From Cesarean to VBAC, to Home Waterbirth, with Chantal Shelstad

We continue on our “Birth Stories” for the summer series! Last summer, while relating her birth stories, Chantal Shelstad surprised us all by sharing she was pregnant again. So she’s back to tell the tale of how she went from a Cesarean, to a VBAC, and to a home waterbirth, because as she says, “she likes to challenge herself”. Check it out!

What we talked about:

• Recap of Chantal’s breech Cesarean birth in Hawaii, and her VBAC in Korea
• Describing her third pregnancy as “hands off”
• Selecting the right midwife… via Skype!
• Ignoring early labor with some Beauty & the Beast
• Taking a nap… just in case; filling the birth pool… just in case
• Calling the midwife… just in case (aka- still in the denial phase 🙂 )
• Things get real!
• Getting to catch her own baby, as everyone watched
• Coming full circle with her wishes of a waterbirth
• Icing on the cake: no tearing!
• Setting up support in order to spend all day in bed with baby
• Tips and suggestions for going from two to three (and getting the hang of it during the first few days)

Resources mentioned by Chantal*:

• SpinningBabies.com
• The Mama Natural Week-by-Week Guide to Pregnancy and Childbirth book

All photos are used with permission, courtesy of Chantal Shelstad

Title music: “Vibe Ace” by Kevin MacLeod, from the Free Music Archive / CC BY (edited for length).

Sponsorship music: “Air Hockey Saloon” by Chris Zabriskie, from the Free Music Archive / CC BY (edited for length).