PDA

View Full Version : How did you find your VBAC OB



Sweetum
07-29-2010, 05:11 PM
I had a C with my first after a failed induction. And I'm contemplating a VBAC for the next one (not on its way yet). I'm not married to the idea but definitely considering it. I haven't been actively doing any search for VBAC OBs but I've been doing some online research. I went to ICAN and even sent the local chapter an email and have received no response. I'm not sure what I should do now. I'm thinking it's a good idea to go now before I'm pregnant to familirize myself with the OBs ways and to figure out if s/he would be right for me when the time comes. Appreciate your responses.

ETA: I know that my current OBs practice has stopped doing VBACs, so it's not going to be an option for me if I go the VBAC route. And I'm now not comfortable with her - in retrospect, I feel she did many things that could've avoided the C.

citymama
07-29-2010, 08:17 PM
I read through the archives of our mom listserve, and then I emailed the listserve to ask about VBAC friendly OB/midwife/hospital recommendations. I got a wide range of replies, but after a not-so-great experience with one of the two major hospitals in SF, and hearing about the high-intervention births that friends and other listserve moms have had there, I figured I should try the other hospital. They don't have outside doctors delivering there; just their own OB/midwife practice, so I knew I'd have to work with that practice. I researched the various OBs and midwives in that practice, and "chose" one OB and one midwife that sounded pretty good.

When I met with that OB I wasn't floored by her, but at a future appointment with another OB in that practice, totally connected with the other OB. Stuck with the original midwife. Neither of them delivered my DD2, but by then I had met with a number of practitioners and was comfortable knowing that any one of them might be present at the birth.

So, in short, talk to other moms in your town, poll mom's groups, research their archives, and also, check your insurance to make sure that your preferred doc and hospital are part of their plan. Once you've narrowed it down to a couple, you could even interview both of them. But it's so much easier to get app'ts when pregnant, so wait till you are to start making appointments!

ETA I loved my hospital and practice because while they were VBAC friendly and experienced, they were not pushing it on me and made it clear that they would be happy to support either a scheduled C or a VBAC; it was my decision. That was very empowering. And I never gave them a clear decision until perhaps 7 or 8 months, when it was clear the baby was not breech (as my first had been). And they also supported my plan of hiring a doula for the birth.