Safe VBAC Gives Brookings Mom Natural Birth Experience [Jess Weiss]

I am Jess Weiss. I'm from Brookings. And I am a preschool teacher at Peace Lutheran. I have two children. I have a four-year-old son named Teddy, and a almost seven-month-old daughter named Evelyn.

How did your birth plan change during Teddy's delivery?

So, I went through all of my labor, and I got fully ready to deliver vaginally, but he never got into position. So, because of that, I ended up having to have a C-section.

How was the recovery from your C-section?

I didn't end up having any, like, major complications with anything post-surgery, but it just took a long time to heal. So, I was just constantly worrying about, you know, am I doing too much? Am I, you know, I couldn't carry, like, I couldn't carry him in the car seat. And so that was a little frustrating to be limited for that long.

What is a VBAC?

A VBAC stands for vaginal birth after cesarean, so it is the choice to have a vaginal birth after having a cesarean birth.

Why was a vaginal birth important to you?

When Dr. Haarsma asked me if I wanted to try for a VBAC, I was like, "Absolutely. If we've..." Like, I asked her if that seems to be feasible? She said, "Your body did everything it was supposed to. It was Teddy's fault." So, she was very confident that I was a good candidate for a VBAC, so I really wanted to try. I having had a C-section before, if it happened again, I was not going to be too mad about it, as I knew how to handle that, but I did wanna try for a VBAC.

How did your first and second pregnancy compare?

She definitely did not sit up in my lungs as much as he did. So overall pregnancy was about the same. It was very easy pregnancies both times. But she definitely, like, I could tell she wasn't up as high as he was.

How did Dr. Haarsma and the nursing staff support you?

Very helpful, very, I keep using the word encouraging, but... And then when I was actually in delivery, I had an epidural, so I was pretty relaxed and Dr. Haarsma, and the nurses were just, they were just talking, they were keeping me calm, walking me through all the contractions and pushing. And we were joking about how much hair she had, and it was just overall a really calming situation.

How was your recovery?

The recovery was a lot faster. I was up and walking around, I mean, within hours of having her, versus being in bed for an entire day after the C-section and epidural. I had the weight restrictions of what I could carry, so I couldn't carry...I could carry him alone, but like in the car seat, I had to have someone with me if I was going somewhere because I couldn't carry him in the car seat. And with the VBAC, I was able to recover so much faster. I was able to spend time with her, and care for her a lot, and my son a lot easier with that faster recovery.

Do you feel VBAC was the right choice for you?

I'm very glad I elected to have the VBAC. It was just a great experience, and I wanted to have that natural birth experience, and it was a great decision.

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