VBAC Birth Stories

Welcome to Season 3 of VBAC Birth Stories!
In today's episode we chat to Melbourne mum of two and registered nurse, Michelle. Michelle went into spontaneous labour with her first child but was recommended to have an emergency caesarean close to the finish line of her labour, but Michelle wouldn’t say it was a true "emergency" in the sense of the word. Michelle returned to hospital in her second pregnancy but did not feel supported in her quest to have a VBAC - this coupled with a bit of perinatal anxiety and covid hospital restrictions Michelle took control of her second birth in the final trimester, and ultimately hired a private midwife to birth her baby boy at home. She speaks of the challenges with her recovery after having a VBAC too which is very insightful, and we thank Michelle for her honesty.
We hope you enjoy listening to Michelle’s story, we know there’s a lot to take away from her journey whether you are on a VBAC journey yourself or a maternity care provider listening in.
Please feel free to connect with Michelle on Instagram @michelleparis.mitchell
~ PATREON ~
Please consider joining our Patreon if you would like to show your support for the podcast from just AUD $2.00 a month:
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~ AFFILIATES ~Access discounts with our amazing affiliates:
Birth Time film:USE DISCOUNT CODE: CICADA20https://www.birthtime.world/a/2147503775/Eb2Kfvxt
Partum Panties:USE DISCOUNT CODE: Vbacbirthstorieshttps://www.partumpanties.com.au
The Birth Store:USE DISCOUNT CODE: VBAChttps://thebirthstore.com.au
~ Notes ~
Doula & Osteopath: Bonnie Maplestonehttps://www.bonniemaplestone.com.au
Birth Photographer: kateleephotography.com.au
VBAC Australia Support Group (Facebook):https://www.facebook.com/search/top?q=vbac%20australia%20support%20group
Post Natal Depression/Anxiety support: If you or anyone you know is affected by PND symptoms particularly at this time of COVID-19 please don't hesitate to contact the following support networks.
The Gidget Foundationhttps://gidgetfoundation.org.au/get-support/,
PANDAhttps://www.panda.org.au/info-support/pandas-national-perinatal-anxiety-depression-helpline
Beyond Bluehttps://www.beyondblue.org.au/get-support/get-immediate-support
Copehttps://www.cope.org.au
**VBAC Birth Stories features women's lived experiences. It is not intended to replace medical advice. Should you have any concerns during your pregnancy please always consult your healthcare provider.
Please connect with us on Facebook or Instagram: @vbacbirthstories

In today’s episode we meet Kirsten who is a doula and mum of four and living in Western Australia.
Her first birth in her local rural hospital taught her about consent and trauma in the birth ward and she speaks about the fact that having a natural birth didn’t ensure she was protected against these realities.
The second time around she found herself pregnant with twins and while steered towards a caesarean, she was able to birth her first twin vaginally but taken into theatre when twin B wasn’t descending.
In her third pregnancy Kristen completely changed her model of care opting for a homebirth with her private midwife’s guidance to have her VBAC.
We hear about the differences between all of her births and the decisions Kirsten made along the way- the biggest takeaway is the fact that vaginal birth doesn’t mean there is an absence of physical or mental trauma for women and likewise for caesarean births, wherever you are at in your VBAC journey we hope that you find Kristen’s story helpful and enjoy her unique birth stories.
Connect with Kirsten @the_kirsten_lyle on Instagram or here on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kirstenlyledoula/
**VBAC Birth Stories features women's lived experiences. It is not intended to replace medical advice. Should you have any concerns during your pregnancy please always consult your healthcare provider.
Please connect with us on Facebook or Instagram: @vbacbirthstories

Today we meet Sammy who is a mum of two living in Brisbane Queensland who is a trained doula and high school music teacher. She tells us of her first birth which ended in an emergency caesarean. Sammy, like 1 in 3 Australian women experienced significant birth trauma as a result of what happened and this birth went on to change the course of her life- inspiring her to help other women by providing emotional and physical birth support to those in need.
We hear of her journey towards her VBAC, what tools she accessed to assist her towards her second birth and what she did differently to ensure a more positive experience.
Sammy teaches us that sometimes the most important tool is within us- our ability to listen to our own intuition and to believe in our bodies ability to birth.
We thank you Sammy for sharing your very personal birth stories with us. We hope you all enjoy and learn a lot from this episode.
Connect with Sammy on Instagram @sammygriffinbirthsupport
~ Notes ~
Sammy’s website: https://sammygriffinbirthsupport.com
Doula & birth photographer: https://www.olivejuicelifestylephotography.com
Resources:Jane Hardwick Collings https://janehardwickecollings.com/pregnancy-ecourse/Ten moons (book)The Birth Map https://www.bellabirth.org/the-birth-map.htmlRhea Dempsey- Birth With Confidence (book)Pam England - Birthing from Within (book)
Post Natal Depression/Anxiety and birth trauma support: If you or anyone you know is affected by PND symptoms particularly at this time of COVID-19 please don't hesitate to contact the following support networks.
The Gidget Foundationhttps://gidgetfoundation.org.au/get-support/
PANDAhttps://www.panda.org.au/info-support/pandas-national-perinatal-anxiety-depression-helpline
Beyond Bluehttps://www.beyondblue.org.au/get-support/get-immediate-support
Copehttps://www.cope.org.au
**VBAC Birth Stories features women's lived experiences. It is not intended to replace medical advice. Should you have any concerns during your pregnancy please always consult your healthcare provider.
Please connect with us on Facebook or Instagram: @vbacbirthstories

In today’s episode we speak to midwife and Calmbirth educator from regional Victoria, Rosie. Rosie has had four very different birth experiences.
This episode has a trigger warning as we do discuss pregnancy loss.
Rosie’s first birth was a medical termination at 23 weeks following a rare diagnosis her daughter was given at her 20 week scan. Rosie tells of the often unspoken guilt and complex grief that comes with this form of loss. The gravity of her experience caused her to reflect on the ways in which the system in general can treat birth and how important it is to acknowledge the emotional aspects of it, whichever form birth may take.
When Rosie fell pregnant again she chose to be looked after by a private obstetrician in a public hospital setting due to the absence of continuity of midwifery led care in her area. Her son was born at 35 weeks in a birth that ended in a Category 1 emergency caesarean at 34 weeks, It was discovered she had developed Chorioamnionitis, an infection of the lining of the membranes. Her son needed to go to special care and Rosie was separated from him for some time.
After this birth Rosie went on to have two VBACs; the first involved an assisted delivery with forceps and her second was a precipitous labour which was documented as being just 26 minutes all up, including the birth of the placenta.
We thank Rosie for sharing her very personal and unique birth experiences and for her honest reflections on all of them. We know her insights from her personal and professional experience will bring comfort and knowledge to our listeners.
Rosie's Calmbirth Education website: https://www.babiesballarat.com.auInstagram: @babies_ballarat_calmbirth
~ Notes ~
Post Natal Depression/Anxiety support: If you or anyone you know is affected by PND symptoms particularly at this time of COVID-19 please don't hesitate to contact the following support networks.
The Gidget Foundationhttps://gidgetfoundation.org.au/get-support/,
PANDAhttps://www.panda.org.au/info-support/pandas-national-perinatal-anxiety-depression-helpline
Beyond Bluehttps://www.beyondblue.org.au/get-support/get-immediate-support
Copehttps://www.cope.org.au
Pregnancy Loss:https://www.bearsofhope.org.auhttps://rednosegriefandloss.org.auhttps://miscarriagesupport.org.au
**VBAC Birth Stories features women's lived experiences. It is not intended to replace medical advice. Should you have any concerns during your pregnancy please always consult your healthcare provider.
Please connect with us on Facebook or Instagram: @vbacbirthstories

This week Amy and her mum Janene a midwife join us to share her extraordinary three birth stories. Her first a vaginal birth, her second a caesarean birth, and her third a VBAC with twins.
This episode has a trigger warning as baby loss is discussed.
Amy’s first pregnancy was thankfully straightforward with a positive induction experience followed by a vaginal birth under Midwifery Group Practice at her local hospital. Having her mum’s guidance she was well informed ahead of time, however she was faced with breastfeeding struggles following her first birth and the positive birth experience was marred by the passing of her father from Motor neurone disease, a battle he had fought for many years.
For her second pregnancy Amy was planning to have a homebirth through her hospital's birth center homebirth program and looked forward to this experience. However at 36 weeks her pregnancy took an unexpected turn. Amy experienced a concealed placental abruption and she was taken for an emergency caesarean.
Her son Arlo was born premature but healthy and she was discharged from hospital, but at five days of age they returned to hospital as his health began to deteriorate. It was found he had contracted a common cold virus. Arlo was airlifted to Westmead Hospital in Sydney from Newcastle and in the coming weeks Amy and her husband would stay by his side while he was fighting for his life.
Amy tells of the unspeakable grief of losing Arlo and the 29 days of his life which was cut short far too soon. Amy tells of navigating this difficult period and of the family, her church community, and the hospital staff who helped her.
When Amy and her husband Sam felt ready to welcome another baby Amy prayed for twins and incredibly her prayers were answered. Amy's rainbow babies were born via VBAC, and she and Janene tell of twin A emerging direct posterior and twin B being born breech and en caul.
Thank you so much Amy and Janene for reaching out to us to share your difficult yet remarkable and heartfelt journey. We know your story will be a source of comfort and inspiration to our listeners.
~ Notes ~
Birthing Multiples Naturally: https://www.facebook.com/groups/418436544869922/?ref=share
Birth Photographer: https://katekennedybirthphotography.com
Books:
Birth Skills by Juju Sundin with Sarah Murdochhttp://www.jujusundin.com
Your Baby Your Birth by Hollie De Cruz
Pregnancy and Infant Loss Support:https://www.bearsofhope.org.auhttps://rednosegriefandloss.org.auhttps://www.sands.org.auhttps://miscarriagesupport.org.auhttps://www.gidgetfoundation.org.au
**VBAC Birth Stories features women's lived experiences. It is not intended to replace medical advice. Should you have any concerns during your pregnancy please always consult your healthcare provider.
Please connect with us on Facebook or Instagram: @vbacbirthstories

Today we hear from Kasey who lives in Melbourne with her husband and two daughters. In her first birth she experienced the rare complication of a bandl ring and was taken for an emergency caesarean despite reaching full dilation.
We speak about what it's like to be a young mother in your twenties when your peers are all doing different things and how this can affect friendships. We also speak about her challenges with her oldest baby's allergies and breastfeeding and what a difference the right support and education can make.
In her second pregnancy Kasey was determined to go into labour spontaneously and avoid an induction completely, as her experience with it in her first birth was not a positive one. Kasey talks about the pressure she faced to book in a second caesarean even though she was perfectly suitable for a VBAC.
Knowing that she was being met with resistance Kasey talks about what she did differently to ensure she had the best chance of avoiding another caesarean.
~ Notes ~
Bandl's Ring:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=Bandl%27s+ring
M. Reyad & M. Quinn (2008) Pre-term uterine constriction rings and their consequences, Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 28:4, 447-448, DOI: 10.1080/01443610802138106
**VBAC Birth Stories features women's lived experiences. It is not intended to replace medical advice. Should you have any concerns during your pregnancy please always consult your healthcare provider.
Follow us on Facebook or Instagram @vbacbirthstories

Today we meet Nadima who lives in Melbourne with her husband and two children. Nadima, like many of us, never imagined she would have a caesarean so when she was wheeled into theatre for an emergency caesarean this naturally came as a shock to her. She was booked in for an induction at 37 weeks due to earlier concerns with her baby’s heart rate, but she actually never got to experience labour. Although Nadima doesn’t describe her first birth as traumatic she knew immediately that she did not want to go through another caesarean if she could prevent it in any way. You’ll hear how she prepared herself mentally and physically for her second birth which was a 51 hour long labour, and how her VBAC unfolded with her nearly 4.2kg baby.
~ Notes ~
VBAC Australia Support Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/342851302473349
**VBAC Birth Stories features women's lived experiences. It is not intended to replace medical advice. Should you have any concerns during your pregnancy please always consult your healthcare provider.
Please connect with us on Facebook or Instagram: @vbacbirthstories

Today we meet Zara from central Queensland and talk to her about her two births. Zara's VBAC journey began with Darcy who was a planned caesarean due to his breech positioning. The caesarean itself wasn't traumatic, but it was what happened afterwards that left Zara feeling like she could not go through childbirth again. She experienced post natal depression following this birth.
Zara's heart eventually opened to the possibility of having another baby and when the time came she felt a deep desire to have a VBAC, doing everything in her power to give herself the best opportunity including securing continuity of care through her local hospital’s midwifery group practice (MGP). The end of Zara’s pregnancy presented some challenges which Zara admirably rose to, but once labour was underway Zara experienced what we all are aware of going into labour after caesarean, but feel hopeful won't happen to us- a uterine rupture.
A uterine rupture can occur in any labour but it is more common in women who have a scar on their uterus from a previous caesarean.

• We are told 1 in 200 or 0.5% of women labouring after one caesarean will have a uterine rupture, which means about 99.5% of women won’t.
• There have been other studies that have found the uterine rupture rate to be even lower, for example 0.2% and 0.1%
• An Australian study, Dekker et al 2010, went even further and found that the risk of uterine rupture during VBAC was 0.15% in spontaneous labour, increasing to 0.88% in an induced labour with prostaglandin and oxytocin, and 1.91% in an augmented labour.
• Of the women who do experience a uterine rupture, 6% of those are considered catastrophic, therefore 94% are considered asymptomatic, and this is what Zara experienced.

While Zara’s story doesn’t end with a vaginal delivery she speaks about how she is finding peace with this and the fact that she would do it all over again despite her experience. Her advice to believe in yourself, to educate ourselves about uterine rupture and to understand the risks is inspiring. We hope that her story is a valuable and informative resource for you all on your VBAC journey and a useful tool in understanding what can transpire during uterine rupture in labour.
~ Notes ~
You may connect with Zara on Instagram @zaramartin__
Studies quoted and associated links can be found in the following article by Dr Rachel Reed:
https://midwifethinking.com/2016/06/15/vbac-making-a-mountain-out-of-a-molehill/
Post Natal Depression/Anxiety and Birth Trauma support: If you or anyone you know is affected by PND symptoms particularly at this time of COVID-19 please don't hesitate to contact the following support networks.
The Gidget Foundationhttps://gidgetfoundation.org.au/get-support/
PANDAhttps://www.panda.org.au/info-support/pandas-national-perinatal-anxiety-depression-helpline
Beyond Bluehttps://www.beyondblue.org.au/get-support/get-immediate-support
Copehttps://www.cope.org.au
**VBAC Birth Stories features women's lived experiences. It is not intended to replace medical advice. Should you have any concerns during your pregnancy please always consult your healthcare provider.
Please connect with us on Facebook or Instagram: @vbacbirthstories

VBAC Birth Stories in discussion with Professor of Midwifery Hannah Dahlen on how Covid-19 restrictions are affecting birthing women in Australia and what women can do to make the most of their birth experience and postpartum in these trying times. We speak about the impact of birth restrictions on migrant women and their families, domestic violence screening and how antenatal care has been affected. We also talk about the state of maternity care in Australia and how we can influence policy change to improve this- where to from here and what is the hope for maternity care in Australia?
Biography (Source: Western Sydney University):
Hannah Dahlen is Professor of Midwifery, Assocate Dean Research and HDR and Mdiwifery Discipline Lead in the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Western Sydney University. Hannah is a leading midwifery researcher in Australia, with an international reputation as an outstanding midwifery scholar. This is demonstrated through publication of over 200 papers and book chapters, despite only being an active researcher for the past 10 years and maintaining clinical practice. Hannah has given papers at over 100 conferences and seminars since in the past 5 years with half of these being invited national and international keynote addresses.
Hannah has developed strong international research partnerships for research projects that are having significant impacts in the field of maternity care and midwifery globally. She has been a co-investigator on the European Union Grant Cooperation in the field of Scientific and Technical Research (COST) Action Project led from the University of Central Lancashire. In 2011 Hannah along with Professor Downe (UCLAN) and Professor Holly Kennedy Powel (Yale University) formed an international research group called EPIIC (Epigenetic impact of Childbirth). Hannah has international collaborations with researchers at the University of Central Lancashire (UCLAN-UK), VU Medical Centre Amsterdam, Lund University (Sweden) and Yale (USA).Hannah’s research interests fall under two major themes:
1. Keeping birth normal, which includes research into birth positions, perineal comfort and trauma during second stage, birth experiences of first time mothers at home and in hospital, use of NSW and National perinatal data to look at maternal and perinatal outcomes in different models of care and place of birth and vaginal birth after caesarean.
2. Health service/policy development, which includes publications on homebirth, birth centres and freebirth, human rights and birth trauma, the development of a midwifery initiated oral health service for pregnant women, service engagement and outcomes for infants and their young mothers, analysis of media depictions of midwives obstetricians and birth, the use of doulas in the health service and outcomes for low risk women giving birth in private and public hospitals.

~ Notes ~
The Birth Experience Study:https://surveywesternsydney.au1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_d7lb1dyOczveOxw
Hannah Dahlen Facebook Page:https://www.facebook.com/hannahgracedahlen
Birth in the time of Covid Facebook Page:https://www.facebook.com/birthinthetimeofcovid/
The Birth Experience Study Facebook Page:https://www.facebook.com/BirthExperienceStudy/
Maternity Choices Australia:https://www.maternitychoices.org
Maternity Consumer Network:https://www.maternityconsumernetwork.org.au
Post Natal Depression/Anxiety support: If you or anyone you know is affected by PND symptoms particularly at this time of COVID-19 please don't hesitate to contact th

Today Mel shares her second VBAC birth story with her third baby Emilia.Her birth was a surprise breech homebirth, which was somewhat poetic given her primary caesarean was due to her first baby being breech. Her second birth in a public hospital under caseload midwifery care was a successful unmedicated VBAC (You can listen to this story in episode 2).
We talk about Mel’s decision to homebirth, the implications of covid on her pregnancy, the complications she faced in Emilia’s pregnancy when she was found to have a Ventricular Septal Defect at 20 weeks and how her third birth unfolded at home.
~ Notes ~
Books:
Welcome Home by Alisha BourkeBirth With Confidence by Rhea DhempseyGentle Birth, Gentle Mothering by Sarah Buckley
Acupuncturist: Keely from Lawson Acupuncture Clinichttps://www.lawsonacupunctureclinic.com
Midwife Thinking:midwifethinking.com
Spinning Babies:spinningbabies.com
Homebirth NSW:https://www.homebirthnsw.org.au
Breech Birth Australia & New Zealand Support Group:https://www.facebook.com/groups/233980109958642
Birth Photographer: Mel Fisherhttps://www.mjfphotographymacarthur.com/
**VBAC Birth Stories features women's lived experiences. It is not intended to replace medical advice. Should you have any concerns during your pregnancy please always consult your healthcare provider.
Please connect with us on Facebook or Instagram: @vbacbirthstories