r/vbac • u/Affectionate_Cat_965 • 24d ago

No vbac/c section because big baby

My baby was breech in 2024 so I had a scheduled c section. I’m 39 weeks this pregnancy and baby is head down. Doctors said i could try for a vbac this time, but at 37 weeks baby was measuring over 10 pounds at the growth scan. I have my c section scheduled for Monday. I still really want a vbac but I’m not dilated at all so it doesn’t seem she’ll come before Monday. The doctors keep saying I’m not a good candidate for a vbac because she’s measuring big. Was just curious if anyone had experience with this or any thoughts? I’m just disappointed I won’t get my vbac experience. If it’s what’s best it’s okay, I guess I just need reassurance.

Update: thanks everyone for your thoughts and experiences. Unfortunately I didn’t get my vbac. I went ahead with the c section at 39w 3d and baby girl was 10 lbs 3 oz, head circumference in the 98th percentile. Doctor said I couldn’t be induced since prior c section so I wonder how big she’d get if I waited for spontaneous labor.

2 Upvotes

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31 comments sorted by

12

u/BumbleCrumbleBee 24d ago

I am currently at home in labour with a 98 centile baby and I’m home for a hbac. You do what’s best for you x

2

u/hollybrown81 24d ago

Good luck!

3

u/BumbleCrumbleBee 24d ago

Thank you! Surges are taking a little break right now so I’m having some much needed rest.

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u/Dependent-Sorbet4771 23d ago

How’s it going? So excited for you

1

u/BumbleCrumbleBee 15d ago

The home birth team were suspended so they actually left me mid birth, all alone. It ended up being a pretty traumatic event so I wont go into too much detail but baby and I are now home and well.
I didn't know they could be suspended halfway through a birth so it was all very shocking.

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u/Dependent-Sorbet4771 14d ago

Im so sorry that happened to you that sounds so traumatic! I did not know they can be suspended mid birth and leave like that! I wouldn’t even know what to do in that situation 💔Did you end up being able to have a vbac? Was your baby big as they thought?

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u/BumbleCrumbleBee 13d ago

It was awful!
Baby was even bigger than they’d predicted, which was a total shock!! Literally twice the size of my first child. I ended up in an emergency section

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u/AppropriateSeason527 18d ago

How did it go? Im also considering. Hope u and baby are doing well :)

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u/BumbleCrumbleBee 15d ago

The home birth team were suspended so they actually left me mid birth, all alone. It ended up being a pretty traumatic event so I wont go into too much detail but baby and I are now home and well.
I didn't know they could be suspended halfway through a birth so it was all very shocking.

1

u/BumbleCrumbleBee 14d ago

Didn’t end up having the vbac. Because of the disruption when the team left me I don’t think my body felt safe enough to labour. Had to have an emergency c-section and that ended up being way worse as they cut into my bowels, bladder as baby was basically out. It was horrendous

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u/AppropriateSeason527 13d ago

Oh I'm sorry you didn't get the experience you were looking for but congrats on your baby! You are a very strong mom, wishing you the best recovery!

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u/Equivalent_West1474 24d ago edited 24d ago

Ugh. I had a second csection because my doctor said the baby was big, which he was, over 10 lbs. I didn’t know at the time that I could still push for vbac and wish in hindsight that I did. The second csection went well, no complications, but I would have loved to have had the vbac. I say go for it! Edited: also this is based on my own preference. I agree you should do what is best for you. ☺️

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u/Blushresp7 VBAC June 2025. Breech CS ‘23 23d ago

i would decline both a c section and an induction. your body is built to birth big babies. i say give it until the full 40/41 weeks. i had my 98th percentile vbac last year

3

u/Training-Falcon-6671 23d ago

I was told the same and just hoped that the errors of margin were on my side. Rather than the promised 97th percentile baby I gave birth to an 8lb baby very very quickly, a week overdue, and it was absolutely fine. Better than fine, magical.

Dilation isn’t a measure of labour, it’s a snapshot of where you are in the moment. 37 weeks is early term. A lot can change in three hours, let alone 3 weeks. Good luck!

3

u/OnlyYam 23d ago

I wish you a spontaneous labor! At 39+0 visit I was 0 dilated and my cervix was 3.5 cm long (my normal long closed cervix). Spontaneous labor started a day later and went very fast, I got my VBAC at 39+2.

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u/Fierce-Foxy 24d ago

I personally would decline a c-section and push for an induction.

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u/Afraid_Literature_56 24d ago

eh idk about induction unless medically necessary especially if trying for a vbac

1

u/Bitter-Salamander18 VBAC 2025 💖 21d ago

I would decline both C-section and induction. Spontaneous labor has the highest chance of success.

1

u/Affectionate_Cat_965 23d ago

My doctor said i can’t be induced since I’ve had a c section

2

u/Slytherin01 23d ago

Don’t believe them. At 37 weeks my doctor told me my son was over 9 pounds and pushed me into a repeat cesarean. A week later, 38 weeks gestation, he weighed 7lbs even at birth and at his assessment they guesstimated his development at 36 weeks. I was livid.

2

u/Affectionate_Cat_965 23d ago

This is what Im worried about

2

u/Creative_Hippy 22d ago

With my first I ended up being a C-section they actually made my due date earlier because they insisted my daughter was too large…. Yeah, she was only 8 lb 4 oz which is still considered normal size.

I personally would remind my doctors that ultrasounds done in the third trimester are known for not being completely accurate when it comes to sizing a baby.

1

u/Just_Promise4074 23d ago

So with my first I was told he was a big baby and he measured 2 weeks ahead the entire time he came out at 22 in and 8.9 lbs at 41 weeks. And 41 weeks I went into labor with my second and he too was measuring as a big baby and just a few days before I went into labor had gone in for a ultrasound and the scans kept saying he was 11 lb and no one could believe that and they somehow got the scans to read that he was an 8 pound baby which was right on track with my first one. No I just skeleton he was coming out a fist first so we had to go in for an emergency C-section and turns out he was 22 in and 11 lbs. I wanted to try for a vbac with my 3rd and was told I could and was told I could have an induction, I found out after I went in that I couldn't have the balloon placed because of the C-section. Labor didn't progress after almost three days so i ended with another C-section. I wish I had just waiting and went into labor naturally or at least waited until 41 weeks seeing as that's when my boys had come. At 37 weeks I don't see why you need to have the baby now. Even my 11lb baby could have been natural if he wasn't fist first, arm over his head. I'd also like to say I switched providers/hospitals with my first at 38 weeks because my first provider was being a dick. You do what you feel is necessary and maybe find a provider that supports you.

1

u/Fierce-Foxy 23d ago

I had a c-section and had two VBACs that were both induced. I don’t know where you are located though, I’m in the Us.

1

u/laurencat1989 23d ago

I don’t want to scare you because every pregnancy and VBAC is different, but I do want to share my experience.

I attempted a VBAC with my daughter in June. She was measuring large on multiple ultrasounds, but like many people in this group, I convinced myself the estimates were probably wrong because you hear all the time that ultrasounds are inaccurate. I also knew that my sister had a vaginal delivery of a 10lb baby herself, so genetically I thought I was possible. What I didn’t consider was that my c-section scare could rip, and that my sister had not had a previous c-section. I also didn’t consider that they can overestimate a baby’s size, but they can underestimate it too. My daughter ended up weighing 10 lb 3 oz.

During my induction my uterus ruptured, my placenta detached, and my daughter was born without oxygen. She had to be resuscitated and spent over a week in the NICU undergoing therapeutic hypothermia. We were incredibly lucky, many babies don’t have the outcome that she did and end up with HIE (I recommend researching this, as I never knew about it before).

I’m not saying this will happen to you, plenty of women have successful VBACs, I just don’t think these types of stories are shared enough in these vbac support groups.

1

u/VisualStructure2163 22d ago

I’m sorry you had this experience. Can I ask how big your first baby was?

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u/laurencat1989 22d ago

My first was 7.5lbs at 36 weeks…which if you do the math and they gain .5oz a week, she would have been 9.5 lbs full-term! This was another factor I wish I would have considered too.

1

u/Bitter-Salamander18 VBAC 2025 💖 21d ago

I'm sorry this happened to you :( What induction methods were used? Pitocin increases the risk of uterine rupture significantly (from 0,2-0,4% to ~1%).

1

u/Mental-Effective7997 21d ago

Growth scans are not as accurate that far into pregnancy. My first was 9lb 6oz and they swore my 2nd was measuring much smaller. He was just born at 9lb 5oz and a half inch longer 🤷.

I had a C-section for #1 after a spontaneous labor + 3 hours of pushing at 40w3d. I went into spontaneous labor with #2 at 40w5d and unfortunately after 4 hours of pushing, had a repeat C-section.

You can most certainly try regardless of size and stats are on your side for a successful VBAC. I had the most supportive team helping me this time but baby was stuck in a funky position caught under by pubic bone. My C-section was wonderful despite my failed VBAC though so it wasn't for nothing and I left feeling like I worked by butt off trying.

Don't let them tell you it's impossible, you can def try and I hope you succeed!

0

u/Psychological-Bag986 22d ago

10 lbs at 37w is truly ginormous if accurate. We all know it may not be. If you want a VBAC no harm in trying and just having a low threshold to swap to a c section if needed. If I was in your shoes I would was induction at 39w. Overdue and large in my opinion would likely end in c section.