Natural Birth - VBAC Birth Story!

I am so pleased to share this VBAC birth story of my yoga mama, Krystal! We post this as an inspiration for women considering the option for a Vaginal Birth after Cesarean (VBAC) rather than a repeat surgical birth.Krystal asked my advice for how she can prepare differently for the second birth. She’s been my yoga student since her first pregnancy. As you read Krystal’s story let me point out some very critical choices she made that contributed to the success of a vaginal birth.

• First, she ‘broke-up’ with her first doctor and hired one of my favorite OB/GYN doctor in the South Bay Beach Cities.
• Krystal faithfully attended my pregnancy yoga classes at YogaWorks in order to get her mind, body, and spirit ready and prepared for a VBAC.
• She was not induced and was allowed to start labor when her body and baby were ready.
• Pushing Phase – Krystal pushed her baby out in the all-fours position which allowed her hips to be open and wide.
• Krystal labored at home and arrived at the hospital at 7 cm! No Epidural to slow down labor. The baby was born less than 3 hours after hospital admission.

Here is Krystal’s Story, posted with permission.
On Saturday night, September 9th, I started having pretty strong contractions around 6:00 p.m. that were 3 minutes apart but by 11:00 p.m. they moved to 4 minutes apart and felt less intense so I decided to get some rest and went to bed.At midnight I woke up and the contractions were stronger than ever and about 2-3 minutes apart. I paced around a bit and then decided I needed to get into the shower. I think the warmth of the shower helped a lot but I could only be in the tabletop position on my hands and knees. Nothing else felt possible. I stayed in the shower for about an hour and then told my husband we should probably head to the hospital. It took me awhile to get dressed and walk downstairs because the contractions were coming in sets of three and were so strong that I had to wait for the minute break so I could get up and move.The car ride was tough but we made it to Little Company of Mary Hospital before 3:00 a.m. and when they checked me to see if they would admit me I was already 7 centimeters dilated. They got me in a room quickly and I spent the next couple hours on my hands and knees laboring. I noticed I lost my mucus plug and sometime after my water broke on its own.The contractions quickly turned into a pushing sensation. My body did it naturally, they wanted me to wait but I couldn’t help it. They checked me again and said I was at a 10 cm dilated and they called the doctor in. I felt the baby come down with the “ring of fire” and pushed her out within 4 contractions (a couple pushes each contraction). The doctor caught the baby as I pushed her out. I was finally able to sit back after they slipped her through my legs so I could hold her while the cord pulsated.Caroline Moon Back was born on September 10, 2017 at 5:57 a.m. 7 lbs 9 oz, 20″ long and 16 days past her due date!! I would not have been able to make it through a natural VBAC if I hadn’t done all that strengthening in yoga (mentally and physically) and if I hadn’t believed I could. The support and blessings of all the yoga mamas in Patricia’s class was everything! It was tough and I wanted to give up but managed through. Thank you so much! It was so worth it! Congratulations, Krystal! Thank you for sharing your birth story with us!

[Originally posted September 16th, 2017]