The VBAC Link

We’re thrilled to welcome back Dr. Hazel Keedle from Sydney, Australia! Dr. Keedle is a researcher, midwife, Director of Midwifery Academic Programs and Senior Lecturer at Western Sydney University back to discuss her book, A Clinician’s Guide to Birth After Cesarean, released in August 2025.

In this episode, Hazel shares insight from her years of research into VBAC experiences and clinical care. She talks about birth and the “Olympic coach” analogy, how providers can balance risks between VBAC and repeat cesarean, and the best ways to use research in your decision making.

Hazel, Paige, and Lily also unpack the importance of removing terms like trial, fail, and success to better honor every story. Hazel also graciously offers her personal perspective on how clinicians can process difficult outcomes and still show up with compassion, empathy, and belief to help every mother birth the way she desires.

The Clinician’s Guide to Better Birth After Caesarean

Birth After Caesarean: Your Journey to a Better Birth 

The Birth Experience Study

The VBAC Link Podcast Episode 209 

Dr. Keedle’s Publication - Debriefing Women’s Birth Experiences

The Perinatal Experience of Women With a History of Intimate Partner Violence 

The Ultimate VBAC Prep Course for Parents

Online VBAC Doula Training

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

After an induction at 41+3 weeks turned emergency cesarean with her first and a second cesarean at 42 weeks due to failure to progress, Irene had an unmedicated VBA2C with full placenta previa pregnancy that resolved at 30 weeks!

Irene started her VBA2C pregnancy journey at a new practice that was not VBAC supportive and told her to schedule a cesarean at her first 8-week appointment. She switched providers at 20 weeks and owes her successful unmedicated VBA2C to the many different people and routines she incorporated into her pregnancy. Irene shares allll of her prep details with us including prayer, meditation, zoning out to Pink Floyd, and how she created a special labor visualization ritual so that when it was time for the real thing, she was excited, ready, and so at peace. 

She says, “If providers aren't informing you about all the resources out there that you can utilize to prepare for your VBA2C, they're likely not going to be very supportive during your birth.”

Keywords: VBAC, placenta previa, birth stories, maternal health, pregnancy, women's empowerment, childbirth education, supportive care, doula, prenatal preparation 

The VBAC Link Blog: VBA2C: The Facts and Statistics

The VBAC Link Blog: 6 Ways to Physically Prep for VBAC

The Ultimate VBAC Prep Course for Parents

Online VBAC Doula Training

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

“You only have to make one good decision at a time.”

We are so excited to welcome our very own TVL team member, Ashley Marg, back on the podcast today! Ashley is our Maternal Health & Communication Strategist and you will find her beautifully writing VBAC content on our blog and in your email inboxes.

You can find her first three birth stories in depth on Episode 249, but after a short recap, Ashley shares her rollercoaster of a 2VBA2C story. Her fourth birth was an induced 2VBA2C at 40+5 due to a failed biophysical profile and advanced maternal age. Ashley talks about her emotional induction with a Foley, the moment she knew she needed to ask for an epidural, and a surprise ending! More than anything, Ash wants our community to know that you do not have to commit to a date, a plan, or a schedule in birth. You just have to make the next good decision.

Ashley also shares how her calm, steady doula changed the entire vibe of her birth. She talks about her path to doula work and how it led to joining The VBAC Link team. We are SO grateful to have Ashley as part of our team and know you will feel the warmth and wisdom that we love so much about her!

Episode 249 Ashley's VBA2C + Postdates + Releasing Fears

The Ultimate VBAC Prep Course for Parents

Online VBAC Doula Training

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

We’re bringing you a bonus episode this week!!

Your new hosts Lily and Paige sit down and turn the tables on each other with a fun game of 20 Questions. They share everything from their personal backgrounds to their favorite things, silly stories, and opening up about what led them to The VBAC Link and doula work.

They also talk about their hopes for the future of the podcast and how much they’ve already loved working together. While change can feel big, they’re so grateful for this community and excited for what’s ahead. Most of all, Paige and Lily promise to keep showing up with heart and continuing to bring you the best education, support, and encouragement to help you feel empowered on your journey to a beautiful birth experience!

And if you have more questions for either Lily or Paige, send us an email at [email protected].

Episode 357 Paige's Maternal Assisted Cesarean in South Korea

Episode 379 Lily Wyn's 66-Hour Redemptive Hospital Water Birth VBAC

The Ultimate VBAC Prep Course for Parents

Online VBAC Doula Training

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

We’ve been keeping this secret for months and are so excited that we get to finally share!!

Join us in this tender and bittersweet episode as we honor Meagan for the legacy she has created through her work hosting this podcast. Meagan has changed SO many lives, and our TVL team is so happy she’s sticking around to help this movement continue to grow and thrive!

And let’s give the warmest welcome to our new hosts of The VBAC Link podcast, Paige and Lily!! Tune in to hear more about who they are and how they fell in love with TVL. 

To our community of women of strength, birth workers, providers, partners, and anyone who finds themselves listening to our podcast, we thank you for being here. As we evolve, The VBAC Link is ALWAYS committed to providing stories, information, and hope to make birth after cesarean the best it can possibly be!

Episode 357 Paige's Maternal Assisted Cesarean in South Korea

Episode 379 Lily Wyn's 66-Hour Redemptive Hospital Water Birth VBAC

The Ultimate VBAC Prep Course for Parents

Online VBAC Doula Training

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

For this last episode of 2025, we wanted to emphasize just how unique all VBAC journeys really are, and Amanda’s story does just that! Women of Strength, VBACs are possible in sooo many different scenarios, even the ones that weren’t planned or prepped for. 

Amanda thought she was having a planned C-section, but with a little gentle encouragement from her care team, she ended up with an unplanned, completely intervention-free VBAC. The way Amanda’s team communicated with her every step of the way is SO COOL to hear about.

Her first birth was a traumatic crash C-section with NICU time and postpartum anxiety/OCD, but her second was healing and empowering. Amanda wants other moms to know that while you don’t have to do all the “things” to have a VBAC, prep can make a big difference.

We’re so grateful to our podcast guests, listeners, and support this year!

Andddd…..

We are excited to share some BIG news for the podcast in 2026. Stay tuned for next week’s HUGE announcement! Any guesses on what it might be??

Needed Website: Code VBAC for 20% Off

The Ultimate VBAC Prep Course for Parents

Online VBAC Doula Training

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

This Christmas Eve episode is something a little different and very special! For over 400 episodes, you’ve heard our founder, Meagan Heaton, encourage, educate, and validate women through all types of birth stories. Now, she’s slowing down and speaking that encouragement directly to YOU. This episode is just a warm moment to simply pause, breathe, and feel supported.

This episode is for all women, in any season. Whether you are preparing for a VBAC, processing a CBAC, riding that healing birth high or struggling through postpartum, Meagan’s words are meant to meet you right where you are. She shares how much she loves this community and how deeply she believes in you. May you feel seen, held, and reminded that you are never alone. We are always cheering for you. 

The Ultimate VBAC Prep Course for Parents

Online VBAC Doula Training

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Kela is an inspiring mama who joins us today sharing her HBA2C story! All three of Kela’s pregnancies were planned home births, yet her first two ended in cesarean after long labors labeled “failure to progress”, concerns of chorio, tachycardia, and fever. Though the odds were stacked against her, Kela never let go of the dreamy home birth she knew in her bones was possible. 

With the support of an incredibly skilled and VBAC-supportive midwife, Kela achieved an incredible home birth after two cesareans! This birth included over nine hours of pushing, continuity of care, and manual cervical scar tissue work during labor. Meagan and Kela dive into more details about cervical scar tissue, something that definitely isn’t talked about very much! 

Kela says, “I knew deep down I could have the vaginal birth I always desired. And I did. It was the farthest thing from easy, but I couldn’t have done it without my incredible midwife who owns In Due Season Birth Center. She specializes in VBACs and she believed in me the whole way.”

Needed Website: Code VBAC for 20% Off

The Ultimate VBAC Prep Course for Parents

Online VBAC Doula Training

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

“Peace on earth begins with birth.”

In this powerful episode, Meagan sits down with Anna Lundqvist, founder of Sacred Birth International. Anna is a seasoned midwife from Sweden whose work has evolved into educating birthing families, doulas, and birth professionals on how to protect birth as a sacred, primal, and physiological event. Drawing from years of attending births around the world, Anna now focuses on teaching how to reclaim the innate design of birth, preserve reverence throughout the process, and support mothers in advocating for their autonomy. Her philosophy is rooted deeply in trauma-informed care and physiological birth wisdom. 

Meagan and Anna let the conversation flow naturally as they dive into induction, cervical checks, trauma, and the harsh realities many families face within the medical system. Anna offers heartfelt insight on processing fears, discerning intuition from anxiety, and why she often encourages VBAC at home for those who feel aligned with that path. Thank you for joining us today, @sacredbirthinternational for a very special conversation!!

Content warning: This episode includes frank discussion of birth after sexual abuse and trauma. Please listen with care.

Needed Website: Code VBAC for 20% Off

The Ultimate VBAC Prep Course for Parents

Online VBAC Doula Training

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Women of Strength, you won’t want to miss this one!!

In today’s episode of The VBAC Link Podcast, we welcome Sarah, a mom of three boys, an active duty Air Force officer (AND a spouse to one as well!) about her incredible VBA2C during an overseas PCS move from South Korea to Florida. 

Sarah’s first birth was a c-section for breech presentation. Her second was a scheduled c-section timed around her husband’s deployment. Her third pregnancy brought navigating prenatal care in a foreign country, a huge move with two toddlers in tow, and the stress of finding a completely new birth team. 

After Sarah’s water broke unexpectedly at 37 weeks while visiting family in Kentucky, and with all their belongings either in Arizona or on a boat in the Pacific, she was induced so she could labor while a VBAC-supportive doctor was on call. After 11 hours on Pitocin, she delivered her baby vaginally, finished the move and arrived in Florida when her newborn was just one week old. 

Sarah & Meagan also share tips about using nitrous oxide in labor and important Tricare resources for military families. Though there were wild twists and turns, Sarah got her especially redemptive moment of being fully present for the moment she introduced her new baby to her other boys. We are so proud of you, Sarah!!

Nitrous Oxide Article

Needed Website: Code VBAC for 20% Off

The Ultimate VBAC Prep Course for Parents

Online VBAC Doula Training

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands