What do you do when your local hospital bans vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC) and leads people to believe that their only option there is a repeat cesarean? What about when they start to withhold pain relief to anyone who "insists" on laboring after a cesarean? When this happened in Santa Barbara, California, local activists and mothers took action. Come learn what is possible when you know the facts, know your rights, don't comply and be persistent. It's a lesson from a small beachy town that can be applied to so many other social issues. Sit down with VBAC Facts® Founder Jen Kamel and birth activist Anastasia Stone as Anastasia shares her community's 10 year journey to reverse a VBAC ban and ensure everyone had access to respectful, evidence based care. "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." - Margaret Mead

• 01:56 How She Got Involved with Birth Work
• 02:50 Creating Relationships, Building Bridges
• 06:56 "Everyone Gets an Epidural." Why?
• 11:03 The Hospital Banned VBAC Because...
• 11:58 Educate the Community
• 18:02 Refusing a Cesarean at a VBAC Ban Hospital
• 19:31 Pushback: Denying People Epidurals
• 27:30 Most Effective Strategies
• 31:53 Free Resources
• 32:47 Biggest Challenges
• 36:35 When the VBAC Ban was Reversed
• 38:25 What Every Provider Should Do
• 40:33 The Worst Place to Labor
• 41:23 "Just Find Another Provider?"
• 43:28 Research on Provider Preference
• 45:25 "But My Doctor Won't Let Me"
• 47:50 "Wow, Something's Got to Change"
• 50:49 What She Wishes She Knew at the Beginning
• 52:16 Our Kids Are Watching Us
• 53:53 Know Your Sphere of Influence
• 56:17 Advice for Reversing VBAC Bans
• 57:58 What Birth Professionals Should Know About Reversing VBAC Bans

Have a comment or question for the podcast? Want to suggest a guest we should interview or a topic we should discuss? Go to https://vbacfacts.com/podcast to give us your feedback!

Music produced by (Analogue)/(prod. Analogue).

Instagram: @prod.analogue

• Sign up for your copy of the VBAC Planning Checklist! | VBAC Facts®
• Consulting for Parents, Professionals, Legal & Policy Teams │ VBAC Facts®
• Professional Speaking with Jen Kamel │ VBAC Facts®
• Metz (2013). How do good candidates for trial of labor after cesarean (TOLAC) who undergo elective repeat cesarean differ from those who choose TOLAC? American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology - PubMed
• Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital Reverses Stance on VBACs, July 14, 2022 - The Santa Barbara Independent
• Protest Over Cottage Hospital's VBAC Ban, March 19, 2017 - The Santa Barbara Independent
• International Cesarean Awareness Network
• Sign up for your copy of the Top Three VBAC Myths! | VBAC Facts®
• Sign up for your copy of the Uterine Rupture Report! | VBAC Facts®
• The Truth About VBAC™ for Families | VBAC Facts® Course for Cesarean Parents
• VBAC Facts® Professional Membership | VBAC Facts® Continuing Education