VBAC- Vaginal Birth after Cesearean
Birth is an amazingly powerful experience. It can also be very unpredictable. Women have different body types, lifestyles, emotions, and personal histories that can all affect how a woman labors and births. There are factors that are outside of our control as we labor and birth our babies. Sometimes this unpredictably can lead to a cesarean birth. For you who are seeking a VBAC (Vaginal Birth After Cesarean), here are four important factors that are within your control:
Your determination and knowledge of childbirth. The first part of this factor is your desire to have a VBAC and your positive attitude towards having a VBAC. Both are completely within your control. I always tell my kids that words have power, well, so do your emotions and inner dialogue. Tell yourself that your body can birth your baby. Let your body and baby hear and feel those thoughts. Surround yourself with positive birth affirmations (you can listen to them on your phone or stick them on post-it notes around your house). The second part is knowledge. The more you know about childbirth, the better choices you can make for you and your baby during pregnancy and labor. Understanding various things such as normal stalls in labor, baby’s station and position, and what interventions are truly necessary for your medical situation can all help you make the right choices for you and your baby. Birth Boot Camp covers VBACs in depth and will help prepare you.
Your care provider’s patience, knowledge, and familiarity with VBAC. You have the right to choose the right care provider for you. Find one that has positive thoughts about your body’s ability to birth your baby. It’s also important he/she is familiar with how a VBAC birth looks and has the patience to let your body do its work in laboring without imposed deadlines or verbal doubts.
Your support team. Surround yourself with positivity. This can include your partner, family members, and a doula. Find people who support your decision and are actively engaged in helping you along the way, from pregnancy to birth. Surround yourself with supporters who believe in you and your body’s ability to birth your baby. I tell my doula clients all the time that labor is a mind-game and it’s important to not have any “nay-sayers” on your team. What you need to hear is “You can do it.”
Set your body up for success. Do what you can for your body during pregnancy to allow baby to do her part once labor begins. Your baby has a lot of work to do, such as rotating and flexing, to be born. Preparing your body for this process while pregnant can make a difference. You can do things for your body mentally, such as seeing a therapist if you are nervous about birth or suffered birth trauma from your prior labor and cesarean. You can also do things for your body physically, such as going to a chiropractor to help get your muscles and ligaments in your pelvic and uterine areas in balance, or checking out spinningbabies.com for a list of daily and weekly activities to do to help bring your body in balance.
I have heard women tell me how hard it was that they had a cesarean birth, how disappointed they were. I understand. I have been there too. At the end of the day, birth, as in life, comes with unpredictable factors that we cannot always control. So, all you can do is work with the factors you can control. Do all you can while pregnant to set yourself up for success and then when labor begins and you’re surrounded by your supportive birth team, let your labor unfold how it will, and hopefully, knowing you did what you could, it will be a positive birth experience. Let me end by telling you what all women and, especially, VBAC women need to hear: You can do it. I believe in you.
