Kelsey had a cesarean for her first birth and when she got pregnant with her second baby VBAC wasn’t exactly on her radar. After discussing it with her doctor, her hope was to either have a medicated vaginal birth or a c-section but, of course, neither of those happened. The delivery went so quickly that, even though she was “screaming bloody murder,” it was too late for her to get pain meds.

A lot of people hope for a quick labor and birth but that can have its drawbacks, too. For Kelsey, she wishes it would’ve gone more slowly so she could have been more present and remembered her experience. Instead she came away feeling like it was all a blur. As frustrating as that was, it’s an important reminder that a VBAC is possible and if you want to try for it, you should tell your doctor!

In this Episode, You’ll Learn About:

• Why her first birth ended in cesarean
• Why she moved to another state alone at 34 weeks pregnant
• How she prepared for the c-section she was expecting
• Why she thought it would be fine to drive herself 50 minutes to the hospital while having contractions
• How close to fully dilated she was at the first check
• What her experience with pain was like
• How her medical team approached changing positions
• How quickly her pushing went from start to finish
• Why it took a while for her to process her birth experience
• How her VBAC recovery compared to her c-section recovery
• What granulation tissue is and how her doctor helped get rid of it

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Full website notes: drnicolerankins.com/episode240

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