Australian VBAC Stories

Today we are excited to share Emma’s beautiful birth stories, her first baby boy, Eric, born via caesarean after an induction, and her second baby girl, Chloe, born via a repeat caesarean after reaching full dilation during a spontaneous labour.   Her first pregnancy resulted in a pre-eclampsia diagnosis which led to an induction. Emma beautifully describes this birth journey of labouring with a p...

We are so excited to bring you the incredible Zelda's four epic birth stories for our 22nd episode! First things first: We had a few technical struggles recording this episode, so please forgive the occasional glitchiness of the audio quality and consistency. We hope you will still experience the richness of Zelda's experiences as she shares them It's not often we get to hear about VBA...

In this episode, we are so incredibly fortunate to have the beautiful Claire share her birth stories with us. Claire is an absolute wealth of wisdom, and the beautifully articulate and insightful way she shares her journey with us opens up some gorgeous, deep conversations with our co-hosts Katelyn and Aimee that you won't want to miss. Claire takes us through her first pregnancy, where it was...

Today, we are so pleased to be bringing you the beautiful Anushka's incredible birth stories. Anushka walks us through her journey to her caesarean birth with her first son and explains how a posterior baby and long labour contributed to a cascade of interventions, including receiving syntocinon that she had not consented to, that ultimately ended with her meeting her baby via caesarean. She p...

Welcome to Episode 19 of Australian VBAC Stories, and today we’re thrilled to be hearing from Jo who shares her journey to her 2VBA2Cs! That’s two vaginal births after two caesareans. You already know this is going to be a good one.  Jo experienced the very classic cascade of intervention in her first pregnancy and birth journey, and found herself with a caesarean that was unexpected and traumatic...

Welcome to Episode 18 of the Australian VBAC Stories Podcast! Today we are delighted to have Imogen on the podcast sharing her somewhat unusual journey to VBAC with us. Imogen's first pregnancy was a beautiful surprise, but before she could really come to terms with it, sadly, she lost that baby at 7 weeks. However, this experienced had opened up her heart to the idea of having a baby, and her and...

In this episode we have Nadia, an incredible mama of two, sharing her caesarean and VBAC journeys. Her stories are rich with reflection, exploring her first birth journey involving a baby with Intrauterine Growth Restriction (IUGR) and sudden induction leading to a caesarean, and her following, empowering VBAC with the support of her husband, doula and a private OB. Nadia beautifully shares her th...

Welcome to Episode 16 of the Australian VBAC Stories Podcast! Today, on the International Day of the Midwife (5th May), we are so excited to be sharing Kim's incredible birth stories! Kim shares her inspiring and awesome journey to a VBA3C, including 3 public hospital caesarean births and then a VBA3C with a private midwife. Kim's first pregnancy resulted in a little girl born via caesarean due to...

In honour of Caesarean Awareness Month this April, we are bringing you some incredible stories from women whose VBAC journeys resulted in repeat caesarean sections. Today, on her birthing day, we are so excited to share Emma's incredible birth stories! Emma journeyed through a planned caesarean for her twin babies' births, where the presenting twin was breech, through the public hospital s...

In honour of Caesarean Awareness Month this April, we are bringing you some incredible stories from women whose VBAC journeys resulted in repeat caesarean sections. Today, we are thrilled to share Helen's incredible journey from a failed induction after suspected preeclampsia under fragmented care in the public hospital system where she was bounced around between a couple of hospitals and real...

In today's episode, we are thrilled to have Tegan share her journey to motherhood including beginning with back-to-back ectopic pregnancies, followed by IVF conception and a rare diagnosis of Vasa Praevia which saw her on bed rest in hospital for weeks leading up to her first birth, a very necessary planned caesarean. She knew she wanted to pursue a VBAC with her next baby, and after another I...

In this episode, we invite you to listen to Olivia’s powerful story of her two very different births. Olivia is from a large family, and was introduced to birth from a young age when she attended her mother’s homebirth of her younger sibling at 10 years of age. Olivia was diagnosed with oligohydramnios (low amniotic fluid) at a routine scan at 41 weeks and was recommended an induction. After being...

In this episode of Australian VBAC Stories, Tiarny very openly and generously shares the story of her two births. With her first baby, Tiarny planned a homebirth with a private midwife. She went into spontaneous labour at 42+5, and ultimately transfered to hospital due to a prolonged second stage, where her baby was discovered to be presenting asynclitically. She ended up birthing via emergency ca...

On today's episode of Australian VBAC Stories, we are thrilled to bring you Emily's incredible birth stories. Emily's first birth unfolds a bit differently to many of us. For a first time Mum, Emily was very prepared and very educated on the system and physiological birth, and knew exactly how she wanted to approach getting the birth she envisioned. However, that vision shifted drastic...

In today's Australian VBAC Stories episode, Olivia shares her incredible birth stories with us including her first caesarean with a baby discovered breech in labour, followed by a breech VBAC with the same Private Obstetrician. Olivia shares of the complexities of breech birth, including breech VBAC with births less than 18 months apart, and also birthing during COVID lockdowns. She provides m...

In this episode, we are joined by Rachel, who shares her triumphant journey of achieving a physiological VBAC against challenging odds. Having undergone a caesarean almost three years prior, she discovered at 37 weeks into her second pregnancy that her medical notes deemed her "not suitable for VBAC." Undeterred, Rachel changed hospitals at 38 weeks, advocating for herself throughout her...

In this episode, we bring you the story of Anna's three births. Anna shares her experience from a scheduled caesarean for elevated blood pressure with a private OB, through an extremely difficult miscarriage to two empowered, informed and supported VBACs with a private midwife, first in the hospital and then, with her third baby, at home. This episode is an absolute goldmine of information and...

Today's episode brings you the stories of three births told by Jess. Her first baby was born via emergency caesarean under a fragmented care model, and she was especially unfortunate to develop postpartum preeclampsia afterwards which added to the struggles of that postpartum. After a journey of self-education, Jess went on to seek out care under the MGP at her local hospital for her VBAC. She...

Today we are honoured to bring you Renee's gorgeous VBAC story. Renee had her first baby via caesarean following a long early labour which led to an augmentation and a classic "failure to progress" diagnosis during the pushing stage of her posterior positioned baby. When she fell pregnant with her second baby, Renee knew she wanted to pursue a VBAC. She faced a number of challenges a...

Today we are thrilled to bring you an absolute cracker of an epsiode with the incredible Georgina's VBAC story. Georgina experienced a cascade of interventions during her first birth that ultimately ended with her being forced to choose between a forceps delivery and a caesarean. She chose a caesarean, not really knowing or understanding the risks of either, and in the process of her son's birth,...

Today we bring you the story of Georgia's two births. Georgia is another of our beautiful co-hosts, and in this episode, she shares so openly and generously about her experience birthing her two daughters, including how she went from planning a elective repeat caesarean with her second to a planned homebirth after caesarean with the support of a private midwife. Georgia obviously spent some time r...

Today we bring you the VBAC stories of one of our gorgeous co-hosts, Bronwyn. Bronwyn experienced the all-too-common cascade of interventions in her first pregnancy with an induction that led her to an emergency caesarean. She knew she needed a different experience when she fell pregnant with her second baby, and after initially planning a VBAC in hospital, she ended up planning a HBAC (homebirth...

In this special introductory episode, your co-hosts Katelyn, Georgia, Bronwyn and Aimee discuss why they have chosen to produce this podcast and why they think VBAC matters. Please join us on our journey to bringing you all kinds of VBAC stories from across the country from here on in by subscribing and following us on social media, @australianvbacstories on Instagram and Australian VBAC Stories o...