Following a lunch get-together at work, Brooke was ready to discuss the distinct births of her three children.
“I’m sitting in my car right now, and it’s probably the most peaceful place I can think of.”
Ten minutes in, her three-month-old had had enough.
“Maybe I should just give you a call when we get back home,” Brooke said.
Shortly after, Avery was home and happy. And Brooke began anew:
“My first, Camden, was breech. The provider I was with at that time simply said, ‘You don’t have any options. It’s going to be a C-section.’ There wasn’t even an offer to do the ECV (external cephalic version) to turn him manually—just, ‘This is what’s going to happen.’
“That was really disappointing for me because I felt like the birth experience was taken from me.
“What made it even harder was that we had the C-section scheduled for 39 weeks, and the day before it was scheduled, my water broke and I went into labor on my own. That planted the seed that my body was capable.”
By the time Brooke became pregnant with her second child, Beckham, she had done her research.
“I really wanted a VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean). I switched to a provider who was supportive, and I was determined to do everything in my power to make it happen.
“Unfortunately, after a long labor with my baby in a terrible position and me spiking a fever, it didn’t lead to a VBAC. But I still felt empowered because I went into labor on my own again, experienced labor, and at the end of the day, I made the decision.
“My provider was supportive, so much so that I stayed with her early in my third pregnancy. But then she told me that depending on who was on call when I delivered, they might not be as supportive of a VBAC. That threw me off.”
So Brooke went back to the drawing board.
“I started looking at recommendations from people in the area and reading local mom groups. One name kept coming up: Sara Swift.
“Then I found a podcast called The VBAC Link, where I heard multiple success stories from women whose doctor was Dr. Swift. I thought, ‘Obviously I need to go with her.’”
From their first appointment, Brooke knew she had found what she was looking for.
“She put me in the driver’s seat. She was there to support me.
“One of the things I kept hearing is that she attends all of her births unless it’s just absolutely not possible. That was so important to me.
“And once I met her, I liked so many things about her. She’s got personality. She’s blunt. She’s funny. She’s a force.
“I remember her saying, ‘My goal is to get this baby to come out of your vagina.’
“She was so confident that I could do it, and that made such a difference. During my first VBAC attempt, I was the one holding all the confidence, and when it didn’t happen, that confidence came crashing down. By my third pregnancy, I was filled with doubts.
“But Sara was so sure I could do it.
“Oh, and I think she can predict the future. I told her my last baby went to 41 weeks, and she said, ‘No, she’s coming at 39.’ Sure enough, it was 39 weeks and two days.”
Brooke labored at home through the night before heading to the hospital the next morning.
“I was barely dilated, which was discouraging, but they said I was obviously in labor and that I was going to stay.
“When Sara came in, she said, ‘So, what do you want to do?’ She gave me options and put me in the driver’s seat.
“And when Avery was born, she let me reach down, lift her up, and bring her to my chest myself. That was such a cool moment.”
Brooke is equally quick to praise the nurses who cared for her.
“They were absolutely incredible and so supportive. And this is telling—just about every nurse I had throughout my hospital stay said Sara was their OB too.”
In the end, Brooke got the birth she had worked so hard for.
“I got my redemptive VBA2C—and our surprise little girl.”
