Edmonton VBAC Support Association
#201, 8135-102 Street Edmonton, AB, Canada

To the pregnant moms struggling in this Covid world... I see you. I feel you.... I AM YOU. You never expected to add a global pandemic to your list of pregnancy worries. You never imagined that you'd have to go to doctors appointments and/or ultrasounds on your own because restrictions didn't allow your partner to be in the room with you. Or that half of your appointments would be done virtually (really though, what's the point?). You never thought your family and friends, even those closest to you, would never see you pregnant and would be unable to share in the joy of the life growing in your belly. You never could have predicted that circumstances would cause you to cancel or postpone your baby shower. Mamas... I am so sorry. I'm sorry we're faced with this added stressor during our pregnancies. I'm sorry we have been forced to spend most of our pregnancy in isolation. I'm sorry we're missing out on celebrating this new life with big events surrounded by family and friends. I'm sorry we have to worry about whether or not our partner will even be allowed in the delivery room with us. I'm sorry we're all grieving the pregnancy we hoped for. But know this: we're growing babies during a monumental time in history. And as uncertain as the future seems right now amidst this time, we should know that our babies are the hope the world needs right now See more

Meeting tonight at 7pm... details belowMeeting tonight at 7pm... details below

Hey lovely members, sorry I’ve been quiet, but does anyone need a Zoom meeting ?Hey lovely members, sorry I’ve been quiet, but does anyone need a Zoom meeting ?

The last Vbac issue was over 10 years ago! Take advantage of getting your vbac story published! I did it in 2007 and found it very cathartic. Ruth

Send it your story!!!

It’s the #1 cause for cesarean birth and all it’s risk factors and complications as well.

HBAC Birth Story // Thank you, Autumn, for sharing your story with us! // "March 2nd. I had woken up after having a few random contractions through the night. W...oke up around 7am to nothing but my back was hurting like period cramps pretty much on and off all day. around 2:30/2:45pm 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 let’s do this. When I was up and moving they were every 2-3minutes lasting about a minute, if I was just relaxing they were every 5minutes lasting about 40seconds. 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. 4:30 we all went outside to let the kids play. I was having contractions every 2-3min at this point. I ended up going into my basement because I couldn’t socialize and needed to breath 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. 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 breath. 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, 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 8lbs6oz and 22in long with a 14.25cm head. He is the calmest, happiest baby we’ve had." // Read Autumn's story on the blog! https://www.ican-online.org//2020/05/autumns-hbac-birth-st // 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 birth story to ICAN: https://airtable.com/shrJOtXla9O9MVBaj // #empoweredbirth #hbac #vbac #homebirth #birth #ICANsupport #ICANeducate #ICANadvocate See more

Today is International Day of the Midwife. I LOVE midwifery. The availability of being able to transfer to a midwife at 40w3days when I was pregnant with my son saved me from a third completely unnecessary surgical birth! That experience changed me forever! There was me before that birth experience and the person I came to be after and they are not remotely the same. #sothankful #thankamidwife -Ruth