VBAC (Vaginal Birth After Cesarean)

• Leinani's VBAC Birth Story Here
• A note from Clare

Rather than high risk, I like to think of VBAC as high maintenance. The intimate relationship between a woman and midwife allows them to sort through the woman’s fears that are blocking her success. I confronted my fears and overcame my inhibitions to connect to the power of birth and the essence of womanhood. I am a successful double VBAC because I healed my physical, emotional and spiritual states. Through holistic and traditional means I released the pain and shame of my scars to give birth with complete faith. In a circle of women and with the touch of healing hands I opened my heart to the possibility that there was hope for me yet. More than anything in the world I wanted to give birth naturally. I first had to go back to the beginning, to my first birth to look at what happened with clear vision. Then I had to do the same with my second birth. Looking back, I knew that I could birth. I knew that it was not my body but a system that had failed me. My midwife mirrored my strength and guided me through my healing steps. It was as if the incision from the cesarean had severed my connection with my body. I had to fall in love with my body and my baby with the intention of giving birth. My “core” was blocked off from childhood sexual abuse-literally shut down. In the hospital this condition was not even considered. Intervention medicine goes against the grain of natural birth. The urge to treat symptoms destroys the whole. Facing my 3rd trimester with my third baby I had to become whole again. I knew that going back to the hospital meant another cesarean so I birthed at home at the recommendation of my Obstetrician who has total faith in natural birth.  Not one minute of my 20 hour labor suffered doubt of my ability. With the explosion of his head bursting from within, my body completely intact, for the first time I was the first person to hold my baby. No one even asked to hold him until the following day.    –Francesca

What was it the first time that kept me from getting to the end?  I am so grateful to finally know the truth.  That I can do this, I am a woman made to birth and it comes to me naturally.  The truth is coming to the realization that you can do it; this is the biggest part of the healing process.  My first challenge was to overcome the doubt of my own body and its ability to function properly. Something that I originally never doubted, but was mislead by the authorities, people I trusted would tell me the truth.  Knowing what happened the first time and how I got there was very important, in my case it was an emergency cesarean.  For me it was all a blur.  So I got the records.  I read what they said and understood it to the point that it cleared the fog, but I never believed it.  I let go of the idea that it was a necessary procedure knowing that my sacred ceremony had been taken away from me.  Then I released this and let it go.  I allowed myself to feel the pain and then realized that it was only my perception and that I could move on.   I released the fear that what happened might happen again and knew that this time was different. 

 ***** My second child was conceived three years later. We were told that if you had a C-section than that is the only way we would be able to have our children. We were also told that it was risky and that my life was at stake as well as my second child because this was my second section. We scheduled my section and my son was born four weeks early.

 *****My third child was conceived 6 years later. Now this is where my healing begins. I met Clare my midwife at school I heard that she helped women birth their children. I was real niele (curious).  When she found out that I had two previous sections and my son was circumcised she told me, “Are you ready to work hard and have a natural birth?” My reply was, “I’m kind of scared but if you know that I can do it, I will try”. She says, “Of course you can do it, however, you are going to have to eat all the foods your ancestors ate and you need to heal your scars from previous births.”

Throughout my whole pregnancy everywhere I went the Io (hawk), who to our people “is the messenger of God”, followed me and my family. We all knew from the beginning that this baby was sent by Akua(God). A few weeks before I had my baby Akua sent us a small white Io (hawk). He perched himself on the electrical wire in front of our home. The Io sat and watched us for a long time and that’s when we knew that the baby was on his way and ready to make the journey of natural birth.   I went in to labor on late Tuesday night and boy was that the beginning of a long journey for me, to be exact 41.5 hours of labor.  My midwife told me that there were things that I needed to let go of before baby was to come into this world.  I thought of everything.  For a moment I thought that I couldn’t do it and that thought made me feel like I was failing. I thought to myself I’m surrounded by people who love me and believe in me and took time away from their families to come and help me.  I was so scared that all the time everyone was helping me was going to result in me going to the hospital because I couldn't do it.  I had a lot of fear. My husband was so strong and said, “I got this, we don’t need to go to the hospital.” My husband’s strength was what I needed to get through this and letting go of the two previous births that I had experienced. My dad was also one of the last key players to my birth. He finally came to see me after not seeing me for two whole days.  That day he came to see me he gave me a swat on my head and told me, “come on what you waiting for?”, and guess what, that is the last thing I was waiting for and 20 minutes later our baby was born.      

My birth was a ceremony and makes me a stronger wife, mother and leader and makes me realize that my ancestors need us to continue to heal ourselves with the lessons we have in life so we may be stronger role models for the perpetuity of our future for our children, the healing of our people, and to stand for the Hawaiian Kingdom.

E iho ana o luna                 that which is above shall be brought down
Epi’I ana o lalo                   that which is below shall be lifted up
U Hui ana na moku            the islands shall be united.      
E ku ana ka paia!              The walls shall stand upright
Imua no ‘oiwi o Hawai’I     -Leinani Navas

As a conventionally trained OB-GYN, I was taught that birth is the “Great Emergency.” I am forever grateful to Clare for helping me RE-MEMBER that birth is a sacred passage, sacred for the women, the baby, the families and the birthing attendant. -Dr. Jade

As someone who has experienced both sides of the issue, meaning, I've birthed in the hospital as well as at home.  I'd like to share a brief interaction I had with the OB on call when I transferred into the hospital with my first birth.  I told the doctor that my baby was fine over and over again and that I just needed to figure out why I was having trouble reaching 10cm.  I had been opening and closing for three days and knew that something was out of alignment.  Once I found out the reason and was given an antibiotic, while being repeatedly reminded that the C-section staff was waiting for me and that I needed to agree to the procedure because I had been in labor too long, with the support of the nursing staff I was finally able to push my daughter out.  That was at 3:20 in the morning and about 3 hours later, the OB returned to the hospital to check in on me and what happened then will be with me forever:  He rushed up to me (and my sleeping daughter) and gave me a huge hug.  He said "You are an amazing woman, so strong; you are an inspiration for me.  I have a renewed belief in how strong women are.  Thank you."  I looked at him and said: "Perhaps if you let women birth at their own speed, you'd see that we're all this strong.  I'm nothing special; I just didn't let you rush me."  I tell this story because I firmly believe that when a woman is given support and allowed to birth at her own speed, then our bodies feel safe and will open to the birthing process.  This is what happened in my second birth, a beautiful home birth where I moved at the rate my son and I felt comfortable with.  Education is the key to breaking this terrible cycle of mechanized control of the birth process. -Mickey Stellavato

For more information and facts on VBAC you can visit the website: www.VBAC.com