The VBAC Link

April is Cesarean Awareness Month and Women of Strength, we are aware of YOU.
All month long, we are bringing you VBAC stories & discussions featuring these most common reasons for cesareans:
• Big babies
• Failure to progress
• Twins
• Breech
• Fetal heart tones
And for our CBAC and RCS mamas, we’ve got a special episode all about maternal assisted cesareans, so stay tuned!! 
In today’s episode, we talk with Katie, a Certified Professional Midwife from Oregon, whose journey into midwifery began after her own VBAC. Her first birth began spontaneously at the start of COVID and ended in a cesarean with an asynclitic, sunny side up baby. Her second birth was a healing VBAC at a freestanding birth center with midwives.
Her third birth at home was longer than her previous VBAC and required her to let go of expectations and trust the process. This birth ended in a successful VBAC with a shoulder dystocia, postpartum hemorrhage, and a second degree tear. We’ll let you listen to the episode to find out just how big her record-setting baby was!
Katie talks about just how different births can be, what it takes to become a CPM, ways to manage postpartum hemorrhage, shoulder dystocia maneuvers, safe transfer from out-of-hospital to hospital care, and recent policies that impact midwives attending VBACs. 
Katie reminds us to choose your birth team wisely, the mind is a powerful thing, and sometimes letting go of expectations is the only way through.

VBAC Certified Doula Finder
The VBAC Link Supportive Provider List
The Ultimate VBAC Prep Course for Parents
Online VBAC Doula Training
Submit Your VBAC/CBAC Story

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Rachel, a VBAC mom, NICU nurse, researcher, and soon to be women’s health NP, shares her healing VBAC journey with us today. Her first birth started as an induction and quickly turned into an urgent cesarean. She experienced a failed spinal, aggression from providers, and general anesthesia. 
Rachel talks about some tough things she’s seen as a NICU nurse and how trauma can show up secondhand. She shares why it’s so important to process those experiences, and how she uses them to be a more compassionate caregiver.
We also talk about what it means to truly be informed during birth. It matters so much to be humanized in those moments, to be talked to and included in decisions as they’re happening instead of being told after the fact.
As she prepared for her VBAC, Rachel focused on evidence based care, setting clear boundaries, and building a supportive team around her. We talk about how physiological birth can still be supported in a hospital setting, practical prep like the role of Webster certified chiropractic care, and why partners need time and space to process birth too.
Rachel also shares what it was like to have the same doula for both her cesarean and her VBAC and how that support made a difference, not just during birth but in processing everything afterward. Her story is such a good reminder that healing is possible, support matters, and you deserve to feel seen, heard, and respected every step of the way.

Keywords: VBAC after traumatic C-section, NICU nurse VBAC story, informed consent

VBAC Certified Doula Finder
The VBAC Link Supportive Provider List
The Evidence on Dates
The Ultimate VBAC Prep Course for Parents
Online VBAC Doula Training
Submit Your VBAC/CBAC Story

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

If you’ve been with us for a while, you’ve probably heard women say they did all the things to get their VBAC. 
But what actually are “all the things”? 
This episode covers it!
As moms prepping for their own VBACs and now doulas helping others do the same, Paige (coming hot off a birth!) and Lily sit down to talk about everything you can do before conception and during pregnancy to prepare for an empowering VBAC or repeat cesarean. Scar mobilization, acupuncture, therapy, Webster-certified chiropractic care, what books to read, how to find the right doula, choosing your birth location & team, finances, nutrition, processing trauma, positioning, and so much more.
Comment on this episode and let us know what you did to prepare that we missed! 

ALL THE LINKS: 
How to Find a Truly Supportive Provider
Signs It's Time to Switch Your Provider
Deciding Home vs Hospital Birth
Choosing VBAC or Repeat C-section
Episode 119 Pelvic Movement in Pregnancy and Birth With Gina Conley
Episode 160 Everything Left Unsaid
Episode 386 Dr. Stu Fischbein & Midwife Blyss Young
Our Favorite Books
VBAC Certified Doula Finder
The VBAC Link Supportive Provider List
The Ultimate VBAC Prep Course for Parents
Online VBAC Doula Training
Submit Your VBAC/CBAC Story

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

Breastfeeding is natural, but that doesn’t mean it always comes naturally. In this episode, we chat with Lily’s personal boob fairy🧚🏼 Angela Das (IBCLC, CLC, CNPE and two-time VBAC mom!) about how preparing BEFORE birth can make a big difference in your feeding journey.
Angela first shares her own birth stories from her unexpected c-section to her two induced VBACs and the differences in her breastfeeding experiences. 
She also shares practical tools like prenatal hand expression, what to do if you’re separated from your baby after birth or how to navigate NICU time, and how the hormones of breastfeeding support bonding and milk production. We talk about the differences women often experience when breastfeeding after a cesarean versus a VBAC, and how preparation and support can make all the difference.
Angela also breaks down the differences between IBCLCs, lactation nurses, and CLCs, and what it takes to become an IBCLC, the highest level of lactation certification.
And if your first breastfeeding experience didn’t go the way you hoped, Angela shares ways to reset and set yourself up for a more supported journey this time around.
Most importantly, this episode sends love to every parent listening. However you birth your baby, your experience matters. One path isn’t superior to another. You’ve got options, you’ve got the TVL team cheering for you, and now, you’ve got Angela in your corner too! 
Watch the full episode on YouTube
Motherhood Untamed Lactation with Angela Das, IBCLC, CLC, CNPE
VBAC Certified Doula Finder
The VBAC Link Supportive Provider List
The Ultimate VBAC Prep Course for Parents
Online VBAC Doula Training
Submit Your VBAC/CBAC Story

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

Ashley Adynah is a wife, mom of four boys (one bonus son and three birth stories of her own), and the creator behind The Parenting Strategy. She went into her first birth aware of the gap in Black maternity care, spoke up, and was assured by her team that she would be well taken care of. But Ashley’s induction ended in a traumatic C-section compounded by a uterine infection, infected incision, passing out at home, and needing a home nurse. She was dismissed and not believed over and over again. 
9 months later, Ashley became pregnant again, and knew she wanted a VBAC. She educated herself, switched providers at 38 weeks after being told she’d need another C-section for a “big baby,” labored at home, and was 8cm when she got to the hospital. She had a pain-free, unmedicated VBAC, delivering her 9 lb 6 oz son with no tears!
Her third pregnancy brought new fears when her placenta grew into her previous C-section scar, aka placenta accreta. Lily, Paige, and Ashley dive into what placenta accreta is and what it means for birth. After meeting with lots of specialists and facing the possibility of serious complications, she leaned hard into her faith. During her cesarean, it was confirmed that her accreta had grown into her first C-section scar (and this is why preventing primary cesareans and having the option to VBAC matters!). But Ashley’s placenta detached on its own, she was able to have a horizontal incision, and keep her uterus. Her little boy was 4lb, 11oz and spent 11 days in the NICU. Ashley is incredibly resilient, strong, and so inspiring! 
Keywords: Black maternal health gap, traumatic C-section, postpartum infection, VBAC story, unmedicated VBAC, placenta accreta, NICU, birth trauma healing, maternal advocacy, birth after cesarean

VBAC Certified Doula Finder
The VBAC Link Supportive Provider List
The Ultimate VBAC Prep Course for Parents
Online VBAC Doula Training
Submit Your VBAC/CBAC Story

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