What do you do when you are pregnant after a cesarean and the only hospital in your community has a VBAC ban? Come hear the story of Dr. Denise Jaimes-Villanueva PsyD of Santa Barbara, California as she shares everything she endured to avoid compulsory surgery.

From the challenges around finding a provider in a community where the influence of the hostile VBAC climate permeated to the financial and emotional factors that influenced her decisions, she discusses the journey of processing the grief of her births, what she would do differently, and the lessons she learned along the way.

Her story illustrates why the refrain, "just find a supportive provider or hospital" is often trite and why every hospital with a L&D unit in the US should support and offer VBAC, as the American College of OB/GYNs has explicitly stated since 2017.

• 00:42 Welcome Denise!
• 02:03 Her First Birth
• 14:21 Navigating VBAC Bans
• 24:12 Hiring Midwives to Labor at Home
• 34:58 The Toll of Hostile Climate VBAC Planning
• 36:46 Lessons She Learned
• 50:18 Processing the Impact of Those Births
• 54:40 Trusting Providers is Still Hard
• 57:45 Her Message for Parents
• 59:54 Her Message to Clinicians
• 01:01:28 Her Message to Policymakers

If you have a question about a prior episode, a topic you'd like me to feature, a guest you'd like me to interview (including yourself!), or a "VBAC win" (birth stories, policy changes, advocacy/legal victories) you'd like to share, go to https://vbacfacts.com/podcast.

• Downloadable Checklist: The 5 Simple Steps to Planning a VBAC | VBAC Facts®
• Downloadable Report: Top 5 Uterine Rupture Myths Debunked Once and For All | VBAC Facts®
• The Truth About VBAC™ for Families | VBAC Facts® Course for Parents
• E3: "The Rules About VBAC" Part 1: A Deep Dive into US VBAC Guidelines with Jen Kamel - The VBAC Facts® Podcast - Apple Podcasts
• E5: Autonomy, Authority, Coercion & Consent: Who Decides in Maternity Care? - The VBAC Facts® Podcast - Apple Podcasts
• E4: “The Rules About VBAC” Part 2: A Deep Dive into US VBAC Guidelines with Jen Kamel - The VBAC Facts® Podcast - Apple Podcasts
• "No one can force you to have a cesarean" is false | VBAC Facts®
• Calling women who plan home VBACs "stupid" misses the point | VBAC Facts®
• How to File a Complaint for Obstetric Violence or Mistreatment in Birth - Birth Monopoly
• Consulting for Parents, Professionals, Legal & Policy Teams │ VBAC Facts®
• Professional Speaking with Jen Kamel │ VBAC Facts®
• Sign up for your copy of the Top Three VBAC Myths! | VBAC Facts®
• VBAC Facts® Professional Membership | VBAC Facts® Continuing Education
• Too Bad We Can't Just "Ban" Accreta-The Downstream Consequences of VBAC Bans - VBAC Facts® Article
• "Hospitals offering VBAC are required to have 24/7 anesthesia" is false - VBAC Facts® Article

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

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