtiest look for pushing me not too even though I was literally begging). After another 15 minutes of me begging he began to sense I was serious so he asked "what's the code word?". HA! I wasn't even seeing straight at this point let alone remember a code word we established months ago. I kept screaming "I don't know!" and he said "it starts with M". "Mommy mommy mommy!!!", I screamed but that wasn't right. Some obscenities flew out and I demanded DH to just tell me the damn word. Meatball. The stupid code word was Meatball. So there I am, crying and screaming "meatball" repeatedly for the next 15 minutes before the anesthesiologist showers up. (DH said at this point the nurses and OB was shooting him mental daggers with their eyes lol). Within 5 minutes of the epidural I was feeling the famous sweet relief. I fell asleep for about two hours before I felt contractions again and began feeling pressure. I'm not sure if they turned my epidural down or if it died down since I never pushed the button, but the contractions started getting stronger and stronger while the pressure increased. About 45 minutes later the urge to push was insane and I requested my OB check me and I was 10 cm!!! My OB and nurse held my legs while I pushed, with my OB helping me stretch out while directing me where to push. After an hour she asked if I would like to take a break and labor down some more before we try again. I agreed and spent the next 1+ hour on my knees laboring down with a few uncontrollable pushes squeezed in there. My OB returned to the room and, this time around, my pushes were much more affective. Within an hour, DD2 was born on July 4th just after midnight!!! The instant relief was everything that I heard about and all the pain vanished. With DD1 I couldn't get out of bed until 2 days after she was born but this time around, even with an epidural, I got out of bed on my own to pee 1.5 hours DD2 was born. Such a different postpartum healing experience and I am so glad it worked out!

I had a c-section in 2011 and a VBAC last year. My c-section was after 24+ hours of labor. I fully dilated, pushed for three hours, and after all of that it turned out he was stuck on my pubic bone because he was posterior. He was also 9 lb, 1 oz. My son (c-section baby) didn't start breathing on his own and had to be taken to the nursery for a few hours after delivery. I was terrified during the surgery itself because they were having a very hard time controlling/stopping the bleeding. My recovery was very hard, emotionally and physically. When I was pregnant with my second, I wanted a VBAC desperately because I was scared of having another rough c-section experience and recovery. We also planned on having three kids and there are several risks of repeated c-sections that go up with each surgery. And of course I had a 2.5 year old at home that loves to play and rough house! I switched to a new OB with my second pregnancy and she was skeptical that I would be able to have a VBAC. She felt my son's size (and my thin frame) prevented me from being able to deliver him and I wouldn't have a good chance of delivering my second pregnancy without a c-section. I had joined the VBAC facts Facebook group prior to getting pregnant and I followed a lot of the advice women on there often gave: I saw a Webster certified chiropractor, got a doula, planned a med free birth. I got my VBAC last May, and my recovery was sooo much better than with my c-section (even with a second degree tear).

I think this is a really personal choice and I hope you are at peace regardless of your decision to go one way or the other. Feel free to ask me any other questions you might have