Natural Pregnancy and VBAC

*This post is long, but it has to be in order to share my story of my second pregnancy and VBAC or vaginal birth after cesarean. I share my story, not to show disagreement with others who have sought medical interventions to achieve pregnancy or birth their child, but to provide hope. I know there are many women who have a little voice saying, “there’s more to this…how can my body not work properly.” There’s always more, and you need to keep asking questions. Most importantly, you need to believe because anything is possible with faith and proper action. Your body is perfectly made, and it’s capable of more than you can imagine when you treat it right.

 

Celia

My daughter’s name is Celia, which is my great-grandmother’s name, and I always loved it. What made it even more apparent that this needed to be my daughter’s name is that it means “heavenly” or “from heaven.” This little girl is certainly a gift from heaven, and she has been another teacher that I needed in my life. Celia defied two “certainties” I was given a couple years ago: natural pregnancy wasn’t likely for me after my first child and VBAC wasn’t either. A hormonal specialist deemed me “void of sex hormones” that couldn’t be recovered other than through various interventions. I had a c-section with my son, and the doctor who delivered him said I had a narrow pelvis, making it unlikely I could have a VBAC. Celia was conceived and delivered the good old fashioned way. Like the lightning that was flashing the night we had her, she made a strong and quick entrance into this world.

Highly Unlikely

One year ago today, on November 8th, 2016, I was looking at a positive pregnancy test as the country was watching a very close election (that we’re not talking about here!). I was in shock and in fear when I saw the positive test. Why? Isn’t that one of the happiest moments a woman has? Yes, but I was told not long before that, that it was “highly unlikely” I’d be able to conceive naturally again. I was told I’d need hormonal therapies and intervention in order to conceive and maintain a healthy pregnancy. Miscarriage was something likely to happen. Although I had achieved so much in my health, that worry was in the back of my mind. Was my body ok, or was there still something wrong? Were my feelings correct?

A hormonal specialist that I was seeing for my thyroid in early 2015 gave me the grim conclusions on a second pregnancy. After administering blood work and saliva testing, Dr. C informed me that my progesterone was .01 (which is basically nothing), my estrogen was low, and my testosterone was low. “You basically have no sex hormones. I don’t usually see numbers this bad for someone who’s 30.” My heart sank. “This is not good in regard to female-related cancers either. If your estrogen remains the dominant hormone, you’ll hit some serious trouble in the future.” How could this be me?

Make Mistakes: It’s the Only Way You’ll Succeed

In March of 2015, I started out following Dr. C’s initial recommended therapies, which was to start taking Armour Thyroid and use a progesterone cream. At first, it was great. I told some friends about her who were having issues, but three months in, I stopped the progesterone cream. I was bleeding all the time, felt sick to my stomach, and it just didn’t feel right. My gut, my heart, and my brain were yelling at me. “This is still a bandaid. You’re not getting to the root of this. You had one baby, so what’s happened that your body can’t support another?” I just knew there was more to this, and there was. There always is, and in my case, there were several things going on that I hadn’t gotten to yet.

Everything is Nutritional

As I started doubting the course of action I was on with the hormone specialist, I had started meeting with a health coach. He encouraged me to follow my gut feelings, and continue to look into alternative doctors who could help. I found a clinical nutritionist who specialized in hormonal issues, and soon met with him. He did his own panel of blood work, looked at my labs from Dr. C, and simply said this: “Your body isn’t getting the nutrition it needs to build sex hormones. There are several reasons this is happening, and we’re going to rectify each one.” For starters, I went on a restorative eating plan. No dairy, gluten, sugar, caffeine, or processed soy, but plenty of traditional foods. I had a sensitivity to gluten, which was identified in my blood work.

He gave me herbal supplements to support my adrenals, liver, digestion, and blood sugar imbalance. I went on strong probiotics and started supplementing with kelp (my iodine level was extremely low). This is something characteristic of an O positive blood type like me. I needed omega 3s, vitamin D, B12, and a supplement to combat the yeast overgrowth that was happening in my gut. He also gave me a DHEA spray to start building up my hormones, and told me to stay on the Armour until we started seeing improvements. I stayed on this eating plan and supplements for nearly 9 months that I outline in my eBook, Speak Up for Your Health. This book is currently being revised and edited. I’d fall off the wagon, and get back on. It was extremely challenging, but once I broke through and started feeling my age (or even younger), I never looked back.

Stress and Sex Hormones

In addition to the good eating and supplements, I needed to start being more gentle with myself. I have always had a tendency to over-work and under-play. It was time to change that. I started building in little things that I could do each day to relax. Yoga and baths with lavender essential oil were my two ways to de-stress, and let my body do its job in using all that good nutrition to build up my sex hormones. Being off of caffeine and sugar were extremely helpful, as those things fuel stress hormones. Giving myself a steady stream of healthy fat, protein, veggies, fruits, and gluten-free grains, I provided my body with building blocks for healthy hormones. The “muck” of gluten and sugar could no longer interfere. The “muck” of letting stress and tension build up was dwindling too.

The Healing Was Happening, but a Miscarriage?

As I was feeling great, I questioned the need for the Armour. I researched it, talked to my nutritionist and health coach, and decided to wean myself off of it. In May of 2016, I was done. In November of 2016, I had my positive pregnancy test. Although I knew how great I had been feeling, and my faith and actions were proving successful, I was still afraid. When I went for my first appointment for the baby, the midwife decided to try to hear the heartbeat. After 25 minutes of trying, she couldn’t get one. I burst into tears. My husband just looked at me with his tearful eyes, but was strong and calm for me. “Honestly, it’s still early, and the baby could be very posterior. Your uterus tips back,” said my midwife. She felt terrible, and knew she’d jumped the gun. It really was a little early, but without knowing if there was in fact a miscarriage, I wanted to know as Christmas was approaching. After an agonizing 3 days, we went for a sonogram and received the best Christmas gift anyone could have; an image of a healthy, living child. We gave the pictures to our parents for Christmas, and it was their best Christmas gift too.

My Ultimate Act of Surrender

As I’d meet with my midwives for each appointment at The Midwife Center in Pittsburgh, they’d ask me about my birth plan, and other details I was planning for a hopeful VBAC. I decided to do the opposite of what I did with my first baby; relinquish control and let this go the way it was intended. Instead of writing a birth plan, and worrying about details that could quite possibly not happen, I focused on taking the best care of myself and my baby that I could.

I also practiced visualization. When I’d take my evening bath, I’d envision having a vaginal birth. When I’d go for walks, I’d imagine getting to the hospital, only to find that I was nearing transition and there was no time for pain medicine. I drank my raspberry leaf tea when I got toward the end, and kept eating my dates to prepare my cervix. I kept imagining a healthy baby and a VBAC. When my mind would wonder to having another c-section, I’d say, “Who cares.” I had my bedroom ready in case I had an incision and couldn’t use the steps. Whatever. It’s really not a big deal, as long as the baby is healthy. I was just hoping to experience the VBAC. This wasn’t for pride, but for the baby’s health and for my health. The research proves that it’s better for our overall hormonal health to have a trial of labor, and just let nature take its course.

The Actual VBAC Has to be Another Post

I’m going to write a post that just tells the birth story. I’ll tell you this much: I got to the hospital at midnight, into my room at 12:30, and had my daughter at 2:18 a.m. with no medication or interventions of any kind. I had 100% natural child birth, and it was the craziest, most beautiful thing I’ve ever done. Birth is beautiful no matter what, but I just have to say that was really an experience of a lifetime. I could not have done it without every single person who was in that room with me.

Bottom Line?

There’s a few things I’ll say.

1. Don’t believe everything you are told. There’s exceptions to everything, and if you really want something, combine your faith with pointed action. Anything is possible.
2. Your body was perfectly designed, and it knows exactly what to do. If you fuel it properly, rest it properly, and trust the process, then you will experience true wellbeing. If you’re looking to have a VBAC, that can happen too.
3. Who your medical providers are proves to be extremely important. That is the single most important decision in your pregnancy, or overall care. Find someone who fits your ideals. I won’t say I wish I would have done that with my first baby because I wouldn’t have had the experiences that were necessary in teaching me to question things and find the truth.
4. You have to trust your intuition and the soft voice that questions things. The feelings in your belly, and the words that come to your mind are there for a reason. Don’t ignore them.

Are You Looking for Support?

If you have read this post, and are curious about how a health coach like me could help you with your VBAC, please reach out by using the contact form. I do free consultations, and pregnancy and childbirth are my two favorite topics. I’d be honored to help you navigate your way through the most amazing experience in a woman’s life.