The VBAC Link

113 Brittany's VBAC + Big Babies and Small Pelvises

Sadly, Brittany's first pregnancy ended with a miscarriage.

Her second pregnancy did not miscarry, and like so many first time mothers, she had some sort of vague idea that she wanted what she thought of as 'unmedicated, natural childbirth.' Which is all well and good, but when she reached her due date, a bunch of stuff came flying at her, and fast. More or less regular pregnancy and childbirth stuff, but she just wasn't ready for it and didn't have a backup plan.

And again like so many first time mothers, she was left disappointed and sad when that first baby was delivered via C-section.

Her next pregnancy was uneventful, just like her previous one. But with her first child, she didn't really get to a stage where contractions had a chance to kick in. This third pregnancy, however, labor started early and lasted a long time. How long?

Two and a half eventful days. Powerful, intense contractions every 5 minutes. Almost no sleep.

Did all of that labor pay off with a VBAC baby? Listen and find out.

Find out more about all things VBAC at thevbaclink.com.blog

Topics/keywords: military peace corps joke, miscarriage, long labor, small pelvis

112 Nicole's VBAC + Breech Babies

Even though Nicole hoped for a natural birth with her first, her high blood pressure put the kibosh on that, and she was off to surgery for a C-section, even after days of laboring. And even though the actual Cesarean procedure wasn't that traumatic for her, the post-birth aftermath, particularly with the hospital staff, is what drove her to try for a VBAC with her second.

Her second pregnancy was progressing beautifully en route to her planned VBAC. Until her third trimester when her baby started doing somersaults in her womb just about every other day, and Nicole's high blood pressure started flaring up again. And when the day came, things were looking worse and worse.

Did she make it to her VBAC finish line, or would she be wheeled off to surgery again? Listen and find out.

Find out more about why baby's go breech and what you can do about it at https://www.thevbaclink.com/why-babies-go-breech-and-5-things-you-can-do-about-it/

Topics/keywords- breech baby, VBAC calculator, high blood pressure, chronic hypertension, preeclampsia

111 Brooke's VBAC + Switching Providers

Brooke thought she was all set up in her VBAC attempt with her second baby- a supportive provider, excellent progress reports through the weeks, trusty midwife at her side, husband cheering her on every step of the way.

Then, her provider went Brutus on her and stabbed her in the back (figuratively, not literally), leaving her with few options with only a handful of weeks before her due date.

Then things got worse. Her initial consultation with her new provider went less than promisingly when that provider's first statement was "If you want to have a VBAC, don't come to this hospital."

The only potentially good thing to come from that meeting was a recommendation of another hospital that would likely give her a shot at a VBAC.

Did that work out for her and her baby? Listen and find out.

Find out more about how to find a supportive provider at https://www.thevbaclink.com/post/vbac-provider

110 Kara's VBA2C + Mental and Physical Prep

Kara’s first baby was a C-section, with additional physical trauma and an extended hospital stay. Her second baby was an attempted VBAC, but this one, too, was a C-section; although this time, it was much less stressful for Kara, and she had an overall better experience.

With her third baby, Kara was more determined than ever to deliver vaginally. It helped immensely that her provider was 100% one her side and supportive from the get-go.

However, as she approached the finish line, signs were pointing to another C-section. Even with Pitocin, she wasn’t progressing and or dilated at all, and wasn’t really contracting; However, her provider had a couple of clever techniques up her sleeve.

Would those techniques finally provide the means for Kara to achieve her VBAC? Listen and find out.

109 Things You Never Knew you Needed to Know About Birth with Julie & Meagan

In this special episode, we talk about some of the things that parents (first-timers, second-timers, tenth-timers, etc.) will need to know and also bring to light some unexpected things that many parents simply have no idea might come into play in their birth journey. Sometimes these things happen without the parents the wiser!

Look at it like this: some parents in the past have learned these lessons the hard way or have had these things jump out at them unexpectedly, and we want to share these lessons with you. We want you to be as informed and as prepared as possible.

Find out even more in our How to VBAC Prep Course to Parents at thevbaclink.com/courses.