I'm new here, but have lurked a bit. I prepared and planned and hoped for an unmedicated vaginal birth with my son. Had a great midwife and great support. But I was very overdue, and we induced with a Foley bulb at the latest possible day we could . My cervix just did not cooperate, and we discovered I had low fluid. His heart rate dropped several times, and so began the cascade of interventions that ended in a CS 24 hours later. I really think we did all we could and I don't regret agreeing to go to surgery. It was terrifying in those moments where they couldn't find his heartbeat or it was very, very low and at that point, I just wanted a live baby, regardless of how he got here. But it was still devastating to miss out on a vaginal birth and the beautiful moments that I had been hoping for. I was angry at my body for not just DOING it and I was so sad for my son that he had to be born in a much more harsh, cold manner. We didn't get to do skin to skin until over 2 hours later :(
We just found out a few weeks ago that we are pregnant again and we are very excited. Unfortunately, the two hospitals in my town have a "ban" against VBAC's. The larger city an hour away has a hospital that allows them, but I am not comfortable driving that far that often (driving anxiety from the accident that killed our son). We do have a really awesome OB here in town who is very supportive of VBAC's and has been lobbying for them for a while. So, I am going to get established with him and see what he suggests. I've heard rumors that they are close to lifting the ban, so I'm hopeful of my chances. In the end, I know they can't force me to have surgery.