The VBAC Link · Lily Wyn & Paige Lloyd

Episode 428 Kari's Induced VBAC with Preeclampsia after Her First Induction Didn't Go to Plan + Info on Preeclampsia

November 5, 2025·54 min·4 clips

Kari asked for her own C-section after her epidural failed during labor and no one offered to redose it—a decision she still carries shame about.

1. The VBAC Link Episode 428 follows Kari, a stay-at-home mother from Huntsville, Alabama, through her induced VBAC with preeclampsia after her first birth ended in a C-section following an induction that did not progress. 2. Host Megan, a VBAC-after-two-C-sections mama, doula, and VBAC educator, interviews Kari while Kari's seven-week-old daughter Mary is present in the recording. 3. The episode's dual purpose is to tell Kari's birth story and to provide an educational overview of preeclampsia, including its definition, prevalence, risk factors, and prevention strategies. 4. Megan cites the Preeclampsia Foundation, noting that official diagnosis requires persistent high blood pressure plus at least one additional complication such as protein in the urine, decreased platelets, or liver or kidney issues. 5. Preeclampsia affects 5-10% of U.S. births and rates have risen 25% over the last 20 years, with risk factors including age over 35, IVF pregnancy, obesity, multiples, and family history. 6. Megan outlines potential preventive measures including the Brewer's Diet (high protein and vitamin-rich foods), omega-3 supplementation, vitamins C, D, and choline, and provider-directed low-dose aspirin for those with a prior preeclampsia history. 7. Kari's first C-section followed a 39-week induction recommended by her longtime OB using the ARRIVE trial framing; the induction involved two rounds of Cytotec with no cervical change over 24 hours before an amniotomy, then rapid Pitocin escalation. 8. After the epidural partially failed at nine and a half centimeters, Kari experienced back labor and a constant hip pain that did not ease between contractions; medical staff offered to wait one hour before discussing a C-section but did not offer to redose the epidural. 9. Kari asked for the C-section herself, which became a lasting source of shame, and she later learned her OB had a reportedly 60% C-section rate and had incorrectly told her she was probably not a VBAC candidate due to CPD. 10. For her second pregnancy, Kari switched to midwife Samantha Wall at Women for Women in Huntsville, hired doula Megan from Rocket City Doulas, and saw chiropractor Dr. C at Max Health after baby Mary was flipping between breech and head-down presentations. 11. The pregnancy included a diagnosis of velamentous cord insertion (VCI), which required extra ultrasounds to monitor fetal growth but did not result in IUGR; Mary was larger than Kari's first daughter. 12. At her 39-week appointment during her younger sister's wedding week, Kari's blood pressure was elevated on two consecutive readings and protein was found in her urine the following day, confirming a preeclampsia diagnosis. 13. Kari was induced with low-dose Pitocin at a hospital that performs VBACs routinely; she arrived at four centimeters, and staff accommodated her requests to slow Pitocin increases. 14. After stalling at five centimeters, the care team turned off Pitocin temporarily and broke Kari's water, which intensified contractions; Kari labored through transition using backward sitting on a toilet and identified her transition phase in real time. 15. Kari pushed unmedicated for approximately 90 minutes while standing beside the bed before her midwife moved her to the bed and found she was only seven centimeters dilated, suggesting a positional issue had triggered premature pushing urges. 16. Megan explains that early pushing urges can occur when a baby's position creates uneven pressure on the cervix, causing the body to push before full dilation—a positional problem that often resolves with repositioning. 17. Kari received an epidural after the positional check, and after a repositioning shift the baby moved into an optimal position; the only OB Kari had met at the practice—the same one who had reviewed VBAC consent with her—ended up delivering Mary. 18. The interview is warm and conversational, with Kari speaking frankly about shame around both requesting her C-section and vocalizing pain during unmedicated pushing, and Megan normalizing both experiences with clinical context. 19. Women preparing for a VBAC after a previous induction-related C-section, especially those with preeclampsia risk factors or family history, would find this episode directly applicable. 20. Listeners seeking a quick overview without detailed birth narrative or those with no interest in preeclampsia or hypertension in pregnancy may find the pacing slow.

As heard by us

A grounded VBAC story about being told a prior C-section made the path feel unlikely, then revisiting that advice.

Kari's story lands in the shift from being told she was probably not a good VBAC candidate after a first C-section and a CPD diagnosis to finding a provider who did not treat that old label as the final word.

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Why you'd press play

A VBAC story shaped by a C-section history, a CPD label, and one provider's doubts.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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