Meagan is joined today by our friend, Hannah, who has been through so much during her motherhood journey. Hannah’s experiences include a blissful first birth at a birth center, multiple twin pregnancies, miscarriages, a difficult C-section, infant loss, and a redemptive VBAC. Hannah shares her unexpectedly traumatic experiences with pregnancy, birth, and grief while living in Argentina. Yet even with all that she’s been through, you can feel Hannah’s strength, positivity, and light. Hannah wasn’t sure if she wanted another baby, but learning about the possibility of a VBAC restored hope in her heart. Hannah spent years researching providers and birthing locations in preparation for her move back to the US. When she became pregnant, Hannah was able to feel safe in the providers she chose. Her VBAC birth was everything she hoped it would be and Hannah was able to find so much joy and healing through her experience. Additional LinksThe Lactation NetworkHow to VBAC: The Ultimate Prep Course for ParentsFull Transcript under Episode Details Meagan: Hey, hey you guys! We have another episode for you today and we are sharing stories from our friend, Hannah. Welcome, Hannah. Hannah: Hi. Thanks for having me. Meagan: Thanks for being here. We are always excited to be sharing new stories. Just a little bit about cute Hannah here– we were just chatting right before we pushed record and she’s had three babies. She has had three babies in three different states which is kind of cool. You kind of know how the birth world looks in a few different areas. Would you say they are very similar? Would you say they are vastly different? How would you rate having babies in three different places? Hannah: Right. Well, I would say from my experience that they were very different but more so having a baby out of the country. I’ve had one in South Carolina and then I’ve had one in Argentina, and then one in Texas. They are very different places and have different levels of care. Meagan: Yes. I think if I were to choose to do anything with my free time– I mean there are a lot of things– but one of the things in the birth world that I’d like to do is teleport to all of the different areas, just be a fly on the wall, and witness birth all around the world, truly. I would love to see the differences between them. As a doula, I’ve only seen birth live here in Utah. I think that would be really interesting. Well, like I said, her last baby was born in Texas so if you guys are listening from Texas, listen up because she did have her VBAC in Texas. But yes, she is a wife. They’ve been married for nine years, right? You and David have been married for nine years and they have three beautiful girls. We’re going to talk about their births and then we’re going to talk a little bit about miscarriage too, right? Hannah: Yes. Meagan: Yes. She’s got some angel babies as well. I’m excited to have you share these stories with us today. I would just love to turn the time over to you. Hannah’s StoriesHannah: All right. Well, thank you. I have had, I guess, a different birth story in the sense that I’ve given birth in different places. I’ll start with our first. I’m from a large family. I’m one of eight kids. My mom had four of us at home, so I was very familiar with midwifery and all of those things. I knew that if we had a baby when my husband and I got married, that’s kind of what I wanted to pursue. My husband, of course, was not familiar with that. Meagan: A little more foreign. Hannah: Right. I think he thought it was a little weird, but he was very, very supportive. About two years into our marriage, we found out we were expecting our first. We were living in South Carolina at the time. I started researching midwives. I found one there, Labors of Love, in Spartanburg, South Carolina. She was just a great midwife. My husband went to all of the appointments. We had an initial meeting with her. I remember he had some questions, but I think what really helped us as a coup