Birth Announcement! VBAC Victory "Victoria Rose" 12/6/16

Meet Victoria Rose, and her strong mother Veronica. Veronica came into my care very early on in her pregnancy and her longing for a VBAC was palpable. By the time her birthing day arrived, she had prepared herself well. She and her husband Ryan not only took private Birthing From Within classes with me, Veronica surrounded herself with the strong group of women in our local ICAN group. Also, Veronica and Ryan took advantage of extra one-on-one time with me to learn about Gail Tully's Spinning Babies principles and began implementing them in the third trimester.

What's really great about that is that Veronica is an athlete. She's super strong, super fit, and super determined. Intuitively we may think that athletes may have an easier time giving birth but experience has shown me that isn't usually the case. While athlete moms do tend to have a fierce willpower, they also have strong abdominal muscles, a tight pelvic floor, and tight ligaments and muscle fascia. This usually means a more complicated journey for baby as they make their way through the muscles and tissues surrounding the pelvis. Spinning babies exercises are essential for these moms (all moms, really); they help to loosen ligaments and create more space in the lower uterine segment which can help facilitate a more straightforward labor.

So fast forward to Veronica's birth. Baby was in a good position but somewhere along the line, during early labor's descent and contractions, baby encountered some resistance. Spinning babies to the rescue! We were able to do a series of Side-Lying Releases, a couple Inversions, and rely on plenty of patience. In time, we tried more Side-Lying Releases which served two purposes; one, we were creating more space by loosening the large psoas muscle (essential for labor's smooth progress) and two, Veronica was already lying down for the exercise which allowed her to actually sleep between contractions after a sleepless night of early labor. This might have been the biggest positive change in her labor. Sleep and rest is SO essential during a long labor, to have enough energy to persevere through transition and pushing.

After a nap and Spinning Babies, it was go time. Active labor picked right up and we headed to the hospital together after gently working through early labor with patience, experience and love. She was 5cm when we arrived. Already a big victory!

VBAC Baby Victoria Rose was born at 8:56pm on December 6, 2016 to Veronica and Ryan with big brother Nathaniel waiting playfully at home. She is perfect, at 8# 10oz and has the cutest cheeks. I am wildly proud of Veronica and her husband, for their preparation, trust, action and faith. Please join me in welcoming baby Victoria to the world!