Cord around foot & two successful VBAC's

Cathy Favreau

I ended up with an emergency C-section because the umbilical cord was around Cam's foot and his heart rate kept dropping whenever there was a contraction. I had not prepared for this option AT ALL, so it was a bit of a surprise. Luckily, I was at a birth center which was on the hospital campus and my midwife was able to attend the birth. I think that more information about how this affects the body is important! It's such a big surgery and the next few days are really painful and it's hard to manage both recovery and baby. I was lucky that I had ten weeks of summer off before I had to go back to school. I got the basic info about rest, not picking up stuff, and keeping the wound covered and clean. I had a terrible reaction to the bandage and that left more of a scar than the surgery! Luckily, both the lactation consultants and midwives were super supportive and that helped a lot. Because the midwife practice worked closely with the hospital, I was able to have VBACs with Oliver and Peter with no issues other than they had to be at the hospital. Normal births, with my midwives. It can be done!