In this episode, I speak with Julz and she shared with me her story of a beautiful, supported rural HBAC.

It took Julz over 12 months to conceive her first baby, and while she was going through that journey she was working in a corporate job.

It was fairly normalised to book in with an OBGYN during pregnancy for care. She didn't put much consideration into birth, as a first time mother, like so many first time mothers she was more interested in the pram and organising baby things.

Julz was at the park with her partner swinging on a swing when her waters broke. She ended up going into hospital that night to start an induction process the next morning, although labour started on it's own.

Labour was pretty intense for Julz, and she didn't have any mindset support like breathwork, positive affirmations, deep breathing or meditation to help her work through this in a positive way.

She was given Fentanyl to help with the pain Intravenously. She was mostly sitting on the bed, trying to work through the pain while being supported with the Fentanyl.

After coached pushing for three hours the OBGYN called it that she needed to go off to surgery, and her first baby was born via surgical birth.

When she was pregnant with her next baby she had planned to have a VBAC and went back to the same hospital as where she had her first baby.

She also had a subchorionic hematoma and some bleeding.

More information on subchorionic hematoma:

A subchorionic hematoma (also called subchorionic hemorrhage or subchorionic bleeding) is when blood forms between the wall of your uterus and the chorionic membrane during pregnancy. The chorionic membrane is the outermost layer separating your baby’s amniotic sac from the wall of your uterus. It can be associated with vaginal bleeding during pregnancy. A subchorionic hematoma can shrink in size and resolve on its own without treatment. In some cases, your healthcare provider will recommend a plan for follow-up after assessing the hematoma. It rarely causes serious health complications.

Her younger child also got slapped cheek during the early part of her pregnancy which can cause infant anemia which would require a transfusion into the fetus before birth. Although, it only impact 1% and 5% of women who have the infection.

During a scan the man doing the scan told Julz she would need to speak to her OBGYN because he was the "boss" of what she could do in her pregnancy and boss which didn't sit right for Julz.

She was speaking to a friend who had an incredible homebirth experience and she talked to her about her last birth and asked her what happened to her birth. She started listening to Rhea Dempsey on podcasts and her book Birth with Confidence and Dr Sarah Buckley and her incredible work.

Julz started to understand the importance of hormones and functional, physiological pain that Rhea talks about.

This planted the seed of homebirth, although she didn't believe this would be an option for her. She called over 10 different private midwives who would send her in different directions, in different forums.

She called a midwife to just let her know that she felt she was too far away and after a conversation with this midwife she felt really connected and safe with that midwife. She asked her what happened in her last birth, which was a game changer for Julz. No one had ever really asked her about that birth.

Julz formed a beautiful, supportive relationship with her midwife that made her feel seen, safe and supported and she went on to have a sacred birth at home the way she had wanted.

You can listen to this gorgeous story to hear all the juicy details.

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