480 episodes
473 T-incision Special Scar + 2VBACs | CNM & Founder of Lila Laborwear Caitlyn Schollmeier
2026/09/09 | 1h 15 mins.Caitlyn is our ultimate IT girl. She’s a Certified Nurse Midwife, L&D nurse, doula, two-time VBAC mom of four, inventor of Lila Laborwear and the Lila TENS Unit, Air Force veteran, and was crowned the 2020 Mrs. United States while pregnant with her twins!
Caitlyn’s motherhood journey began with that surprise twin pregnancy, vasa previa, and twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS) which led to a lengthy hospital stay and a cesarean birth with a T-incision.
During her second pregnancy, Caitlyn was strongly discouraged from going for a VBAC. But she knew the evidence, trusted her intuition, and went for it. Caitlyn’s labor was long and challenging, but ended in an empowering VBAC! She went on to have another VBAC with her third that was unexpectedly unmedicated, using her very own Lila TENS Unit as her only pain relief.
Caitlyn shares what she wishes she had known about vasa previa, including treatment options she learned about too late, and dives into pregnancy dating, induction, nipple stimulation, membrane sweeps, castor oil, labor coping, epidurals, unmedicated birth, and preparing for labor regardless of your pain-medication plan. She explains why medical interventions should be approached strategically rather than as all or nothing by asking yourself:
“Is this going to improve my chances of having the outcome that I want?”
When used thoughtfully and appropriately, sometimes interventions are just the thing that will get you there.
Lila Laborwear Website
The Ultimate VBAC Prep Course for Parents
Online VBAC Doula Training
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands- After a breech C-section in 2022 and an elective repeat in 2024, Darby switched providers to the “king of VBA2C doctors” at 34 weeks to go for a VBA2C. She hired the best VBAC doula in North Texas, did all the things to prepare and educate herself, but at 40 weeks learned her supportive doctor would be out of town. At 40+5, she labored for nearly three days while facing anti-VBAC doctors, repeated pressure for a C-section, and “dead baby” fear-mongering. She ultimately left the hospital AMA, continued laboring close by with her husband and doula, then returned two days later.
Darby finally had a doctor from her supportive practice arrive during an overnight labor, and despite baby’s heart rate struggling with contractions, meconium, severe dehydration with ketones, four IVs due to rolling veins, an epidural, and 45 minutes of pushing resulting in a third-degree tear, she got her VBA2C and the perfect skin-to-skin moment she was dreaming of.
Darby’s message to you all is to know your rights, advocate for yourself, trust your intuition, and stay flexible.
About her resistance from doctors, she says, “It was the most intense and probably most medically traumatizing thing of my life, but the end was the most empowering thing ever.”
Women of Strength, the way you are treated in birth matters. Get educated, and don’t settle for any less than what you deserve!
The Ultimate VBAC Prep Course for Parents
Online VBAC Doula Training
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands - Stephanie’s first two births were vaginal deliveries, her third was a peaceful, scheduled C-section after declining an ECV, and her fourth was an empowering VBAC with an ECV at 37 weeks. She is a doula, prenatal/postpartum fitness specialist, and the founder of Mission Rise and Mission Motherhood.
We loved this piece of advice Stephanie sent us in her intake form:
“One thing I don’t think we talk about enough is that birth preparation should evolve with each pregnancy.
“For a first-time mom, that often means learning as much as you can so birth doesn’t simply happen to you—attending childbirth and breastfeeding classes, considering a doula, and preparing for postpartum (your bedside, having a meal train, etc.).
“For moms who’ve given birth before, preparation often means processing your previous birth before preparing for the next one.
“Every birth deserves to be treated as its own story, and each pregnancy offers a new opportunity to advocate for yourself, explore your options, and prepare with fresh eyes instead of assuming this birth will be just like the last.”
This episode was SO fun to record. We just basked in the beautiful way Stephanie talked about birth, advocacy, faith, and all of her practical tips. And another fun piece of her VBAC was that Stephanie and her sister were pregnant together and got to be each other’s doulas at their births, only 13 days apart!
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Natural Hospital Birth, The Best of Both Worlds
Stephanie's Website
The Ultimate VBAC Prep Course for Parents
Online VBAC Doula Training
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands - We know her and love her from jingles on all the socials with her husband, Steven. She documented her VBAC prep journey on the internet, and now Blair aka @6.lair is here sharing ALL details with The VBAC Link!
About Blair: She’s a 2x mom based in Michigan who had an unmedicated hospital VBAC in May 2026. As a pediatric ICU nurse herself, she’s a huge advocate for patient centered care, non-pharmacological pain interventions, and informed consent. Her first birth was a scheduled C-section due to placenta previa. Her VBAC was just under 24 hours with AROM, lots of movement, using the shower during contractions, pushing for 1hr and 40 min, the fetal ejection reflex, and no tearing.
You will walk away from her stories with such a deep understanding of the step-by-step process of unmedicated birth. From trying to induce spontaneous labor all the way to the nitty gritty of what recovery from a vaginal delivery feels like, Blair is a girl’s girl who REALLY wants you to know what to expect. It was hard, transition was scary, pushing wasn’t what she thought it would be, AND it was the most empowering thing she’s ever done.
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Blair's Linktree
The Ultimate VBAC Prep Course for Parents
Online VBAC Doula Training
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands - She’s the chick who helps moms and babies, the one and only Nina Spears, founder and CEO of The Baby Chick®, is hereeee! Nina is a certified baby planner, birth and postpartum doula, childbirth educator, newborn care specialist, infant massage instructor, and perinatal nutrition expert who has worked with more than 800 families in person, thousands virtually, and has supported over 350 births over the past 15 years.
She’s also the host of Chick Chat: The Baby Chick Podcast and the author of The Baby Chick Guide to Positive Pregnancy, which just published June 2026. She says it’s, “essentially what I’ve been wanting my clients to have for the last 15 years”.
And what does it mean to have a positive pregnancy?
Nina says it’s all about feeling informed, supported, and empowered.
But, it’s also having conversations about the realities of pregnancy, birth, and postpartum that just aren’t happening…until this episode.
What we aren’t talking about enough that we take a deep dive into today:
The invisible load of motherhood that starts DURING pregnancy
Not just holding the baby, but also holding the mama
Patrescence and the hormone shift of dads
What actually helps women feel prepared and supported for a baby
Why peace on earth begins with birth
Villages are never free
Deciding to VBAC and honing in on what YOU really want
The pressures that VBAC moms carry
Debunking the superiority of birth
Nina is an absolute joy! We promise this episode is SUCH a good one.
The Baby Chick Guide to Positive Pregnancy: How to Prepare Your Mind, Body, and Partner
The Baby Chick Website
The Baby Chick on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok
Chick Chat: The Baby Chick Podcast
The Ultimate VBAC Prep Course for Parents
Online VBAC Doula Training
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
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About The VBAC Link
Here at The VBAC Link, our mission is to make birth after cesarean better by providing education, support, and a community of like-minded people. Welcome to our circle, we are so glad you are here!
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