Need help from emergency c-section moms!

Emily

Question:

Those who have had an emergency c-section and they KNOW they were cut vertically on the uterus (could still be horizontal on the outside). Meaning they CAN NOT deliver vaginally again. What does your chart say for the type of c-section you had.

Reason for asking:

Something that has stayed with me since my son’s birth and haunted me is the fact that I had to have an emergency c-section due to medical gaslighting. It was easily preventable and I was ignored for 16 hours until he was literally falling out of me on the toilet breech. Me and my husband missed the birth of our child, and that hit hard. I was asleep and he was not allowed in the room. Hearing that I had an “emergency c-section” as it was called numerous times over the weeks that followed, I assumed that meant that I could never deliver vaginally again. I had this weird feeling today that I should check my notes on my online charts from my delivery and every single time it is mentioned as a “emergency c-section, low transverse”

I looked up what that means and it says an incision made horizontally in the uterus… but that means that I CAN deliver vaginally again. A million emotions hit me because I wasn’t even upset about the c-section. After everything, it did end up saving my son’s life (although had they listened to me from the beginning it wouldn’t have been necessary). But I feel like I definitely said something about not being able to deliver vaginally again and they said yes. Honestly the whole thing is a blur and I suffer from PTSD from the whole thing so I’m hoping for some closure.

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COMMENT (7)

Le

Posted at
I had an emergency C-section in May and I was told I would absolutely be able to have a vaginal deliveries in the future as long as I waited more than 18 months in between my births.

Ki

Posted at
Find a friendly VBAC doctor & consult with them. This info alone doesn’t sound like you can never have a vaginal delivery.

Si

Posted at
Do you have the operative report itself? That report should give the clearest description of how they cut. Sometimes the other types of notes can be abbreviated or auto-filled (which is not great of course, but it happens). There are different types of vertical and horizontal incisions, so it’s possible you still have a contraindication to a vaginal birth (if they did a smaller vertical incision on your horizontal incision or needed to do extensions, etc). I would absolutely look for more clarity though!

Em

Posted at
If you’ve had 1 c-section (emergency or not) You can have your other baby be delivered vaginally… now if you’ve had 2 or more you cannot… I’ve had 2 csections going in for my 3rd Jan 8th

Em

Emily • Dec 31, 2024
Unfortunately for me I have an underlying condition call Guillian barrè and have gone paralyzed before so the safest was for me to deliver is C-section under general

Si

Silje • Dec 31, 2024
Lots of vb2c stories out there. Depends mostly on timing of the pregnancies.

Ka

Posted at
Mine wasn’t “technically” an emergency. It was encouraged because I had polyhydramnios, a large baby, a previous c-section (14 months prior), & my blood pressure spiked & wouldn’t come down. The doctor thought that with me having extra fluid & all the other risks, it’d be safest to do a c-section because my baby could flip easily while in labor & I may end up with an emergency c-section anyways. I opted for a repeat c-section same day my blood pressure spiked. I’m glad I did because when they started, my baby started to flip & he basically got stuck sideways. When they started, it was just supposed to be the low transverse (one horizontal line), but I ended up with an inverted T directly on my uterus (only). They educated me on it afterwards, then again at my 1 week pp appointment & again at my 6 week pp appointment. I am no longer a “candidate for VBAC” because I am at high risk of rupture. If you had any sort of vertical incision, your doctor should’ve informed you & educated you on it. It would also say it in your surgery notes. Since it only says “low transverse,” I’d assume you only have the horizontal incision the whole way through.