Cesarean vs. VBAC

I probably shouldn’t have watched this first thing in the morning, because it has me sobbing. This woman went through TWO unnecessary c-sections and ended with a VBAC homebirth in the water. It’s beautiful. The pictures shown at the end really got to me… I have nearly the exact same picture from after my cesarean–my first time meeting Ryan, strapped to a table, unable to touch him, and too drugged up to know left from right. I can’t wait for my homebirth next time.

*This video does show the baby coming out during the c-section so it may be a bit graphic for some of you.

Taken by Alexandra Orchard:

Cesarean vs. VBAC: A Dramatic Difference from Alexandra Orchard on Vimeo.

Watch how a baby is delivered in a cesarean birth and see the dramatic difference in what both the mother and baby experience in a home water birth after cesarean.

12 comments to Cesarean vs. VBAC

  • and now I’M crying. Beautiful beautiful beautiful. I was cringing on the 2nd baby how they were pushing on her so hard and pulling so hard on the baby ugh 🙁

    I had a vaginal with my 1st and csection with my 2nd and I absolutely REFUSE to EVER have another csection. EVER.

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  • OMG! I bawled!!! I had to have an emergency c-section two years ago with my youngest son, and I had a horrible experience. I have to have another one in about 8 weeks because no one in this area does VBAC. I’m really scared, but hopefully this one will go better. My first one was natural and it went so much more smoothly.

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  • wow, that home water birth was absolutely BEAUTIFUL!!! I too cringed during the second c-section. I can’t wait for yout to have your homebirth/vbac 🙂

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  • Wow, those c-sections were rough! I had my LO naturally, in a hospital with a midwife present. Thankfully my labor progressed on it’s own after being induced with cervadil. I did not need the pitocin, therefore was able to continue with my natural labor as planned. It took 8 hours of labor and 30 minutes of pushing and EXTREME pain, but it was so worth it! I don’t know if I will ever be able to do it again (I’m talking MAJOR pain!) but at least I know I can! I am so thankful that I was able to deliver naturally in a LARGE hospital (we are talking the hospital that delivers the most babies in the entire United States) and that I had amazing support from the nurses and my midwife. I am here to say that it can be done! You don’t have to have a home birth, but I also know that my situation is rare too.

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  • Wow – thanks for sharing this. It gives me hope about a future natural VBAC. I had a c-section with my son after trying to go natural in a hospital, them threatening c-section, I finally got pitocin to “speed things along”….long story – ended up my son was brow presentation though no one realized it and his face was crushed and has had 4 surgeries so far. Not a happy delivery at all, hoping number 2 is much more what I envisioned.

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  • This is one of my favorites! Did you catch that she is now becoming a midwife herself as a result of these experiences?

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    babydickey Reply:

    No I didn’t! That is wonderful!!

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  • I love the video. Although I had to fast forward through most of the sections as it was a difficult thing to watch! Im glad you’re sharing w/ other mama’s

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    babydickey Reply:

    Yea, very hard to watch 🙁

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  • I’m bawling my eyes out. Cannot stop crying. I was completely 100% against having a cesarean my entire pregnancy. I didn’t discuss it, I didn’t plan for it, I didn’t think about it. It wasn’t going to happen to me. I was healthy, my baby was healthy… no c-section. NEVER. Two weeks before her due date, I became “pre” preeclamptic. NOT preeclamptic, but PRE. As in, they should watch for it, not take the baby out. But my doctor scheduled an induction and I was under the impression that if my baby didn’t come out, we would both be in grave danger. Well, inducing me didn’t work. I never even really went into labor past what felt like small menstrual cramps. 32 hours after I entered the hospital, I was told my pelvis was too small and the baby would have to be surgically removed. Both of us were still healthy and doing well, but I was young and scared, so I followed the doctor’s orders and signed my life away so they could operate. I didn’t touch my daughter until almost an hour after she was born and the pain meds stopped me from being able to nurse immediately. Two weeks after birth, I was in the hospital with my daughter due to a high fever and my incision opened from a severe MRSA infection. I was in hospitals, doctors’ offices, testing units, etc for the first 14 weeks of my daughter’s life and had to be at my OB’s office every day to have my wound cleaned and restuffed until she bestowed that duty upon my poor husband, who had to pull out, clean and restuff my wound and watch me cringe and cry twice a day. I will fight so hard never to have another cesarean. EVER. And until I watched this video, I had no idea what it looked like on the other side of the blue sheet. My poor baby. 🙁

    But all is well now, I just have a really ugly scar that never closed properly. Healthy baby, though. I just pray that more doctors will listen to their patients’ birth plans and let moms give themselves and their children an actual try for natural birth.

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    babydickey Reply:

    I’m so sorry that happened to you. Mine was also unnecessary and just like you, I never planned for one, never discussed it, never thought about it. Just like you–I thought it would NEVER happen to me. 🙁 I do hope that women gain more respect than they currently have in their bodies, their births and their decisions. All we can do is spread the word!!!

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  • […] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Jessi J. and Baby Dickey, Mama B. Mama B said: you HAVE to watch this: Cesarean vs. VBAC http://bit.ly/aaWgIh @babydickey […]

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