So, I’m a third year medical student and in our repro class we learned that there are good reasons to have a patient attempt VBAC and then there are other reasons to not have your patient attempt a VBAC. One of the reasons to NOT attempt one is if during the first try for vaginal birth ended up as a C-section due to baby’s head getting stuck. Well, in 2016, that was the exact reason I had to have a cesarean. I pushed for four hours and his head got stuck. So when I got pregnant again at the beginning of 2018, my biggest fear was that I would have to have another C-section. My recovery with my first was pretty rough, I even had a cellulitis infection within my incision on top of postpartum depression and anxiety. So, needless to say, I was scared.

I asked my professor why someone would have to have a 2nd cesarean if the first’s head didn’t fit and he basically said that it was because of the pelvic shape. It was just too small for baby to fit through and it’s easier and better for Mom and baby to get the C. So, i prepared for a C.

My husband son and I moved from Tennessee back to our home, Michigan and I needed to find another OB. Well, this OB said the same as my last one... that scheduling the C would be best. So I did. It was scheduled for October 9. Well, I got my hospital placement in the summer and that caused us to move one final time, which meant one more OB switch. This switch led me to where I was meant to be. This group of physicians and midwives was very much pro-VBAC. They explained to me something so simple that I didn’t think of, that maybe the baby’s head just wasn’t in the exact position it needed to be in... and that I had a 70% chance of having a successful delivery if I tried a VBAC.

I WAS ECSTATIC! I might get my dream birth after all. I really wanted a vaginal birth with my first, where I could deliver, my husband could cut the cord and I could immediately have skin to skin time with my new little one and start breastfeeding as soon as baby wanted to.

Well, on October 6 at 7 am, my water started leaking. I was 38 weeks and 4 days (same gestational age I went into labor with my first!) and ready to go! We packed our bags and headed to the hospital. When we got there, doctor confirmed it was my water that broke. He had mentioned starting pitocin in an hour because I was only at 4 cm. Well, I started contracting on my own and my nurse had told the doctor that she didn’t think I needed the pit. That I could labor in my own.

I labored until about 9 pm-ish and then I got to start pushing. As much as I was in pain (even with epidural) I had felt so calm, like I knew everything was going to work out. About 45 minutes later, my son had come into the world. The doctor placed him on my chest, allowed my husband to cut the cord and let me have my skin to skin and breastfeeding time with my newborn, Izaiah. The whole experience was beautiful. I’m so incredibly happy, and now that I know it’s possible I am hoping to help my own patients someday to believe that it is possible to VBAC successfully!

Pics because he’s cute 😂

9lbs 1 oz

20 inches long