The VBAC Link

Today we celebrate our 100th episode with Tonya! During Tonya's first pregnancy, it was discovered that she had an abnormally shaped uterus, in her case, it was heart-shaped or bicornuate. Even though her first pregnancy ended in a C-section, the shape of her uterus is unrelated. Her uterus hemorrhaged during her Cesarean to the point where she lost so much blood that she passed out several times in recovery.

As you can imagine, her second pregnancy was likely to involve complications.

Nevertheless, she was determined with her VBAC plan.

As her due date approached, her water broke and she headed to the hospital. She stalled at 6 centimeters for several hours. Listen carefully to what happens when her doctor suggests manual dilation in an attempt to avoid a second C-section. Go find us on social media and find Tonya’s episode image. Tell us what your most memorable moment from or first 100 episodes is!

Today we answer your emails!

• How long should I wait between having a C-section and getting pregnant again?

Tune in as we go through our inbox and answer the most common and some unique questions. 

Find out more answers to out most common and uncommon questions on our VBAC blog thevbaclink.com/blog.

Patrice’s first pregnancy ended in a C-section. With her second, she was determined to deliver vaginally. The pregnancy was progressing fine. What wasn't fine was her provider’s attitude toward her birth plan. Patrice was much more educated during her second pregnancy than her first, and asked many specific questions to her provider over the course of the pregnancy. Patrice eventually learned through these inquiries that her provider was more VBAC-tolerant than VBAC-supportive than she had been led to believe. With the suggestion of a second C-section and talk of scheduling induction, Patrice felt discouraged, betrayed, hopeless, and afraid.

Luckily, Patrice did the right thing: she fired her provider and found another who believed in her  and her VBAC birth plan.

Women of strength, let me tell you: firing your provider takes courage. Some of the things that Patrice’s provider suggested to her, you will most likely hear as well if your provider falls more on the VBAC-tolerant side of the scale than VBAC-supportive. Every person on your birth team needs to believe in you 110% and no less, and that includes your provider.

In this episode, listen to Patrice tell the story of how her second pregnancy ended in a beautiful VBAC. And always remember, you’re the one calling the shots, you’re the one in charge, not the other way around, and you owe your provider nothing.

Fun finds in this episode: we’ll learn what an aquadoula is, and also what an outpatient foley bulb is.

Check out our blog, The Best Induction Method for VBAC, to find out more about the foley bulb and other VBAC induction methods.

If you’re a regular listener of this podcast, you will notice that several common themes come to light--one of which is that your pregnancy will most likely not go exactly as you planned. In this episode, Ashley tells us how her first pregnancy ended in a C-section, and how her second pregnancy, which she intended to be a VBAC, also ended in a C-section.

With her third and most recent pregnancy, she attempted a VBAC delivery once again. On the big day, complications arose, and even though the baby was seconds away from being earthbound, Ashley was once again wheeled off to the operating room for her third C-section.

She doesn’t take that as a defeat, though; it was this third C-section that was her most healing and positive birth experience.

Check out our blog, How to Cope When You Don’t Get your VBAC for more info.

The attitude of Brittany’s first birth provider resembled something more like a prison warden than a caregiver. Add to that a completely dysfunctional hospital and you have the makings of a truly traumatic C-section. This experience motivated Brittany to do a whole lot of research and make some very specific plans for her second pregnancy, which she’d hoped would be a VBAC.

You know what they say about the best-laid plans? Well, her second pregnancy didn’t go according to plan. Pregnancies rarely do. Did she end up having a successful VBAC? Listen to Brittany tell the story.

Check out our blog, Myth-Busting: 5 Facts About Doulas that will Shock You for more information about how having a doula can make your birth a positive experience.

Like many first-time parents, Sarah’s experience giving birth to her first child didn’t go as expected. She ended up having a Cesarean after her providers didn’t fully explain all of her options, nor did she know all of the questions she should have asked at the time. Even though her second child was a VBAC, she still wanted something more from her third birth experience. Third time’s a charm? Let’s find out.

Check out our blog, 5 Steps to Get Your Partner on Board with VBAC, for tips you can use to help get a less supportive partner on board with your plans for VBAC.

So much attention is given to your physical preparation for VBAC. But what about your mental and emotional preparation? Professional doula and Structural Integration specialist, Kristy Burtenshaw talks to us about some things that none of us would guess come into play when approaching birth. Do you know what structural integration is? How about how your fascia relates to that? Do you know what your fascia is? How about Hellerwork? Rolfing? How about Russian sports massage superficial friction? It sounds like we just made up those last couple terms, right? Well, we didn't, and those are all things that could very well help you in your journey to your own VBAC. Kristy explains it all in this Special Episode. Find out more about her and the work she does at http://www.dancecore.us/ 

Please note, in order to get stories from all over the country, and even other countries, we record using phone lines. For this reason, audio quality may vary between episodes and speakers.

Summer had her VBA2C after moving to a brand new area where she didn't know anyone or have any connections to a supportive provider. However, everything ended up coming together perfectly and you will never guess how! Shortly after she got pregnant she found us at The VBAC Link and was hooked on our podcast from the get-go. Find out more about how to find a supportive VBAC provider on or blog at thevbaclink.com/post/vbac-provider

Please note, in order to get stories from all over the country, and even other countries, we record using phone lines. For this reason, audio quality may vary between episodes and speakers.

Sara’s first pregnancy, with twins, included several severe complications that lead to an emergency Cesarean. Her VBAC was empowering and life-changing and ignited her passion for birthwork which lead her to become a doula. Sara has combined her studies in linguistics with her passion for birth creating a revolutionary new area of study in how the way we speak about birth impacts our birth outcomes. Tune in to Sarah’s own Podcast, Birth Words, wherever you listen to podcasts or at https://www.birthwords.com. 

Please note, in order to get stories from all over the country, and even other countries, we record using phone lines. For this reason, audio quality may vary between episodes and speakers.

Kimberly is a rockstar! Preparing for her VBA2C involved hard conversations with her husband who was not initially on board with her plans, a 5-day long labor, a birth center transfer to the hospital, and one glorious meeting of her baby after just 18 minutes of pushing. Kimberly took the online version of our course  How to VBAC: The Ultimate Prep Course for Parents which helped educate her and her husband on their options for VBA2C. Kimberly’s doula, Meagan, played a huge role in her birth. Looking for a doula who knows all about VBAC? You can find a VBAC trained doula near you at thevbaclink.com/findadoula. 

Please note, in order to get stories from all over the country, and even other countries, we record using phone lines. For this reason, audio quality may vary between episodes and speakers.