Liz's first birth was an induction that ended in a cesarean. When she said, “I can feel that,” referring to pressure, her doctor put her under general anesthesia without consent.

With her second, Liz planned for a VBAC. The midwife broke her water without consent. She labored to 9.5 centimeters and stalled with a cervical lip. She was overwhelmed by so many hands touching her as they tried to manually resolve it.

Liz was defeated and accepted another non-emergent cesarean, this time with the complicated layer of her father-in-law performing it. But before she knew what was happening, she was under general anesthesia again without consent.

Twice, she did not hear her baby’s first cry and still has no idea how long it was before she held them.

Liz sunk deep into postpartum depression and survival mode. It was years before someone told her what happened wasn’t okay. She began the long road of healing with pelvic floor therapy, talk therapy, and rebuilding her strength. She found God meeting her in the tiniest, most intimate details of her journey.

For her third birth, she chose to invest. She traveled for her care. She chose loving, hands-off support with midwife Paige Boran at A Woman’s Place and her doula, Danielle Kent.

And this birth was every bit as different as she needed it to be. Spontaneous, waterbirth, en caul.

Liz reached down and pulled her baby up out of the water. She heard the first cry. She held her baby first.

While this birth didn’t erase what happened before, something in her soul was restored that day. Her autonomy was reclaimed. It was the fought-for and faith-filled waterbirth of her dreams.

We get chills and tears every time we talk about Liz’s story, and we know you will absolutely love her like we do!

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Allison Champ is a mama of three and a VBAC Link Certified VBAC Doula serving families in the Dayton, Ohio area. Her first birth was an induced, epidural vaginal delivery with a premature manual removal of the placenta, which required a uterine scraping procedure. Allison, Lily & Paige chat about that third stage of labor and what is/isn’t evidence based.

Her second pregnancy began as a planned home birth but changed after a 20-week placenta previa diagnosis. Following multiple significant bleeds, she delivered by cesarean at 34 weeks, where placenta accreta was discovered. Allison walks us through what accreta is and what her doctor did to save her from having a hysterectomy. Her baby spent one week in the NICU and Allison shares how tough it was to not be able to go home to her toddler due to COVID.

For her third pregnancy, Allison planned a home birth (HBAC) with co-care. She had a fast labor, a surprise gender (boy!), and a shoulder dystocia that was smoothly resolved by her team. Her girls were right by her side taking pictures with their Polaroid cameras and cheering their mama on.

Allison wraps up her episode by saying how each of her very different births have made her a better doula. She is thankful that the tough moments have helped her savor the sweet ones even more.

Keywords: induction, cesarean, NICU, VBAC prep, co-care, placenta accreta, placenta previa, advocacy, third stage management

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“Women should feel excited about giving birth and every woman should feel confident in giving birth.”

Brianna’s first birth didn’t feel this way. She transferred to the hospital from a birth center at 42 weeks for a Foley induction. And before labor even started, she was already mentally preparing for a c-section. Pitocin was started without her consent. After about 14 hours, an epidural, AROM, and being stuck at 4 cm, she ultimately had a cesarean at 6 cm after 30 hours of labor due to heart decels.

“It breaks you down mentally and physically.”

When she became pregnant with her second, Bri thought she’d have another c-section, until her provider told her about VBAC. Then she decided she was all in.

Bri found The VBAC Link podcast and listened to three episodes a day on the treadmill. After hearing Lily’s 66-hour labor story, she thought, “If she could do it, I can do it.” She transferred providers and vigorously prepped physically and mentally.

When the time came, she was excited to be in labor!

She experienced moments that felt similar, but weren’t. She pushed for just 20 minutes, and her midwife later said it was the funniest birth she’d ever attended.

Now, as a junior high health teacher, Bri is normalizing birth (and VBAC!) for 11-year-olds. We know you will love her just as much as we do. She is as hilarious as she is inspiring, and her stories are a joy!

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