(no subject)

[sexy_romulan]

Appointment with the OB today, which was full of surprising information. There is no VBAC ban in force at the QCH - midwives are not allowed to take on new VBAC patients there, but the doctors can, and mine seemed to pretty much take it for granted that this was the safer and preferred option, although if I decided to go for an elective c-section she would sign me up.

So that pretty much changes the landscape completely.

Next step then is to find myself a doula. Even if I'm stuck with caregiver roulette, that should provide some of the continuity and expert support that I wanted. Fired off a few emails on that score this afternoon.

I don't know. Not altogether sure how I feel about this. Equal parts relieved and intimidated. Does that even make sense?

Comments

[rabbitica.livejournal.com]

I can see being somewhat emotionally knocked on the ass by such a quick reversal! But glad to hear you have options. And of course happy you're looking for a doula :-)

VBAC

[missquirt.livejournal.com]

Hi,

I don't know if this is of interest to you or not, but BC Women's Hospital in Vancouver has put out a few VBAC decision-making guides, available here: http://www.powertopush.ca/info-for-professionals/patient-information-and-forms/ as part of their "Power to Push" campaign. They're written in super-simple language, and might be overly simplistic for where you're at in your thought processes, but they also include excellent reference lists.

It absolutely makes sense to be both relieved and intimidated. I think all the women I've worked with (as a student midwife, in my admittedly limited experience, but still) have felt all kinds of conflicting feelings toward VBAC. Some opted for VBAC, others chose repeat sections. Some ended with beautiful vaginal births, others ended up with beautiful cesarean births. I think (hope!) that everyone ended up with a birth experience that they were happy with. It can be a difficult choice, but I think sometimes in life we're faced with choices where there really is no "right" or "wrong" but only what's best for you at the point you're at.

Re: VBAC

[ami-b.livejournal.com]

The OB in fact referred me to that very website :)

And thank you very much for the second comment - that's really helpful. I get to feeling like I must be the only woman on earth who's kind of ambivalent about the whole thing, and it's encouraging to know that's not the case.