Share your story with ICAN to be featured on our Instagram and Facebook! All cesarean and birth-after-cesarean stories are welcome: the difficult, the triumphant, the still-processing, and the stories which haven’t yet been shared. Sharing your birth story can be freeing, healing and profoundly powerful. It can bring others hope, comfort, and reassurance that they are not alone on their birth journey.

Submit your story HERE: https://airtable.com/shrJOtXla9O9MVBaj

I had posted on this page a few months ago after being discouraged by my doctor and his staff about having a VBAC. Well, after 30 hours in labor my VBAC was a success! I’m proud and happy about it! I’m not only sharing to share my VBAC story but to raise awareness of issues that can happen before, during and after birth, cesarean or not. I suffered a bilateral pulmonary embolism just a day after giving birth to my daughter via VBAC.

I had leg pains after giving birth but the nurses told me it was normal after birth. The next day the pains seemed worse. I was about to get discharged when the spoke up about the pains again. This time is spoke up my nurse and her supervisor had just walked in. The doctor ordered an ultrasound and they found my left leg filled with blood clots. Later that night I grew faint and had shortness of breath. They found two large blood clots in my lungs. I was in the ICU for a few days. I am recovering at home now.

I had leg pains on and off and shortness of breath during my pregnancy. These symptoms are very similar to having blood clots but I never thought I’d have one. I am very lucky to be alive today. Please speak up about any symptoms you might be having. It’s better to be safe than sorry.

Congratulations, Amanda, and thank you for sharing your story with us!