International Cesarean Awareness Network

Education, Support, & Advocacy for Birth Justice & Healing

Kimberly’s Rainbow Baby VBAC Birth Story

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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

This is the birth story of my third son. He was my rainbow after we lost our second son at 23 weeks. My first son’s birth was traumatic and against everything I wanted. I wanted an epidural and never received one until I was pressured into a cesarean. I was told the baby just couldn’t fit through my pelvis.

I met my current OB at the birth of my son that passed away during birth. Once we came back for our rainbow, he 100% had my back for a TOLAC. I was able to trust him completely and it led to the most amazing birth experience.

I was induced on my due date. I was 3 cm and not feeling any contractions. He placed the balloon and started me on the lowest dose of Pitocin. I contracted throughout the night, but nothing terrible. As soon as contractions started to get uncomfortable, I got the epidural and was pain free! I had some itching, which was the most uncomfortable part of my labor. The balloon came out right around 12 hours and within 3.5 hours I had progressed to a 10.

I pushed for 15 mins and my beautiful rainbow after the storm was placed into my arms. No one rushed him off to bathe or weigh. He was able to latch on immediately and my husband and I basked in the love and appreciation of our sunshine after the terrible experiences of the last few years.

I have had 3 extremely different birth experiences and will always advocate for women to find a caregiver that is in your corner and wants to empower you with your birth experience. It makes all the difference and makes you want to tell your story to everyone!

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

Megan’s HBA3C Birth Story

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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

Megan shares her HBA3C birth story. Thank you for sharing your story for all to read!

William Tyler was born after 40 hours of labor at my midwife’s house. He was my first vaginal birth after three Cesareans!

On Wednesday the 6th, my husband had left town for work. I felt like I should tell him to stay but nothing was happening so he had to go. Then, of course, as the evening progressed, I kept having the occasional, strong contraction. I knew this baby was gonna come soon, so by 9 that night I made the decision to drive the two hours to Spokane and stay in a hotel for the night. I knew I didn’t want to be in active labor in the car. An hour into the drive, my contractions started coming 10 minutes apart and I was starting to vocalize a bit through them. (I am not the silent labor type, haha.)

I stopped by my midwife’s house to get a quick check before heading to the hotel. My blood pressure was still high (it had been for a few weeks but labs were clear and everything else was fine and it was stable) so I made sure to get my electrolyte drink to help control it. She sent me off with her peanut ball and after a quick stop at the store I made it to my hotel by midnight. With contractions 10 minutes apart all night I didn’t sleep. At 6 am on the 7th, little man’s due date, I got breakfast, took a shower, then left the hotel around 7:30. At this point I called my birth team to head to the midwife’s house. (My husband and birth photographer were 2 hours away while my doula was an hour away.)

I have to say that whole first day was pretty enjoyable. Contractions were between 6 and 10 minutes all day though they did increase in strength. My doula and photographer and husband made it a fun day. We were laughing and watching movies between contractions and having a good time. 

I found that the birth pool was my saving grace. When I got too tired or the contractions were coming too fast and strong and I needed a break, if I got in the pool they would space out so I could rest and even get little micro naps. By that evening my birth team needed to sleep so I labored throughout the night, laying down when I needed to. I don’t know how anyone slept through my yelling!

The morning of the 8th came and things were getting quite serious. (I was disappointed he didn’t come on his due date!) My husband got breakfast from Denny’s and it was a strawberry crepe. It was seriously the best thing I’ve ever eaten.

At 6:30 that morning I got my one and only check. I was 5-6 centimeters and felt like I had so long to go since I’d already been in labor so long already. My team assured me that that was great and I was doing great.

At this point I felt like my contractions were on top of each other and I was starting to lose a little control and panic at how much they hurt. I did a little crying and needed to get in the pool to gain control again and rest. After I got out, I decided next time I got in, I wouldn’t get out until the baby was born. 

For the next few hours or so I was having to bear down during contractions. I was excited cause it meant baby was coming down and would be born soon. When I couldn’t take it anymore, I knew I needed to get back in the pool. I was actively pushing during these contractions. I was starting to get scared at the force of my body and feeling like I couldn’t possibly do it, but also knowing I was way past the point of no return. In between one of those contractions I remember asking my husband if we had told anyone to feed our dogs.

My water broke during a contraction and immediately after I was taken over by the fetal ejection reflex. Let me tell you, I didn’t think it was possible for the body to handle that level of intensity and pain, and the sounds that came out of me were ones I didn’t know I could make. After several of these contractions, he started to crown. Ring of fire, baby! I held his head as it was born. Feeling his body wiggle and rotate while still inside me was such a strange feeling! I was kneeling while pushing but pulled up one leg after his head was born. One final contraction and his body slid out. I pulled him onto my chest then helped back into a sitting position. He cried right away. His back was covered in a thick layer of vernix so I sat there and rubbed it in while he cleared his lungs.

The placenta detached within minutes and the pressure was awful on my tailbone so I got out to deliver it. I sat on the birth stool and guided it out myself. It was such a relief! After I got settled in the bed and William was latching, I slept. I didn’t know I slept until they told me he had been born for 2 hours and I couldn’t believe it! We got a few pictures with the placenta and then my husband cut the cord so we could do measurements. 7 lbs 9 oz and 21 inches. Everyone was surprised at how big he was! (I had two previous IUGR babies)

Looking back I can say it was a beautiful, incredible journey. It wasn’t peaceful and calm. It was raw, and primal. And that’s ok. Because while birth looks different for everyone, it is still beautiful.

Autumn’s HBAC Birth Story

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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

Autumn shares her HBAC birth story. Thank you for sharing your story for all to read!

“March 2nd – I had woken up after having a few random contractions through the night. I woke up around 7am to nothing but my back was hurting like period cramps pretty much on and off all day. Around 2:30 pm I started feeling contractions. I decided to make me and the kids a pizza while we waited for my husband to come home from work. My husband got home around 3ish. Contractions picked up a bit once he got home, like my body and baby knew, “Okay you don’t have to be solely in charge now, let’s do this”. When I was up and moving they were every 2-3 minutes lasting about a minute. If I was just relaxing they were every 5 minutes lasting about 40 seconds. Our neighbor asked us if we wanted to let the kids play outside for a bit, which thinking it would be a bit still, I said of course. I decided to take a quick shower first though around 4. At 4:30 we all went outside to let the kids play. I was having contractions every 2-3 minutes at this point. I ended up going into my basement because I couldn’t socialize and needed to breathe through them at this point. I called my mom/doula and had 2 contractions on the phone with her and she said, “Yeah you sound like you’re in it right now, let me know when you leave”. I called my midwife next and let her know what was going on. As the next contraction hit I knew we had to go. So I opened the door and called my husband and told him we needed to get going that things were getting intense fast. So he told everyone it was time and they had to leave and got the kids ready. I threw my cold drinks in our cooler bag and grabbed my birth ball. My husband threw it all in the car and we got on the road around 5:15pm. I texted my photographer, midwife and mom and let them know we were headed out. We got to my midwives house around 6pm.

At this point I completely felt like I was at my breaking point and done. I would moan “low” through my contractions. I held my son for a bit through a couple of them while my team got the birth book started and everything ready and set up. I moved into the living room and tried leaning over my birth ball but that HURT more so I just stood and rocked over the back of a chair. I ended up putting my headphones in and throwing on some meditation music that had lots of low tones. I was getting good breaks in between contractions but when they hit it was HARD and I would moan or growl through them. At some point my dad came and picked up our soon. Our daughter stayed with us and would hug me or rub my belly.

Around maybe 6:45pm I was growling and grunting through contractions and there was a lot of pressure. My midwife asked if I was pushing and I said no, she and my mom chuckled to each other because they knew I was. But I said no because *I* wasn’t. It was my body. Finally I had enough and stripped down and got into the pool around 7pm.

As soon and I got in my contractions shifted and each one my body was pushing my baby down and out and I could feel all the pressure of his head coming through my birth canal. I broke for a bit saying how I couldn’t do it and just needed a break to breathe. My mom told me I was and had to. My husband reminded me that I was and that this was the point of him coming. My daughter said to me, “Mommy you have to push the baby out now. He has to come out, you can do it”.

A few more contractions and the ring of fire happened and I yelled, “It burned!” (LOL). I felt down though and his head was right there behind a bag of waters. Another contraction and his head was out, with my waters breaking right before. There was a pause before the next contraction to push his body out. Fetal Ejection Reflex is so strong and so crazy! Baby boy S was born at 7:10pm.

We sat in the tub for a few minutes before getting out and moving to the bed. On the bed we delivered the placenta. I did consent to a shot of Pitocin because I was having a little trouble delivering the placenta. Once it was out everything was fine though. No tearing and no hemorrhages. Our daughter was with us the whole time and cut the cord once it was white. It was such a fast birth and took me by surprise especially because of how quick I went from, “Okay I’m laboring” to “Okay he’s coming” and because I was so aware between contractions of what was going on. Baby S is perfect though. 10/10 APGAR weighing 8lbs 6oz and 22in long with a 14.25cm head. He is the calmest, happiest baby we’ve had. “

Congratulations, Autumn and family, on your newest addition! Thank you for sharing your story!