Congrats on your new pregnancy! It’s always a tough choice. I’m glad you had a great C-section experience too, as too many don’t. As for the big baby, you need to read my post all about big babies! https://homecleaningfamily.com/big-babies/. That should help you know what to expect if you do indeed have a 9 lbs or bigger baby. I have delivered three babies vaginally after my C-section all of which were very large – 9lbs 8oz, 9 lbs 4oz, and 11lbs 2oz! Size matters, but does not “guarantee” a C-section. Best of luck!

You are not a lesser mother. Nope. Not at all. 🙂 But, I stand by my statements that vaginal deliveries are safer and better for both mom and baby and should be recommended over elective C-sections, which is why I will recommend them over C-sections for all moms. But, you are always free to make your own choices and were fortunate to find a doctor to support your wishes.

This is so annoying to me. I had two elective c sections for personal reasons, neither were medically necessary. I am a nurse and talked to my Doctors extensively about the risks, and they agreed to my wishes. As women we need to stop judging those who WANT c sections, we do exist, and it is our right to decide how we want to have our babies. Just how I believe it is every womans right to birth whatever way she wants, whether it be induced/all natural/VBAC/c section etc. A doctor pushing you to do something you dont want is a bad doctor, a doctor performing a requested elective c section is NOT a bad doctor, and the women who want them are not lesser mothers.

See, and that makes ZERO sense to me. Why would they have to do a C-section when you’ve already had two successful VBACs? Often it is a hospital policy, but it’s a stupid policy. I (half) joked with my husband that I just wouldn’t go in for a C-section if they scheduled one for me, and just go to the hospital after I went into labor. Also, I hate that doctors often push for early deliveries when they are C-sections. Let them babies cook!

I had an emergency C-section in 1994, in 1995 my doctor strongly encouraged me to have a VBAC. I did, it was awesome, I think I pushed three times after twelve hours of labor. I had another VBAC in 1999- it was hard- I was 41 weeks and they could not even break my water for six hours. Twelve hours total and I had my 9.3 lb bundle of joy. Fast forward to 2008, and I was FORCED to have a C-section. My doctor who did the two VBACs was no longer offering them! The scheduled C-section was horrible, they took my son early so I would not go into labor and he ended up in the NICU for having water in his lungs. I think lawyers are going to be the end of VBACs. As a side-note, I have a friend who is a labor and delivery nurse and she has only seen one uterus rupture and it was not a VBAC. Peace and joy!

Great comment! And I didn’t know that about when a uterine rupture usually occurs. Very interesting.

Epidurals help pain, don’t they? And yes! It’s great that you are alive and thriving and so is your baby. 🙂

I was grateful to be able to have had the c-section.
I often hear the comment, “If only we could live back then,” I often tell myself, if we lived ‘back then’ I would be dead twice over. From my first miscarriage and from the placenta previa.
To be able to keep my baby and myself safe was a blessing. I had a cousin who was pregnant at the same time as I who had a partial previa but hers moved off to the side and she was able to have a normal delivery.

By the way…my first was natural but the 3rd delivery, I did have an epidural. I have discovered that if I don’t keep up at the chiropractor things get really out of whack and I had incredible pain as the baby forced passed a bone that wasn’t in the right place (she came out with a bruise on her nose 🙂 )

First, I am sorry to hear about your two losses. That is sooo hard. I am glad you were persistent and able to find a doctor that would allow you to VBAC, even a large baby. 🙂 My last baby was 9lbs 4oz and my second was 9lbs 8oz (born vaginally). But, aren’t you glad you were able to have a C-section when you had a placenta previa? Thank goodness for ultrasounds that discover such things before labor starts and there is serious risks to you and baby! I am also amazed at your natural labors. I’ve always had an epidural. ha ha.

Our first baby was an induced (9 days late) but pain-med free vaginal birth – 9 lbs. 3 oz.

Our second baby we lost at 9 weeks though we celebrate ‘his’ birthday every year. I had to have a D and C at the hospital after the baby was born at home.

Our third baby was a scheduled c-section due to placenta previa. – a couple weeks early 6 lbs. 14 oz. – in the NICU for one week for breathing issues. I did not have morphine or anything like that in the epidural – talk about a TON of research going in!

Our fourth baby, I wanted a VBAC but had an insanely hard time finding a doctor that would do one for me…we had moved to another state between the second and third. “There is too much risk” I was told over and over…it didn’t help that I choose to have a female doctor. I finally found one after about a dozen phone calls but the entire pregnancy she was leery of the baby getting to big. Well, she did and I had to be induced, but I still had her vaginally – 9 lbs. 4 oz. on her due date.

Our middle child struggled for a while with getting colds/bronchitis/pneumonia easily and I believe, though she was born early, if she could have been born vaginally it would have helped (squeezing her and getting stuff out of her lungs and air passages on the way out). Obviously, that was not a choice for us for our second but I am thankful to have had a VBAC for our third

We lost our fifth baby shortly into our pregnancy this past April but our insurance is limited and I chose to wait and see if my body got back to normal on it’s own – it took a while but everything seemed normal again when I get pregnant again with our sixth.

And I will choose a natural labor if at all possible with this next one.
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By the way, I had a much more difficult recovery from the c-section than the natural deliveries.

It’s so posh to get cut in Beverly Hills. :p And I hope doctors wouldn’t perform unless necessary, but I think “necessary” is becoming more up to interpretation, and sometimes due to hospital/doctor convenience. 🙁

It is definitely a decision each woman has to make for themselves and with their doctors. Can I ask why you scheduled C-sections both times?