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Australian VBAC Stories

By: Australian VBAC Stories
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  • Summary

  • Welcome to Australian VBAC stories. This podcast is for you, the women and parents of Australia to share your journey to vaginal birth after caesarean, and to listen to those who have forged the path before. Whether you’ve had a VBAC or planned one, supported someone through one or simply want to learn more - we hope this will be a resource that inspires, informs, and celebrates all unique experiences. This podcast is produced on Dharug and Gundungurra Country by Aimee Sing, Bronwyn Senn, Georgia Slee, and Katelyn Commerford.
    Australian VBAC Stories
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Episodes
  • EP19 - Jo's 2 VBA2Cs (public hospital, induction, labour dystocia, emergency caesarean, postpartum & feeding challenges, planned vbac, infection, repeat csection, vba2c, forceps, episiotomy, 2vba2c)

    EP19 - Jo's 2 VBA2Cs (public hospital, induction, labour dystocia, emergency caesarean, postpartum & feeding challenges, planned vbac, infection, repeat csection, vba2c, forceps, episiotomy, 2vba2c)
    Jun 2 2024

    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. While she scrambled to figure out how to take care of her baby and what she was meant to do with her, she was told off by staff at the hospital for things beyond her knowledge or control as a first time mum, and overall had a rocky start to feeding and motherhood.

    She planned a VBAC with her second baby, but despite doing some incredible work in her labour reaching almost fully dilated, she developed an infection and was immediately taken for a caesarean to birth her baby. Despite a much calmer and more positive caesarean experience, and easier breastfeeding journey, Jo’s recovery was far more challenging while she now balanced her surgical recovery with caring for a newborn and a toddler.

    Her third baby was born during covid, and Jo found some key players at the hospital who supported her goal of a VBA2C, despite the overwhelming negativity and naysaying from hospital obstetricians in particular. She laboured beautifully, and achieved her VBA2C with the assistance of forceps, and was over the moon. Her recovery was tougher than she expected with an episiotomy also involved, but she felt physically better far quicker than with her caesarean recoveries, and emotionally and mentally felt significantly better.

    She was then blessed with a surprise fourth baby, and thought having a 2VBA2C would be a much more straightforward and supported journey, given she had now done this once already. Unfortunately, she experienced just as much push back and even coercion from the hospital. She stayed firm, and did a huge amount of mental preparation as well as physical, and ultimately pushed her beautiful boy and pulled him up to her chest from standing next to the bed in the hospital.

    We know you will all benefit so greatly from Jo’s stories, and how she advocated for herself in the face of so much negativity. We hope you enjoy learning from her incredible birth experiences!


    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 on Facebook.

    If you enjoyed this episode, we’d love to rate or review, and tell your friends!

    If you are feeling that you might benefit from mental health support after listening to our podcast, please reach out to one of the organisations below:

    PANDA https://panda.org.au/

    Gidget Foundation https://www.gidgetfoundation.org.au/

    COPE Australia https://www.cope.org.au/

    If you've experienced mistreatment or disrespectful care in your pregnancy, birth or postpartum and are seeking advocacy support, please contact one of the following organisations:

    Maternity Choices Australia https://www.maternitychoices.org/

    Maternity Consumer Network https://www.maternityconsumernetwork.org.au/

    Thank you for tuning in to our podcast.
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    1 hr and 12 mins
  • EP18 - Imogen's VBAC (miscarriage, planned homebirth, private midwife, transfer, augmentation, epidural, failure to progress, emergency caesarean, public hospital, supportive team & midwives)

    EP18 - Imogen's VBAC (miscarriage, planned homebirth, private midwife, transfer, augmentation, epidural, failure to progress, emergency caesarean, public hospital, supportive team & midwives)
    May 19 2024
    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 her partner Courtney started trying to fall pregnant again. Imogen was very motivated to have a natural birth, and ended up at a private midwife information night where she was quickly sold on the idea of a PPM and a homebirth that the immediately booked in for. As her pregnancy progressed beyond 40, and then 41 weeks, nerves kicked in from all sides as she faced needing to transfer into hospital if she passed 42 weeks gestation in her corner of the world. After a couple of stretch and sweeps, she did begin contracting just ahead of the deadline, and a long and challenging labour began. Imogen shares her experience of labouring at home and knowing things weren't happening as they should, and before long, being transferred into hospital. A classic cascade of interventions occurred once in hospital, and she eventually found herself labelled "failure to progress" and being wheeled into an emergency caesarean. She talks us through the delay she found in bonding with her baby, and her chaotic experience of postpartum including moving house multiple times. When she was ready to have another baby, Imogen knew she wanted a VBAC, and she decided to try a different model of care and booked in under the public hospital. This birth involved a similarly long and challenging labour, and Imogen expresses how important her support team was in holding her through those crises of confidence along the way, including the beautiful hospital midwives who she met at arrival to the hospital who really advocated for her to get the birth she wanted. We hope you are inspired by Imogen's tenacity and strength as much as we were, and that you can take away some incredible inspiration for her story! 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 on Facebook. If you enjoyed this episode, we’d love to rate or review, and tell your friends! If you are feeling that you might benefit from mental health support after listening to our podcast, please reach out to one of the organisations below: PANDA https://panda.org.au/ Gidget Foundation https://www.gidgetfoundation.org.au/ COPE Australia https://www.cope.org.au/ If you've experienced mistreatment or disrespectful care in your pregnancy, birth or postpartum and are seeking advocacy support, please contact one of the following organisations: Maternity Choices Australia https://www.maternitychoices.org/ Maternity Consumer Network https://www.maternityconsumernetwork.org.au/ Thank you for tuning in to our podcast.
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    1 hr and 2 mins
  • EP17 - Nadia's VBAC (Private Obstetric care, birth doula support, breastfeeding experience, intrauterine growth restriction, IUGR, induction, perinatal anxiety)

    EP17 - Nadia's VBAC (Private Obstetric care, birth doula support, breastfeeding experience, intrauterine growth restriction, IUGR, induction, perinatal anxiety)
    May 5 2024

    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 thought processes and reasoning throughout these journeys with such wisdom, including her struggles with breastfeeding and perinatal anxiety and how she worked through these experiences. We are sure you will love hearing her incredible birth stories. We are so excited to share it with you and would love to hear your thoughts!


    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 on Facebook.

    If you enjoyed this episode, we’d love to rate or review, and tell your friends!

    If you are feeling that you might benefit from mental health support after listening to our podcast, please reach out to one of the organisations below:

    PANDA ⁠https://panda.org.au/⁠

    Gidget Foundation ⁠https://www.gidgetfoundation.org.au/⁠

    COPE Australia ⁠https://www.cope.org.au/⁠

    If you've experienced mistreatment or disrespectful care in your pregnancy, birth or postpartum and are seeking advocacy support, please contact one of the following organisations:

    Maternity Choices Australia ⁠https://www.maternitychoices.org/⁠

    Maternity Consumer Network ⁠https://www.maternityconsumernetwork.org.au/⁠

    Thank you for tuning in to our podcast.
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    1 hr and 6 mins
History Social Sciences
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