Episode 366 HAPPY NEW YEAR! Meagan & Julie + How to Prepare for VBAC

The VBAC Link

Happy New Year, Women of Strength! Meagan and Julie share an exciting announcement about the podcast that you don’t want to miss.

While they chat about topics to look forward to this year, they also jump right in and share stats about cervical checks and duration between pregnancies.

We can’t wait to help you prepare for your VBAC this year!

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How to VBAC: The Ultimate Prep Course for Parents

Full Transcript under Episode Details

Julie: Ready?

Meagan: Happy New–

Julie: Oh, are we supposed to say it together? Oh, sorry. Okay, I’m ready. Let’s go again.

Meagan: No, you were just saying okay, but let’s do it together. Okay, ready? Remember I did this last time?

Julie: Okay, 1, 2, 3–

Meagan and Julie: Happy New Year!

Julie: No, it was not right.

Meagan: Well, we’re going to leave it. You guys, we’ve been trying to say Happy New Year at the same time. There is a delay, I’m sure, on both sides, but Happy New Year, you guys. Welcome to The VBAC Link. It is 2025, and we are excited for this year. Oh my goodness.

Obviously, you have probably caught on that there is another voice with me today.

Julie: Hello.

Meagan: I have Julie. You guys, I brought Julie on today because we have a special announcement. I didn’t let her get away for too long. I didn’t want her to go. I couldn’t. If you haven’t noticed, I’ve been bringing her on. I’m like, “Can you do this episode with me? Do you want to do this episode with me? Do you want to do this episode with me?”

And now, at least for the next little bit, she’s going to be doing her own episodes. She is helping me out.

Julie: Yeah.

Meagan: We have been doing two episodes a week for almost a year now, and it’s a lot. It’s a lot.

Julie: You have been such a champ.

Meagan: Oh my goodness. So that’s what we’ve been up to. I decided that Julie needed to help me. She was so gracious to say, “Yeah, I’ll do it.” Get this, you guys. She was nervous the first time.

Julie: I was like, “I don’t know what I’m doing.”

Meagan: But she totally does know what she’s doing. But yeah, so you will be hearing every so often Julie’s voice solo. She is going to be hosting the show solo, so you will be hearing a little bit of a new intro with her and I where we are both talking so you don’t get confused, but I don’t think it is very confusing. Julie has been with us since the very beginning because her and I created the company. It’s been so fun to have her here, so thank you, Julie, for helping me out.

Julie: You are always welcome. It’s always a pleasure.

Meagan: I’m trying to think. I want to talk about 2025 and some things that we have coming up as far as stories go. As a reminder, if you have not subscribed to the show, please do so. As you subscribe, it will send you the episodes weekly.

Right now, like I said, we are doing two a week, so soak it all up. We have so many great stories. We have stories from OB/GYNs. They are doing Q&As. We have polyhydramnios.

Julie: Polyhydramnios.

Meagan: Yes. I always want to say dramnios. We are going to be talking about that because we have a lot of people who have been asking about more unique things. Poly is not necessarily unique, but it’s not talked about, so we are going to talk about the high fluid, low fluid, unsupportive providers, and if you have been with us for a while, the biggest thing that we talk about is supportive providers.

Julie: Mhmm.

Meagan: Maybe it’s not the biggest, but it’s one of the biggest. We talk about finding a supportive provider all of the time. It is so important. Then we’ve got vaginal birth after multiple Cesarean, twin births, gestational diabetes, PROM– if you’re new to that one, that is premature rupture of membranes meaning that the waters break, but labor doesn’t quite kick in.

Whave else do we have? We actually are going to do some re-airing. We are going to rebroadcast some of our older episodes that we just think are gems and wonderful or have connections with people like Ali Levine. She came back on recently and we want to bring back her episode. Dr. Stu– just some really great episodes from the past and thinking about how long ago that was, Julie–

Julie: Oh my gosh.

Meagan: As I’ve been going through these podcasts, holy cow. Some of these are in our 70’s or there was actually one that was out 17th episode or something like that.

Julie: We need to re-air the dad’s episode. Do you remember that one time when we had all of those dads on?

Meagan: Yes.

Julie: That was so good.

Meagan: That was so good. It was a lot of fun.

Julie: You need to put that in a spot. It was so good. I remember, I can just be taken back to us in the studio recording and calling each of these dads. It was so cool.

Meagan: It was. It was really fun to hear their take on it and their opinion of doulas, their opinion of VBAC, their opinion of birth and how they were feeling going into birth, and how they felt when their wives were like, “Hey, I want to do this.” Yeah. Do you know what? That’s for sure. We will make sure that is re-aired as well because I do know that we get people saying, “Are there any episodes that can help my partner or my husband?” because they want to really learn how to get the support for them or help them understand why. Or Lynn. Guys, there are so many of these past episodes that we will be bringing back.

Julie: Lynn’s episode was so great.

Meagan: That was so great. We’re going to be having home births. Forceps– VBAC after forceps or failure to progress or failure to descend or big baby. We’ve got so many great things coming this year, so I’m really, really excited. I also wanted to share more about what we’ve going on the blog. We have had weekly blogs, so if you haven’t already subscribed to our email list, go over to thevbaclink.com and subscribe. We send out weekly emails filled with tips or recent episodes. We have a lot of questions in The VBAC Link Community on Facebook. We see some repetitive questions in there, so we respond to those via email.

Those are really good. We’ve got cervical checks. When is it good to do a cervical check? When is it not good?

Julie: Umm, never?

Meagan: When is it not good to do a cervical check? When are they really necessary? What do they tell us? We’re going to be diving into that. We have a blog about that. Do you want to talk about that for a second, Julie? Let’s talk about that.

Julie: Okay. I understand that there is nuance. That’s the thing about birth. There is nuance with everything. There is context with everything. It just reminds me of the recent election and things like that while we are recording. There are all of these one-liners are being thrown around on both sides. One sentence can be taken out of context in big ways when you don’t have the context surrounding the sentence. For both sides, I’m not pointing fingers at anybody. I’m sorry if that’s triggering for anybody. I know there are a lot of people upset right now.

But the same thing with cervical checks. Isn’t that true with all of life? All of life, all of birth, and all of VBAC, there is nuance and context that’s important. I would say that most of the time, most of the time, cervical checks are not necessary. They only tell us where you’ve been. They don’t tell us where you’re going. They are not a predictor of anything. I’ve had clients get to 8 centimeters and not have a baby for 14 hours. No kidding. I’ve had clients push for 10 hours.

I’ve had people hang out at 5 centimeters for weeks, then go into labor and have the baby super fast and also super slow. It doesn’t tell us anything.

However, there are times when it might be helpful. I use that really, really carefully because it can only give us so much information. I feel like sometimes the cervix can swell if you’ve been in labor for a really long time, or if the baby is in a bad position, so if labor has slowed or hasn’t been progressing as much as expected– and I use that term very loosely as well. There might be a suspicion for cervical swelling. Having a cervical check can confirm that, and having a swollen cervix will change the direction of your care.

I would say that maybe an important question to ask– and this is a good question for any part of your care– is, “How will this procedure, exam, intervention, etc. influence my care moving forward?” Because if it’s not going to influence your care moving forward at all, then is it necessary?

Meagan: Why do it?

Julie: Right? So, a swollen cervix, maybe checking baby’s position. You can tell if baby’s low enough. You can see if their head is coming asynclitic or with a different type of presentation. Again, with a suspicion that it might be affecting labor’s progress.

Meagan: You can check if they are asynclitic.

Julie: But, how would your care change if you find out that baby is asynclitic? What would you do if that is the result of the cervical check? If the answer is nothing, then I don’t know. But also knowing that baby’s position or knowing that you have a swollen cervix, there are things that you can do to help labor progress in the case of a malpositioned baby or for a swollen cervix. First of all, back off on Pitocin or take some Benadryl or things like that that can help with those things.

But honestly, I think most of the time, cervical checks are another way for the system to chart and keep records, that they are doing their job, that things are happening normally (in air quotes, “normally”) so they can have their backs covered.

It’s really funny. There are other ways to tell baby’s position. There are other ways to notice. Midwives, especially out-of-hospital midwives know all of these things. They can gather all of this data without cervical checks, without continous monitoring, and all of that stuff. But in the hospital setting, they can literally sit at a desk and watch you on the strip. That’s the only way they know how to get information. They don’t know how to palpate the belly. They aren’t as familar with– I mean, probably nurses more so than OBs.

Meagan: Patterns.

Julie: Right? Labor patterns, the sounds, how mom is moving her body and things like that. Those are all things that you can use to tell where a laboring person is at in their labor without having to do cervical checks. But anyway, that was a long little tangent.

Meagan: No, that’s good. I love that you are pointing that out. Is it going to change your care? If you are being induced, a lot of times, they are going to want to do a cervical exam. You may want a cervical exam as well so you can determine what induction method is going to best fit your induction.

Julie: Yeah, that’s true.

Meagan: Like starting that, but even before labor, I want to point out that when it comes to cervical exams, I see it time and time again within the community, within Instagram, within Utah here– we have birth forums here in Utah– I see it all of the time. “I am 38 weeks. I got checked to day. I am not dilated. It’s not going to happen. My provider is telling me that my body probably doesn’t know how to go into labor and that I should be induced or that my chances of going into labor by 40 weeks (that’s a whole other conversation) is low because I’m not dilated yet at 38 weeks,” or they are the opposite and they are like, “I feel like I can’t do anything because I’m walking around at 6 centimeters.”

Then they don’t go into labor.

Julie: Baby will come right away as soon as labor starts.

Meagan: Yeah, or the person who has been walking around at 38 weeks, 39 weeks, 40 weeks, 40.5 weeks at 0 centimeters has their baby before the person who has been walking around at 6 centimeters. It really doesn’t tell you a whole lot other than where you are in that very minute and second that you are checked.

Now, if it is something that is going to impact your care, that is something to consider. Also, if it’s something that’s going to impact your mental health, usually it’s going to be negatively. Sometimes, it’s positive, but I feel like we get these numbers in our head, and then we get them checked and–

Julie: You get stuck on it, yeah.

Meagan: You get stuck on it which is normal because of the way that we have been taught out in the birth world. Think about it also mentally. Is a cervical exam in this very moment to tell you where you are right now worth messing up your mental space? Maybe. Maybe not. That’s a very personal opinion. But really, it’s so important to know that cervical exams really just tell you where you are right now. Not where you’re going to be, not where you’re going to get–

Julie: And not how fast you’re going to get there either. I do not trust babies. I always say that. I do not trust babies.

Meagan: You don’t trust babies?

Julie: They have a mind of their own. They are so unpredictable. Yeah, I don’t trust them. I’ll trust them after they are born, for sure. But before, no way dude. They trick me all of the time. I really appreciate how you brought up the induction thing because I feel like a cervical check at the beginning of an induction and after a certain amount of time that the induction is started is helpful information because it tells you where you started from. It tells you if the induction methods that they are using are working. I feel like that’s helpful to know because you don’t want to sit there with an induction method forever if it’s not working.

I feel like also, why the induction is being recommended is important too. If baby needs to come out fast because something is seriously wrong, then more frequent cervical checks or a more aggressive induction may be needed. But if it’s something that you can wait a few days for, then is the induction really necessary.

But that’s really the context there too. Context and nuance, man.

Meagan: Yep. I also think really quickly before we get off of cervical exams that if you are being induced, a cervical exam to assess if you are even in a good spot to induce, assuming that it is not an emergent situation where we have to have this baby out right now. You are like, “I want to get induced,” then you are maybe half a centimeter.

Julie: The BISHOP score, yeah. You are low and closed and hard.

Meagan: You’re maybe 40% effaced. You’re really posterior. You guys, that might be a really good indicator that it’s not time to have a baby.

Julie: Right.

Meagan: There we go.

Okay, so other things on the blog– preparing for your VBAC. We talk about that a lot. We also talk about that in our course, on the podcast, in the community, on Instagram, and on Facebook. That’s a daily chat. We have blogs on that.

Our favorite prenatal– you guys have heard us talk about Needed now for over a year. We love them. We truly, truly believe in their product, so we do have blogs on prenatal nutrition and prenatal care. What food, what drinks, and what prenatal you should take.

Then recovering from a C-section– I think a lot of people don’t realize that our community also has a whole C-section umbrella where we understand that there are a lot of different scenarios. Some may not choose a VBAC which is also a blog on how to choose between a VBAC and a Cesarean. They might not choose a VBAC or they might go for a VBAC and it ends in a repeat Cesarean, or they opt for an elective Cesarean.

These are situations that lead to recovering from a Cesarean. We have blogs and a section in our course, and then we even have a VBAC– not a VBAC. Oh my gosh. I can’t get Facebook and VBAC together.

We have a CBAC Facebook group as well called The CBAC Link Community, so if you are somebody who is not sure or you maybe had a Cesarean or you are opting for a Cesarean, that might be a really great community for you. I believe that it’s an incredible community.

Let’s see, the length between pregnancies is one. Do you want to talk about that?

Julie: Oh my gosh. I see this so much.

Meagan: Daily.

Julie: People are asking, “How long should I wait? I want to have the best chances of a VBAC. How long should I wait before getting pregnant?” Or, “My doctor said I have to have 18 months between births and I will only be 17 months between births so it excludes me from VBAC.”

Meagan: Well, and it gets confusing.

Julie: Yes. It does get confusing.

Meagan: Because is it between or is it conception? What is it?

Julie: Right. Is it between births? Is it between conception? Is it from birth to conception? Birth to birth? Conception to conception? I don’t think it’s conception to conception, but thing is that everybody will have their thing. I hear it really commonly 18 months birth to birth. I hear 2 months birth to birth quite a bit.

Meagan: 2 months?

Julie: Sorry, 12 months.

Meagan: I was like 2? I’ve never heard that one.

Julie: 12 months birth to birth. Oh man.

Meagan: 24 months.

Julie: I need some caffeine. 2 years, not 2 months. 2 years between births.

Meagan: 24 months.

Julie: There are a whole bunch of recommendations. Here are the facts about it. The jury is still out about what is the most optimal time. There is one study. There are three credible studies that we link in our blog. There are three credible studies.

One says that after 6 months, there’s no increased risk of uterine rupture. So 6 months between– I’m sorry. 6 months from birth to conception.

Meagan: Birth to conception.

Julie: So that would be 15 months from birth to birth. There’s another study that says 18 months from birth to birth, and there’s another study that says 2 years from birth to birth. These are all credible studies. So, who knows? Somewhere between 15 months to 2 years. I know that the general recommendation for pregnancies just for your body– this is not talking about uterine rupture– to return to its– I wouldn’t say pre-pregnancy state because you just don’t really get back there, but for your body to be fully healed from pregnancy is a year after birth. From a year from birth to conception is the general recommendation.

But we know that there is such a wide variety of stories. There is a lot of context involved. There are providers who are going to support you no matter your length. This is circling back to provider choice and why it’s so important. If one provider says, “No,” and they want 2 years from birth to birth, then bye Felicia. Go find another provider because there is someone who is going to support you.

There is someone who is going to do it rather than be like, “Oh, well, we will just let you try.” They are going to support you and be like, “Yeah. Here are the risks. Here is what I’m willing to do, and let’s go for it.” I think that’s really important as well.

Meagan: Yeah, this is probably one of the most common questions. Sorry, guys. I was muted and chatting. It’s one of the most common questions, and like she said, there are multiple studies out there. It’s kind of a complicated answer because it could vary. Overall, the general studies out there are anywhere between 18 to 24 months. 24 months being what they are showing is probably the most ideal between birth to birth.

A lot of people out there still think that it’s birth to conception, so they have to wait 2 years before even trying to get pregnant. Then I mean, I got a message the other day from someone. They were like, “Hey, our hospital policy,” which I thought was interesting– not that she was saying this, but that it was a policy. “Our hospital policy is that if I conceive sooner than 9 months after a Cesarean, they will not accept me.”

Julie: Boom. Go find another hospital.

Meagan: I was like, okay. That’s weird.

Julie: I know.

Meagan: And that’s 9 months, so that would be 18 months from birth to birth.

Julie: Right.

Meagan: Then you can go to another provider, and they’re different. This is my biggest takeaway with this. Look at the studies. We have them in our blog. They’re there. Look at them. Tune into your intuition. What do you need for your family? What do you want for your family? What feels right for you?

Julie: Yeah.

Meagan: I mean, we have many people who have had VBACs before the 18th-month mark. Aren’t you 15 months?

Julie: No, mine was 23 months birth to birth.

Meagan: Oh, birth to birth. Okay. I thought you were a little sooner.

Julie: I conceived, what was that?

Meagan: Mine was 22 and 23. I was a 22 and then my other one was 23, I think. It was something like that. It was right around 2 years. Tune into what it is. Yes, we say this, and someone has said, “Well, yeah. People have done it, but that’s not what’s recommended.” Okay, that’s true.

Julie: Yeah, recommended by who? Recommended by who? Because like I said, three different studies have three different recommendations. What does ACOG say? I don’t think ACOG even has an official recommendation do they?

Meagan: My mind says 24 months.

Julie: I think they say something like a pregnancy window doesn’t automatically exclude somebody from having a VBAC.

Meagan: Yeah. You guys, we have that. We also have stories coming up with shorter durations. We have epidural blogs, and how to choose if you want an epidural or not, and then what happens when an epidural comes into play. Maybe I need caffeine too. I can’t even speak. But when they come into play, and so many facts, stats, and stories on the blog and on the podcast.

You guys, it’s going to be a great year. It’s 2025. I’m excited. I’m excited to have you on, Julie. It’s going to be so great. I’m excited to bring some of our really old, dusty episodes back to life.

Julie: Polish them up.

Meagan: Yeah. I’m really excited about that. And then some of the weeks, we’ve been doing this since October, I think, we’ve got some specialty weeks where it’s VBAC after multiple Cesarean week, and you’ll have two back to back. We might have some weeks like that in there that have similar stories so you can binge a couple in a row that are something you are specifically looking for.

Okay, as a reminder, we are always looking for a review. Before I let you go, you can go to Google at “The VBAC Link”. You can go to Apple Podcasts and Spotify. I don’t know about Google Play. I actually don’t know that because I don’t have it.

Julie: I don’t think Google Play has podcasts anymore.

But also, you can’t rate it on Spotify.

Meagan: You can rate it, but you can’t review it.

Julie: Oh, yeah. You can rate it, so you can give it 5 stars. That’s right.

Meagan: If you guys wouldn’t mind, give us a review. If you can do a written review, that’s great. Honestly, you can do stars then go somewhere else and do a written review. We love your reviews. They truly help. I know I’ve said this time and time again, but they help other Women of Strength find this podcast, find these inspiring stories, and find the faith and the empowerment and the education that they need and deserve.

Thank you guys for sticking with us. Happy New Year again, and we will see you soon.

Julie: Bye!

Closing

Would you like to be a guest on the podcast? Tell us about your experience at thevbaclink.com/share. For more information on all things VBAC including online and in-person VBAC classes, The VBAC Link blog, and Meagan’s bio, head over to thevbaclink.com. Congratulations on starting your journey of learning and discovery with The VBAC Link.

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