Resources

Assembling a Birth Team

Questions to ask when interviewing a potential care provider;
1. Approximately how many VBACs have you attended?
2. Of those patients in your practice who originally wanted VBACs, how many had vaginal births?
3. What do you think my chances are of VBAC success, given my childbirth history?
4. What is your cesarean rate?
5. How do you usually manage a postdate pregnancy or suspected Cephalopelvic Disproportion?
6. What’s a reasonable length of time for a VBAC labor if I’m healthy and my baby appears to be healthy? 7. What percentage of your patients’ births do you attend?
8. How many people can I have with me during the labor and birth?
9. What is your usual recommendation for IVs, Pitocin, prostaglandin gel, amniotomy, epidurals, confinement to bed, EFM (and so on)?
10. How close together are your appointments?
more…

“Do I really need a doula? What does a doula actually do? How do I find a doula?”
Professional Labor Support
The Evidence for Doulas

Online Resources

http://vbacfacts.com/
https://evidencebasedbirth.com/
http://spinningbabies.com/

Recommended Reading
*you can loan many of these titles from our chapter library!

Birthing from Within : An Extra-Ordinary Guide to Childbirth Preparation
This holistic approach to childbirth examines this profound rite-of-passage not as a medical event, but as an act of self-discovery.  A wonderful resource for women planning for a new birth, or for women looking to do some emotional work on healing from a past birth experience.

Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth
Drawing upon her thirty-plus years of experience, midwife Ina May Gaskin shares the benefits and joys of natural childbirth. Ina May’s Guide to Natural Childbirth gives expectant mothers comprehensive information on everything from the all-important mind-body connection to how to give birth without technological intervention.
*ICAN disputes Ina May’s conclusions about single-layer suturing and VBAC. Another perspective on this controversial topic is available in the ICAN white paper, found here.

What Every Pregnant Woman Needs to Know About Childbirth
This Childbirth Connection informational booklet gives important facts and research references about cesarean section surgery.

Pushed
This up-to-date book takes a critical look at the active management of birth in the United States and other parts of the world with many well-researched statistics and facts mixed with a sensible approach. The author asks important questions about why birth has become so medicalized and presents the answers to this from parents, organizations, and professionals, providing important insight on the subjects that most influence fads in the management of birth.

Born in the USA- How a Broken Maternity System Must be Fixed to Put Women and Children First
Highly respected with excellent credentials, Dr. Wagner takes a look at the trends in birthing interventions and their ramifications. This book gives an insightful critique of the multiplying interventions in birth in America today.

Silent Knife
Often referred to as ‘the bible of cesarean prevention,’ Silent Knife discusses both the technical and emotional aspects of a cesarean and of Vaginal Birth After Cesarean (VBAC). Written in a style that leaves you feeling as if you’re having a conversation with the author, readers often find within the pages a safe place to process their birth experiences, and learn how to plan a birth experience with a high likelihood of satisfaction and a low likelihood of needing surgical intervention.