Preggie Pals
VBAC: THE RISK AND BENEFITS

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Please be advised, this transcription was performed from a company independent of New Mommy Media, LLC. As such, translation was required which may alter the accuracy of the transcription.

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KELLY JO EDDY: VBAC or Vaginal Birth after Caesarean is a topic that you may be researching for current or future pregnancy. There are several factors to consider if you are a good candidate for this type of birth. I’m Kelly Jo Eddy, co-leader of the San Diego chapter of ICAN and today we’ll be discussing the risk and benefits of vaginal birth after caesarean. This is Preggie Pals episode 96.

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ANNIE LAIRD: Welcome to Preggie Pals broadcasting from the birth education centre of San Diego. Preggie Pals is your weekly online on-the-go support group for expecting parents and those hoping to become pregnant. I’m your host Annie Laird. Thanks to all of our loyal listeners who’ve join the Preggie Pals Club our members get special episodes, bonus content after each show plus special giveaways and discounts. See our website for more information. Another way for you to stay connected is by downloading our free Preggie Pals app which is available in the Android and iTunes marketplace. Now Sunny is going to be talking to us about our Virtual Panelists Program.

SUNNY GAULT: Yeah so if you guys aren’t here in San Diego were we record our shows, you can still participate in our conversation. You can like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter. If you are fan of Twitter, follow #preggiepalsvp which stands for virtual panelist and we’ll be posting some of the questions that we’re asking our in-studio panellist so you could join on the conversation, make comment on our Facebook page and we’ll even include some of the comments on our show and if we do you’ll win a one-month membership to the Preggie Pals Club.

ANNIE LAIRD: Great thanks sunny. Let’s go around and introduce our panellist. I’m Annie Laird. I’m the host of Preggie Pals. I have three daughters and no due date so for once I’m not pregnant which is you know probably good considering I’ve two kids under the age of two. So…

STEPHANIE GLOVER: My name is Stephanie Glover, I’m 31. I’m a stay at home mom to two girls, Gretchen who is 2 ½ and Lydia who is 6 months old. And Lydia is my VBAC baby and my first of course obviously is my c-section baby.

NATALINA GLEASON: Hi my name is Natalina Gleason, I’m soon to be 32.

ANNIE LAIRD: But you’re still yeah not advanced maternal age so...

NATALINA GLEASON: We’re good, we’re good.

ANNIE LAIRD: Yeah, yeah.

NATALINA GLEASON: Pregnant with my second. My first, David, is my leapling born on 2012 and I’m hoping to have a VBAC this august.

ANNIE LAIRD: Awesome thanks and explain what leapling is exactly.

NATALINA GLEASON: Leapling sorry.

ANNIE LAIRD: Yeah.

NATALINA GLEASON: 2/29. Anybody born on February 29th.

ANNIE LAIRD: That’s awesome.

NATALINA GLEASON: Yes.

ANNIE LAIRD: Yeah. See what you work out just that way.

NATALINA GLEASON: Yeah he did you know he picked it.

ANNIEL LAIRD: Yeah.

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ANNIE LAIRD: Well sometimes here on Preggie Pals as our featured segment we review an app or we talk about an interesting article so this is a – sometimes it is more of an amusing article. Probably less amusing and actually more serious topic that the title of the article is the Big Lie on Putting Up Pregnancy. And this was on CNN and this was broadcast last month and what it talks about is that there’s a… Here it is broadcast in Southern California and you see a lot of this around LA. Of all the celebrities who are pregnant references and their pregnant later on in life. Halle Berry having her second baby at 47 years old, Kelley Preston doing the same thing, Mitherman had her 3rd child at 42 and all of this people are having their babies in their forties and how there’s almost a - you know the big lie basically that oh you know no problem if you had a miscarriage you know when you were 38 you have time you know you’re not even on your forties yet of [inaudible] putting off their pregnancies due to a career or a need to be a little bit more financially stable. I mean what are you ladies think about this? Do you think that it has an effect? Do you see a lot more older pregnant women and you know what is your experience with other women or maybe even yourself having to go through like fertility treatments.

NATALINA GLEASON: What is with the mommy wear stuff? Gosh it just seems like more and more, a woman is a mother no matter what her age you know and I think if someone makes a choice to have a career and to have children later in life then that’s her business and that’s her life and that’s her path. I had my first when I was 22 and I remember feeling so much judgement from the nurse and she makes snag remarks about my age and how I didn’t really know what I was doing when my first was born because I was so young. And I just you know that was my path and that’s what I chose and good for me. And you know Halley Berry good for her. She’s a hot mom and she’s hot. How was she 47?

ANNIE LAIRD: Yeah she’s 47.

NATALINA GLEASON: You know good for her. That’s what I…

ANNIE LAIRD: But do you think that it’s deceiving that woman look at Halley Berry that she is 47 and think oh well I can get pregnant at any age and thought you know.

NATALINA GLEASON: Yeah I will say that I think that they that we don’t hear everybody’s birth story so we don’t know if she had 10 miscarriages or if she went through fertility treatments because maybe she’s not being open and honest about it. Some people have an easy time. My grandmother was born in 1920 to her mom at 35 and you know my family has consistently have their babies on their thirties so late thirties and that’s a big deal on 1920. But not everybody has that I don’t know that kind of body and some people on their twenties need fertility treatment. I have a friend who it think is 24 and went through a lot of treatments from the age of I think 21 to 24 because she met her husband early on in life and they got married early and then tried to have a baby and then for years it didn’t work out.

ANNIE LAIRD: Yeah.

NATALINA GLEASON: And so she had issues on her twenties. It’s…

ANNIE LAIRD: Yeah same I’m thinking about specifically another navy family that I know that she was in her I think she was maybe even 19 when she married her husband and you know wanted a family but you know hey we’re young it’s okay let’s just enjoy our relationship. It became apparent over years and this is just early twenties were they realize and I think it was like sometime it where on her mid-twenties she underwent an IVF and maybe this is a good you know topic for you know twin talks you know good article for them.

NATALINA GLEASON: Right.

ANNIE LAIRD: There’s a lot of times when you do that IVF then you end up you know with…

NATALINA GLEASON: Multiple.

ANNIE LAIRD: Multiple with multiples right so she had 3 babies. She had triplets two boys and a little girl and they’re just a darling but you know a lot of negativity towards her you know and for her she was yeah it was challenging because her husband was like pretty much went on to his department head tour and deployed right from when the kids were born. She was home by herself you know young mom you know in her twenties but she was blessed you know she felt very grateful for her triplets so…

NATALINA GLEASON Yeah I like that we are getting to the age were people are a lot more upfront and honest. I mean I miscarried before I had my son and luckily I got pregnant right away but I try and be pretty vocal about it not to the point where you know I’m blasting it on Facebook for everybody because I don’t want sympathy for it but I wanted it to be a well-known thing that a lot of woman have miscarriages. A lot of women…

ANNIE LAIRD: Yeah.

NATALINA GLEASON: lose babies further on in their pregnancy. I was luckily very early on luckily but…

ANNIE LAIRD: Yeah.

NATALINA GLEASON: It wasn’t as if I were you know 16 weeks along. I had a friend that lost her baby at 24 weeks and she was very open about it. You could talk to her and ask her questions and I like that we’re getting to that point and I wish that moms that were having their babies at their thirties and forties would tell us about their journey because for some of them maybe they got pregnant for short no problem and ....

ANNIE LAIRD: The happy part of the story that’s awesome when the IVF works and you know you’re able to have this.

NATALINA GLEASON: Right.

ANNIE LAIRD: But I think I do agree with what editors is writing on this column you know in this article saying you know are we really seeing the other side of it some of the heartache that’s associated maybe with…

NATALINA GLEASON: Financial cost.

ANNIE LAIRD: Right.

NATALINA GLEASON: The pain.

ANNIE LAIRD: Yeah.

NATALINA GLEASON: Emotionally and physically yeah you’re absolutely right I don’t think it…I think you’re right. I think it kind of does gives us this joyous look on how look you can have your babies on your thirties and forties then have everything you’ve ever wanted but for some people it would work but what about the people that spend a hundred thousand dollars and lose multiple babies and still nothing.

STEPHANIE GLOVER: And I can speak to we plan both of our girls and we were you know I was 28 when I got pregnant with my first, 30 when I got pregnant with my second and we were ready and that we decided to start trying and we were married and kind of going on the traditional path. But in so many ways we’re so never ready. So I think just to like touch on that piece of it. One thing I could say to the woman who might postpone it for 10 years to focus on other things knowing that in those 10 years she still may not feel ready.

ANNIE LAIRD: Yeah.

STEPHANIE GLOVER: So you know we all kind of go to the anxieties of it even when it’s planned and we were young.

NATALINA GLEASON: Yeah absolutely. I’ve mean that I’m agreeing with all you’re saying but if somebody is you know maybe running after that awesome career that they have and feel very fulfilled in it you don’t want them to feel pressured to have a baby just because the clock is ticking. You know if they’re comfortable on their place and they feel like their time is not right now I don’t think that society should push them you know kind of pigeon hold them.

ANNIE LAIRD: It’s like Oh my gosh you’re thirty better get on

NATALINA GLEASON: And you’re a woman and so this is your place.

ANNIE LAIRD: Yeah right. That’s a good point too.

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ANNIE LAIRD: Today on Preggie Pals were talking about planning your VBAC. Joining us today is Kelly Jo Eddy who is the co-leader of ICAN of San Diego. ICAN is the International Caesarean Awareness Network. Kelly Jo welcome to the show and thanks for joining us.

KELLY JO EDDY: Thanks.

ANNIE LAIRD: Let’s start off with just the basics here of VBAC you know. I’m surprised when I was planning this episode I was trying to get panelist and talking to people you know pregnant moms and they say what’s VBAC? And so what does it even stands for?

KELLY JO EDDY: Oh VBAC, V-B-A-C sounds is stands for Vaginal Birth after Caesarean so it would be a mom who’s had one cesarean or even two or three who is planning a vaginal birth.

ANNIE LAIRD: Oh Okay. There was a big article that came out the American Academy of what was it of a gynecologist right that was talking about all this new continuous labor support was a good thing for reducing the cesarean rate and it talk a lot about reducing the primary cesarean so the number one cesarean basically so basically what’s the big deal about VBAC? I mean why wouldn’t you just go ahead then you know schedule a cesarean. Why shouldn’t everybody had a cesarean? Would that be easier?

KELLY JO EDDY: Well a repeat cesarean may be easier when it comes to knowing exactly when your baby is going to come but it might not be easier on your body or on your emotions. A lot of woman have what we call a traumatic cesarean birth with their first birth or second birth or whatever number they had their cesarean and they can have a lot of birth trauma from that and things that they need to work through.

ANNIE LAIRD: Now is it are you talking like emotional trauma or physical trauma?

KELLY JO EDDY: Both.

ANNIE LAIRD: Oh Okay.

KELLY JO EDDY: Some women can have you know scar tissue that’s built up they can you know physically and they can really have a rough recovery. Some woman takes a long time. I know that with my cesarean delivery it took me maybe four weeks to be able to get up and walk to the bathroom on my own.

ANNIE LAIRD: Wow.

KELLY JO EDDY: It was a really difficult recovery. Some women need to have therapy with the scar tissue that’s going on they get infections I know that I my incision got infected and that was really painful and so now on an emotional side of it a lot of woman feel that they were rob of their birth experience. We see on the movies they this you know the husband is on one side and the other whoever

ANNIE LAIRD: A nurse or something yeah.

KELLY JO EDDY: A nurse or something on the other side holding their hand and everybody’s yelling push-push. The baby comes out. The doctor catches it. The mom saw being everybody so happy. She is beautiful and glowing and it’s just…

ANNIE LAIRD: Her makeup is perfect of course.

KELLY JO EDDY: Her makeup of course. Her hair is just in place and she saw being holding this beautiful baby and you have this moment that childbirth moment.

ANNIE LAIRD: I did it.

KELLY JO EDDY: Yes you have that triumphant moment and a cesarean birth a lot of times especially if it’s an emergency cesarean you missed out on that and so a lot of moms feel like they don’t have that I did it birth warrior momma moment and they want it and they deserve it and so that’s a lot of what woman kind of go for with their vaginal birth after cesarean is their looking for their moment. And it’s not selfish to want that. Every mom and every baby deserves a healthy ideal birth the birth that they choose. I think that it is a woman’s right issue. Personally, I think that a lot of women are being pushed around and it’s really unfortunate and I think…

ANNIE LAIRD: And you’ll always hear kind of like well you had you know a healthy baby and healthy mom and you know there’s probably more than that you know.

KELLY JO EDDY: Yeah a lot of cesarean moms have a really physical reaction to that because people are pushing their opinions on to them. It’s almost like it’s sit there and be quiet kind of a thing. Don’t complain because you have it you have it right and you know a woman who’s had a traumatic caesarean would want to shove it right back on their face and say you know you don’t know what my experience was because it can be very…

ANNIE LAIRD: Like you said you weren’t there with me two in the morning when I couldn’t walk to the bathroom by myself.

KELLY JO EDDY: Exactly.

ANNIE LAIRD: Yeah. It’s it that a lot of flaws of like kind of a passive control.

KELLY JO EDDY: Passive control absolutely.

ANNIE LAIRD: Yeah.

KELLY JO EDDY: And especially in the birth experience world you want to feel like on your own territory. You want to feel like you kind of own the space that you’re birthing in so the safe space. And when the power is taken from you and you’re kind of strapped down and told to be quiet or told that you’re not in control or what you say doesn’t matter. It’s taken the power away from a woman. It’s taken the power away from the mom and I think that that’s what kind of makes it a woman’s right situation.

ANNIE LAIRD: Yeah. Now what would you say was the biggest benefit after a woman has had one or more caesareans and she has a vaginal birth. What’s the benefit to the mom for having that vaginal birth?

KELLY JO EDDY: Well first of all speaking physically about the mom there’s one last scar on her uterus. If she wants to have future children she won’t have you know the extra incision site the extra scar tissue build up so that’s really beneficial. But emotionally a lot woman found a lot of healing in their vaginal birth. Sometimes they didn’t even know they need it and they’ll feel very empowered by it, they’ll feel like they were the one calling the shots because this is their body and you can have a lot of violation. You can feel very violated sometimes in birth if you’re not the one calling the shots. So if you get what the provider and with the birth team who’s really building you up and making you feel like you’re the one in control of the situation especially in a situation where you may be I don’t know topless or naked or you know you’re very exposed and vulnerable and you’re inhibitions are down. You want to feel still in control of the situation and I feel like that’s really important for women so I think having that vaginal birth after having your cesarean or even being able to try for it even you know even if something happens and you do end up with a repeat cesarean. Just going for it and feeling like you’re the one…

ANNIE LAIRD: Is having that trial of labor.

KELLY JO EDDY: Having that trial of labor that we call the TOLAC trial of labor after cesarean really puts you back in a driver’s seat and it kind of makes you feel like you’re the one in control of your own body.

ANNIE LAIRD: Yeah. Stephanie I would like to hear what your experience was. What did you feel because you had a cesarean and your baby Lydia was your VBAC baby, what did you feel was the biggest benefit to you with having that VBAC?

STEPHANIE GLOVER: Just that I got, I got that ideal birth. I got the birth that I missed out on and knowing that you know she picked her due date, her birthday, that she did really well on the laboring process and that she benefited from all the good bacteria like passing through the…

ANNIE LAIRD: You talk about the microbes… The microbes the lady’s thing yeah

STEPHANIE GLOVER: Yeah and you know like her lungs got the compression that they need coming through the vaginal canal and she got into a contractual.

ANNIE LAIRD: I heard she screamed a lot when she came out so yeah…

STEPHANIE GLOVER: Hey she was ready to go.

ANNIE LAIRD: Yeah. She has a lot to say.

STEPHANIE GLOVER: A lot to say and handled birth beautifully and we didn’t have to hear the yucky d-cell word of a heartbeat – heart rate that happens at a lot of intervention oftentimes leading to cesarean and you know so for me getting to sort of have that dream birth that I had hope for and knowing that I was going to get up and walk to the bathroom two hours later…

SUNNY GAULT: Oh yeah!

STEPHANIE GLOVER: Was amazing and eating as they were you know I had a third-degree tear and my doula was feeding me a lora-bar as they were stitching me up were I had to wait still through the night not be able to eat after my c-section.

ANNIE LAIRD: And how do breastfeeding go afterward? Was that the benefit you saw between your two children?

STEPHANIE GLOVER: Fortunately I had no problems breastfeeding with either but just that immediate skin to skin that she got you know they I delivered a baby from the hospital there wasn’t a nursery to [inaudible]. I got to literally pull her up and out on to my chest and that’s where she stayed for over an hour.

ANNIE LAIRD: That’s fantastic.

STEPHANIE GLOVER: Yeah so kind of everything I didn’t get the first time around were shaking coming of the anesthesia and not able to hold my baby for about 45 minutes to an hour and that first go around really came back full circle and help me heal emotionally as well as an easier physical recovery.

ANNIE LAIRD: That’s awesome. Natalina, you’re coming up to your trial of labor here you know going to your successfully VBAC that’s we’re all hoping for you. Now what are you looking forward to as far as you had your cesarean with your son David and we don’t know a little boy or a little girl yet but what are you looking forward to as a benefit for either yourself or your baby?

NATALINA GLEASON: I think is that moment of victory that on doing what my body was meant to do and I mean you kind of had the birth that I want. I want to be able to pull my baby out and place it on my chest and look into its eyes immediately and know that I did it that we did it. That I gave the baby the birth that they deserve and just really more of that victory of strength within myself but I mean I will say that with my son I was lucky enough to at least have gone into a long enough labor that breastfeeding really wasn’t an issue for me and I feel like my body was able to heal a lot more because it was already ready to have the baby that I had all the hormones going through my body so I’m liking a lot of these women that even though they’re needing a cesarean or choosing a cesarean that they choose to wait until they go into labor because I feel like your body is a lot easier for it to heal when it’s kind of ready for the baby to be out

ANNIE LAIRD: Be born.

SUNNY GAULT: Be born.

NATALINA GLEASON: I mean I’d…

ANNIE LAIRD: Yeah I heard the term belly birth before which I thought was kind of cool like you know it’s a cesarean but it is still a birth…

NATALINA GLEASON: It is.

ANNIE LAIRD: You know

NATALINA GLEASON: It is and that’s one of those things that’s like I know that it’s a possibility still no matter how much positive thinking I do and how many books I read and having a doula but I know that I could have a cesarean and I’m okay with it because I know I’ve been through it before but I will make sure that I’ll go into labor beforehand and then that’s one of the big things when choosing a care provider that no matter what if that’s a necessity then I want to be able to go on into labor…

ANNIE LAIRD: Right.

NATALINA GLEASON: Before the happiness.

ANNIE LAIRD: But Kelly Jo going to that a little bit more, how if a woman chooses that she is going to have a trial of labor after cesarean, how many women that go for that VBAC are actually getting that VBAC?

KELLY JO EDDY: I think it’s like 75 to 85%.

ANNIE LAIRD: Oh that’s great! Yeah, wow. Now is VBAC is it popular I mean it seemed like back in the 90s you know I guess I wasn’t a childbearing age on the 90s I’m exposing myself of how old I am here but it seemed like that was kind of the thing you know that it was really popular now it seems like it’s decreased in popularity. I mean why is that? Do you think that is it our restrictions or just do moms just want to reschedule another cesarean? Is it you know the care providers?

KELLY JO EDDY: Well you know we’re living on an interesting time right now where the medical community is being changed and affected by the insurance changes that are happening in our nation and right now in America we’ve had this shift in the way the insurance works and I’m sure that that would have a reflection on the way that birth is affected but like you said in the 90s there was a shift and there was a change and that had a lot to do with the fact that insurance providers they kind of call a lot of the shots which is unfortunate but it’s just how it works. They said that VBACS were not safe and I think of a big reason why they said that because they were more expensive at the time or I’m sorry they were less expensive and…

ANNIE LAIRD: Then they’re doing the cesarean so you’ve figured you got to have that extra nurse, you had to have the pediatric nurse, you have to have the physiologist.

KELLY JO EDDY: Right.

ANNIE LAIRD: You are in a longer hospital stay probably with the c-section. Yeah.

KELLY JO EDDY: And if a doctor wants to be appointed with an insurance company they better listen to what the insurance company has to say.

ANNIE LAIRD: Oh yeah well he can’t practice without liability.

KELLY JO EDDY: Right.

ANNIE LAIRD: So if his liability insurance that’s totally make sense.

KELLY JO EDDY: Yeah.

ANNIE LAIRD: The liability insurance will say no you know we’re not going to…well you can do a VBAC we’re not telling you how to practice but you know you won’t have liability insurance so who’s going to go against that?

KELLY JO EDDY: Right and I will say that the younger doctors that I’m seeing fresh out of the medical school and fresh off their residency are seeming to be much more VBAC friendly and much more friendly to the midwifery…

ANNIE LAIRD: Model of care.

KELLY JO EDDY: Model of care.

ANNIE LAIRD: Yeah.

KELLY JO EDDY: They’re much more naturally minded when it comes to birth. Much more supportive of the mom being in control and I think I see the tides changing in it energy kind of shifting back towards mom being in charge and it seems like the younger generation of doctors the older generation of doctors and the very youngers. The one on the middle who were practicing at their peak in their 90’s they’re not as VBAC friendly but it seems like to me from what I’ve seen that the younger ones are…

ANNIE LAIRD: A lot more open.

KELLY JO EDDY: A lot more open.

ANNIE LAIRD: Yeah, great. When we come back we’ll be discussing the risks of VBAC. We’ll be right back.

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ANNIE LAIRD: Welcome back. Today we are talking about the risks and benefits of the VBAC. Kelly Jo what is the biggest risk when a woman chooses to VBAC?

KELLY JO EDDY: Well the big scary word is that…

ANNIE LAIRD: What’s the big scary? Yeah…

KELLY JO EDDY: Yeah. The big scary word that we always hear about is the uterine rupture.

ANNIE LAIRD: Okay.

KELLY JO EDDY: Now.

ANNIE LAIRD: On how often that is that actually happen?

KELLY JO EDDY: Less than 1%.

ANNIE LAIRD: Oh wow.

KELLY JO EDDY: Is that right? Less than 1%.

ANNIE LAIRD: Now with uterine rupture that’s actually a split in the uterine muscle that’s we’re talking about?

KELLY JO EDDY: Yeah and I think when we hear rupture that word kind of makes us think of like…

ANNIE LAIRD: Like aliens…

KELLY JO EDDY: Yeah it’s like…

ANNIE LAIRD: It’s like the guy in the diner you know oh my God it’s a uterine rupture as if the guy so have a uterus but yeah…

KELLY JO EDDY: Especially when our partners who may be haven’t had don’t have a uterus if they you know they expect I know my husband kind of say is like a balloon exploding is it kind of like that? It’s not like that. We hear about those uterine ruptures where a woman goes in for abdominal surgery later on in life and her uterus is thorn to tiny bit and no one even realizes. Uterine rupture can be on a spectrum you know where it could be anywhere from a tiny little tear is a more appropriate word to…

ANNIE LAIRD: Catastrophic.

KELLY JO EDDY: Catastrophic…

ANNIE LAIRD: Yeah.

KELLY JO EDDY: And so the less than 1% is even kind of yeah it’s even I feel like it’s a little bit inflated because you have this mom who have a tiny tear in it and you know.

ANNIE LAIRD: And they found it out maybe for another reason she goes in for the repeat cesarean maybe baby is not handling the labor real well or maybe she’s just not progressing with cervical violation they’re going to do the I guess that could be considered a tear as well when they go in for some unrelated reason to do the repeat cesarean after a trial of labor that you know didn’t work out and oh there’s a little tear but that’s considered in the statistics. Yeah.

KELLY JO EDDY: As someone who is working with a lot of moms who are attempting a TOLAC or a VBAC, one thing that I really like is the more business in being born they have a whole section…

ANNIE LAIRD: I saw that it’s yeah

KELLY JO EDDY: On uterine rupture and I love how they’ve covered it I love how they explained it. That it’s not this big end of the world thing and I just thought that it was really great.

NATALINA GLEASON: That was nice when I was actually interviewing doulas they talk about that because I up until about two weeks ago I thought uterine rupture means that you’re going to rupture exactly where you where had your incision and you better get that baby out in 15 minutes or less or whatever and they were telling me that it is. It’s just the smallest of tears that it could go almost unnoticed.

KELLY JO EDDY: You know some moms have tears and they don’t-they’ve never had a cesarean before. They have a rupture and they you know.

ANNIE LAIRD: Now what can a mom do to reduce the risk of uterine rupture?

KELLY JO EDDY: You know there’re some things that doulas recommend like drinking the raspberry leaf tea and the evening primrose oil capsules and…

ANNIE LAIRD: I though raspberry leaf tea I thought there was like you know raspberry zinger. I had no idea that was like a black tea and it tasted gross at least I think it did.

KELLY JO EDDY: A little agave was my favorite. I like drinking it I would brew it hot add agave and I would drink It cold yeah I thought it was great. It tastes like black tea.

ANNIE LAIRD: Yeah.

KELLY JO EDDY: Yeah.

ANNIE LAIRD: And you see I’m not just a black tea person. I’m a coffee person but yeah.

KELLY JO EDDY: That’s okay we’ll still like you.

ANNIE LAIRD: Yeah. Now what is other than tells about induction coupled with VBAC? Is it something that generally is not recommended?

KELLY JO EDDY: You know this is something that actually came up on a form that I’m a member of earlier today. Someone was asking, they were doula and they were asking for their VBAC client they said the doctor is thinking about inducing Pitocin is that okay and it can by a small percentage increase your risk of a uterine rupture but not so much that you’re completely not able to have a Toxin that’s kind of a well-circulated myth is that a woman who’s had a cesarean cannot have a Pitocin, they can. I had it and I lived to tell the tale.

ANNIE LAIRD: You just want to ramp it up really really high.

KELLY JO EDDY: Exactly. A responsible caregiver, a responsible OB will start out very slow and very gentle and will use precaution and it’s definitely something that you should talk about with your OB before you know before labor starts before you get into the middle of it.

ANNIE LAIRD: I mention you know I imagine ideally you want to go into labor on your own.

KELLY JO EDDY: Great.

ANNIE LAIRD: Yeah.

KELLY JO EDDY: It doesn’t always happen my water broke and labor didn’t start for 21 hours and I was GBS positive and so my care provider use a small amount of Pitocin to get labor going and as soon as it was going he turned it off and it was fine.

ANNIE LAIRD: Good, awesome. Are there any drugs that should be avoided if inducing a VBAC mom? I’ve heard stuff about like side attack or I’m not sure what the...

SUNNY GAULT: Side attack is a bad word.

ANNIE LAIRD: Yeah so what is a side attack I mean why do you hear the bad things about it?

KELLY JO EDDY: Well side-attack first of all is not originally intended for labor. It was not a drug that was intended to treat mothers who are in labor but a nice side-effect was that it worked but it’s had a lot of its gained a lot of attention in the birthing community as far as our news network because there’s been some deaths, maternal deaths associated with it so it’s something that you know makes me my sisters comments oh and then they induce me with side. She was going over her birth story with me she said they use side-attack and my hands went in my eyes. They use what? You let them do what? And you know she said oh well you know I didn’t know and you know it’s something that you should research and you should empower yourself about and that you should ask your provider about if their you know ask them that could be a red flag if you ask are you comfortable using side-attack? You know what’s your position on side-attack?

ANNIE LAIRD: Why is it used if it’s not supposed to be used for labour? Is it like cheaper or something or you know?

KELLY JO EDDY: That’s a good question.

STEPHANIE GLOVER: I actually just was reading about it. They can’t even explain why they are using it when they know that’s not…

ANNIE LAIRD: Indicated for inducing labour.

STEPHANIE GLOVER: It’s not indicated for inducing labour it actually specifically says on their not for people who are pregnant but they’re still using it and it’s just…

KELLY JO EDDY: Perhaps just out of habit?

STEPHANIE GLOVER: But yeah it’s I mean that’s literally two days ago just reading something about it and they still can’t explain why they use it.

ANNIE LAIRD: Interesting. Thanks Kelly Jo for joining us today. For more information about the San Diego chapter of ICAN as well as information about any of our panelists, visit the episode page on our website. This conversation continues for members of our Preggie Pals Club. After the show, Kelly Jo is going to be discussing the risk and benefits about another subset of VBAC, the HBAC or the Home Birth after Caesarean. To join our club, visit our website www.preggiepals.com.

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DANIEL SINGLEY: Hello, my name is Dr. Daniel Singley. I’m a licensed psychologist specializing in men’s issues and founder of basic training for new dads. Let’s take a couple of minutes to focus on how expectant couples and parents of newborns can keep your relationship strong during the third and fourth trimesters. The birth of first child often results in a temporary decrease in martial satisfaction and research has shown that the birth of a child is the most stressful child-related event that parents experience on their entire lives.

There’re a variety of very straight-forward steps that new parents and parents to be can take in order to keep their relationship strong and the key is to be proactive rather than waiting until frustration has turn into resentment. I developed a cheat sheet for expecting parents which gives ways for moms and dads ways to be proactive in about managing some issues that can result in problems on their relationship during the transition to parenthood. First for the expectant dads you should take point on looking for a paediatrician during the third trimester. Interview mom to find out what she’s looking for. Let her know any preferences you might have as well and make the rounds to gather the information so you could collaborate together about picking the right paediatrician. This is a great way to help mom out and to be closely involved with your baby’s well-being from the gecko. Also, continue to express physical affection. Pregnancy and having a new baby naturally result in changes that can make intimacy a challenge.

Even beyond having sex, think about the ways in which you would flirt or express physical affection when you first started dating the hugs, kisses, massages. Maybe even a little pat on the butt now and then. The trick is to work on continuing to date with your partner even your instinct want you to spend all of your time and energy on your new born baby. Also, this is very important, take the lead on initiating a regular weekly ten to fifteen minute summit meeting to check in with each other. The goal is to connect with each other about how you’re doing and not to do family business or hash out logistics. After successful meeting, mom and dad have clearly expressed how their feeling personally and have a good understanding of how the other is doing. Resist the urge to do business. Hardwired into your schedule and do it before the baby comes. If you try to do it after, it’s unlikely to start. Finally fight fair. Conflict is normal, it’s a necessary part of a relationship but it can be that much more difficult when the stress of new parenthood sets in.

I strongly encouraged everyone to get making marriage work for dummies by Dr. Steffen and Sue Simring and read chapters 3 and 4 about communication and conflict management. They’re a quick read and they give couples clear easily actionable techniques to keep lines of communication open and to handle conflict productively. Thanks very much for listening and I hope this information is helpful. I’m Dr. Daniel Singley at www.newdadsclass.com and be sure to keep listening to Preggie Pals for more tips on how new dads can optimize their transition to parenthood.

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ANNIE LAIRD: That wraps up our show for today. We appreciate you listening to Preggie Pals.
Don’t forget to check out our sister shows:
• Parent Savers for parents with newborns, infants and toddlers
• Twin Talks for parents of multiples.
• The Boob Group for moms who breastfeed their babies and

[Disclaimer]
This has been a New Mommy Media production. Information and material contained in this episode are presented for educational purposes only. Statements and opinions expressed in this episode are not necessarily those of New Mommy Media and should not be considered facts. Though information in which areas are related to be accurate, it is not intended to replace or substitute for professional, Medical or advisor care and should not be used for diagnosing or treating health care problem or disease or prescribing any medications. If you have questions or concerns regarding your physical or mental health or the health of your baby, please seek assistance from a qualified health care provider.

SUNNY GAULT: New Mommy Media is expanding our line up of shows for new and expecting parents. If you have an idea for a new series or if you’re a business or organization interested in joining our network of shows through a co-branded podcast, visit www.NewMommyMedia.com .

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