93% of women pregnant after one or more cesareans are not informed about the risk of placenta accreta spectrum that rises with each subsequent cesarean. Instead, they are assured that a repeat cesarean is safe and a planned VBAC is risky and, as a result, they schedule another cesarean.

Dawn Baranski was one of those women.

After enduring the bait and switch after her first cesarean, she had one more cesarean with her OB's assurance that placenta issues are a "one in a million chance."

When she got pregnant again after three cesareans, she developed placenta percreta - the most severe degree of placenta accreta spectrum - where the placenta grows through the uterine wall and attaches to other abdominal organs, most commonly the bladder.

The safest way for her baby to be born was a complicated cesarean hysterectomy ending her fertility.

Dawn recounts inadequate informed consent, her emotional and physical recovery from a cesarean hysterectomy, and why she considered an unassisted birth.

She shares how her hysterectomy impacts her health to this day as she manages a vaginal prolapse and rectocele and her important message for parents and health care professionals.

Jen also contrasts new research which found VBAC was accessible in only 16% of U.S. counties against a report from earlier this year where 84% of hospitals said they offered VBAC as well as her next virtual speaking engagement, opportunities for VBAC education for medical, midwifery, and nursing students, and reader feedback on therapeutic rest.

• 03:34 16% of US Counties Offer VBAC
• 11:06 Leapfrog Report: 84% of US Hospitals Offer VBAC
• 14:18 Next Speaking Engagement: Keynote at InJoy's 5th Annual (Virtual) Summit
• 16:29 VBAC Education for Medical, Midwifery, & Nursing Students
• 17:40 Reader Feedback: Therapeutic Rest & 24 Hour Labor Limit
• 19:51 Introducing Dawn  Baranski
• 20:50 Six Prior Vaginal Births, First Cesarean
• 22:20 Bait & Switch Strikes Again
• 24:49 What the OB Advised After Two Cesareans
• 26:29 Thought About Unassisted Birth, Had 3rd Cesarean
• 27:43 What the OB Said About Cesarean Complications
• 30:51 Mother's Autonomy & Decision Making Scale
• 32:18 Why She Wanted An Unassisted Birth After Three Cesareans
• 35:45 Why She Choose to Birth Her Baby in Texas
• 41:33 Birthing Her Baby via Cesarean Hysterectomy
• 45:18 Health Issues From Her Hysterectomy
• 47:13 Why She Had a Cesarean Hysterectomy For Her Percreta
• 49:33 Hysterectomy Induced Early Perimenopause/Menopause
• 51:00 Hormone Replacement Therapy During Perimenopause
• 51:50 How Recovery From a Cesarean Hysterectomy is Different Than a Cesarean
• 55:32 What Hysterectomy Has To Do With Vaginal Prolapse & Rectocele
• 57:44 Advice For Those Who Need A Cesarean Hysterectomy
• 58:39 "I Wouldn't Have Showed Up For My Scheduled C-Section"
• 01:00:07 Advice For Those Pregnant After One Cesarean
• 01:01:01 Advice For Those Pregnant After Two Cesareans
• 01:01:48 "There Was So Much Information That I Was Not Told"
• 01:02:24 Physician Dismisses Future Risks as "Theoretical"
• 01:05:14 "VBAC Poses Unnecessary Risk We Can Avoid Through C-Sections"
• 01:07:04 "It's Hard 'Cause I Don't Trust Them"
• 01:09:12 "We Don't Attend VBAC Because We Can Get Sued"
• 01:12:59 What She Would Say To The OB Who Performed Her First Cesarean
• 01:13:57 What Dawn Wants You To Know
• 01:15:02 How Her Births Have Changed Her
• 01:15:50 Her Advice: "My Doctor Won't Let Me Have a VBAC"

Want to suggest a guest we should interview, topic we should discuss, or share your birth story? You can at https://vbacfacts.com/podcast!

• Professional Speaking & Continuing Education Training with Jen Kamel- VBAC Facts®
• Jen Presents the Keynote at InJoy's 2025 Virtual Summit - InJoy Health Education
• Ranchoff, B. L., Geissler, K. H., & Goff, S. L. (2025). Trends in labor after cesarean delivery access in the US. JAMA Netw Open, 8(8), e2526224.
• State of Maternity Care in U.S. Hospitals: The Leapfrog Group 2025 Report on Trends | Leapfrog
• Dawn Baranski's Blog: Difficult Ending = Beautiful Beginning - Blogspot
• The Truth About Vaginal Birth After Cesarean™ for Families | VBAC Facts® Educational Course for Parents
• VBAC Facts® Professional Membership | VBAC Facts® Continuing Education

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

Instagram: @prod.analogue