The VBAC Link

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 less...

Towards the end of her first pregnancy, Tracy’s baby was measuring very small. That specifically wasn’t the thing that led to the C-section, but that C-section was very unpleasant for Tracy. A difficult recovery and postpartum depression compounded her struggles in the weeks after the birth. With her second pregnancy, she ran into similar circumstances as her first, which initially put a damper on...

In her first pregnancy, Tatiana was very young. Her provider used some scare tactics, but Tatiana didn’t think to not trust them 100%, and the baby was delivered via C-section. Tatiana wasn’t happy about it. Second pregnancy: Tatiana was much more prepared and educated this time. She wasn’t happy with any of the providers in her area, so she planned on a home birth VBAC (HBAC). Most of the pregnan...

Rachel’s C-section with her first left her feeling defeated and overwhelmed. Therapy helped her through the months following the birth, but when she got pregnant a second time, she feared the same thing would happen. She studied hard about her options and decided to TOLAC (trial of labor after Cesarean). You know what they say about best-laid plans? Well, Rachel did achieve her VBAC, but to say th...

Warning: this episode includes discussions about severe postpartum depression as well as uterine rupture. Brianna's first pregnancy ended in an unremarkable Cesarean. Unremarkable at least as far as the hospital was concerned, but to Brianna, it was emotionally devastating. Even in the weeks following her child's birth as she physically recovered, that emotional devastation and the shock o...

We are back from a nice holiday break and are happy to start off our regularly scheduled episodes with this one.  In this episode, we speak with our friends, birth photographers and videographers Rowan Steiner and Danielle Wilstead and talk about some of the issues and expectations when documenting births. How did you get started? What exactly do you do? What should parents expect? Do you ever run...

We're back!!! Happy New Year! We are checking in with a fun, short episode to let you know all about what 2020 has in store for us, and YOU. Find out more about all the things we are chatting about at thevbaclink.com and register for our events across the country at thevbaclink.com/events .  Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Amy has such a nice voice and a calm, pleasant phone demeanor that you can hardly imagine her as a shrieking, raging woman as she labored for hours with her VBAC attempt, when her contractions were literally coming one on top of the other. Her first two children were born via C-section. She didn’t have the worst experience ever with either of those, but still the desire was in her heart and mind t...

Initially, Allison was a little worried about her VBAC plan, because her provider seemed more VBAC tolerant than VBAC supportive. But midway through the pregnancy, her provider changed his tune to become more VBAC supportive, which was, of course, great news. But then he flip-flopped again. But he wasn't finished yet! Another flip. And again and again and again. What’s a mother to do in this s...

Today is Meagan's birthday! I did a sneaky thing and kicked Meagan out of the recording studio mid-recording to record this very special, very secret special episode for you. Meagan has no idea what is in this episode; in fact, only two people know what it contains so, this is going to have to be a surprise for you as well. Join me as I help make Meagan's birthday a little more special by...

Today we celebrate our 100th episode with Tonya! During Tonya's first pregnancy, it was discovered that she had an abnormally shaped uterus, in her case, it was heart-shaped or bicornuate. Even though her first pregnancy ended in a C-section, the shape of her uterus is unrelated. Her uterus hemorrhaged during her Cesarean to the point where she lost so much blood that she passed out several ti...

Today we answer your emails! How long should I wait between having a C-section and getting pregnant again? How do I deal with an unsupportive provider who doesn't take my VBAC birth plan seriously? How do I know my provider is or isn’t giving me biased or just plain bad information? Do I need to worry about uterine rupture? What should I do if, when trying for a VBAC and my due date is approac...

Patrice’s first pregnancy ended in a C-section. With her second, she was determined to deliver vaginally. The pregnancy was progressing fine. What wasn't fine was her provider’s attitude toward her birth plan. Patrice was much more educated during her second pregnancy than her first, and asked many specific questions to her provider over the course of the pregnancy. Patrice eventually learned...

If you’re a regular listener of this podcast, you will notice that several common themes come to light--one of which is that your pregnancy will most likely not go exactly as you planned. In this episode, Ashley tells us how her first pregnancy ended in a C-section, and how her second pregnancy, which she intended to be a VBAC, also ended in a C-section. With her third and most recent pregnancy, s...

The attitude of Brittany’s first birth provider resembled something more like a prison warden than a caregiver. Add to that a completely dysfunctional hospital and you have the makings of a truly traumatic C-section. This experience motivated Brittany to do a whole lot of research and make some very specific plans for her second pregnancy, which she’d hoped would be a VBAC. You know what they say...

Like many first-time parents, Sarah’s experience giving birth to her first child didn’t go as expected. She ended up having a Cesarean after her providers didn’t fully explain all of her options, nor did she know all of the questions she should have asked at the time. Even though her second child was a VBAC, she still wanted something more from her third birth experience. Third time’s a charm? Let...

So much attention is given to your physical preparation for VBAC. But what about your mental and emotional preparation? Professional doula and Structural Integration specialist, Kristy Burtenshaw talks to us about some things that none of us would guess come into play when approaching birth. Do you know what structural integration is? How about how your fascia relates to that? Do you know what you...

Summer had her VBA2C after moving to a brand new area where she didn't know anyone or have any connections to a supportive provider. However, everything ended up coming together perfectly and you will never guess how! Shortly after she got pregnant she found us at The VBAC Link and was hooked on our podcast from the get-go. Find out more about how to find a supportive VBAC provider on or blog...

Sara’s first pregnancy, with twins, included several severe complications that lead to an emergency Cesarean. Her VBAC was empowering and life-changing and ignited her passion for birthwork which lead her to become a doula. Sara has combined her studies in linguistics with her passion for birth creating a revolutionary new area of study in how the way we speak about birth impacts our birth outcome...

Kimberly is a rockstar! Preparing for her VBA2C involved hard conversations with her husband who was not initially on board with her plans, a 5-day long labor, a birth center transfer to the hospital, and one glorious meeting of her baby after just 18 minutes of pushing. Kimberly took the online version of our course   How to VBAC: The Ultimate Prep Course for Parents which helped educate her and...

Renay is truly an inspiration! Her first birth, a Cesarean, left her feeling defeated and exhausted. Over the next three years, she worked so hard to get her body in the best physical shape for pregnancy and birth. She lost a lot of weight and drastically improved her overall health. She prepared in all the ways she could and educated herself as much as possible about VBAC. She was one of the very...

Today we get to hear the story of Brittany’s 3rd Cesarean from Illinois who had a repeat Cesarean after an attempt at a VBA2C. Her birth journey led her through some inspiring moments where she was really able to connect with her intuition and her baby. She did lots of research ahead of time for family-centered Cesareans and how to have the best Cesarean experience possible, if it came to that. Th...

What a more fitting episode for labor day than an episode all about body autonomy DURING labor! You raved about special episode 14 with Dr. Stu and Midwife Blyss from Dr. Stu’s Podcast so we invited them back for an episode on body autonomy and birth. Here we discuss with them what the most important thing is for making your voice heard, especially in areas where you have limited access to birth c...

Today we get to hear from Shannon, one of Julie's doula clients, share the story of her VBA3C (VBAC after 3 Cesareans). So many women hear that VBAC is not an option after just one Cesarean, let alone 3. As you listen to Shannon's story, pay attention to how she tuned into her intuition, got educated, and was entirely in control of her pregnancy and the 41-hour long induction at 41 weeks a...

One of the questions we get asked the most is how far between pregnancies should a parent wait before getting pregnant when preparing for VBAC. Today we have Jana from Missouri with us sharing the exciting story of her VBAC just 15 months after her Cesarean, that’s just 6 months between pregnancies! The current facts show that after 6 months your Cesarean scar is as healed as it will ever be and t...