Planning a VBAC?

 VBA2C Mama

In 2005, I had her first birth - an emergency cesarean due to a "failed induction".  In 2006, I had a scheduled cesarean because I was told it was "safer for the baby than a vaginal birth" (#fakenews).  In 2012, I planned my first VBA2C - I succeeded, but felt there was more to learn.  In 2015, I had my 2nd VBA2C birth and felt like I was able to finally have the empowering birth I'd been pursuing for years.

Between 2013 - 2015, I spent time leading a local non-profit support group for VBAC Support & Education.  I consider that part of my VBAC journey so impactful to my understanding of the emotional and mental demands of planning a VBAC and recovering for traumatic births.  While I wanted more from my births, I didn't experience birth trauma.  Understanding birth trauma and it's heart-wrenching effects on women and their partners has transformed my work with VBAC parents.

I started Wisdom of Birth with the heart and perspective of a woman that has been through all types of birth experiences, and wanted to help others avoid the mistakes or missteps that I'd navigated through the process.  From 2015 - 2018, I put my experience and training into action and attended births as a certified doula.  I attended all types of births: first-time births, planned c-sections, emergency c-sections, VBAC births, twin births, etc.  I supported parents at hospitals, birth centers and at home.  It was an incredible time in my life, and watching babies be born brought me profound joy and certainly changed my life for the better.  Each one of those families, and those sweet little babies laid bricks into the foundation of this little business I've built.  And brick by hypothetical brick, I collected the perspective, experience and tools I needed to take my message to a bigger stage.  

Welcome to VBAC Academy, the latest milestone in my journey to make a tangible difference for birthing women in America.

Emmy is a two-time VBAC birther, and a passionate VBAC .  She is a local doula in Phoenix, AZ and specializes in evidence-based VBAC births which made her a natural fit for the VBAC Academy team.  Emmy is the first VBAC Pro that will be trained AND certified by VBAC Academy, and she has been integral in the launch of VBAC Academy.

Her first pregnancy "was a dream" and she assumed that childbirth would be the same. She described herself as the "perfect patient", meaning she never questioned anything the doctor's or hospital told her, and like 1 in 3 women in America, this resulted in a c-section.  This operative report from c-section references her weight as the reason she couldn't birth which was hurtful and felt wrong.  Her body wasn't the problem - she'd always been athletic and strong physically, despite any pregnancy weight.  It lit a fire in her heart to figure out how it all happened, with the intent of making her next birth a VBAC.

She spent almost a year researching, joining groups, attending therapy, and reading everything she could get her hands on about vaginal birth and c-sections.  All that work paid off and she's gone on to have TWO successfull VBAC births, and most importantly - healed her birth trauma.

These days Emmy works as a Doula and Childbirth Educator in the Phoenix area, and has a serious passion for getting evidence-based birth information into the hands of birthing families.  As a former stand up comedian, she brings a lightness and confidence to her birth work that makes everyone feel comfortable and at ease.  

 Carrie is a mom to three amazing children – Malone, Beau & Jocelyn (twins!), and wife to a sweet “Kentucky Boy”. 

She was born and raised in Michigan, and is a graduate of the University of Iowa and Indiana University.  She also serves as Director of a local non-profit, The Maternal Wellness Program.  She has been voted as a Top Provider in GRKids Best Of GR 2019 - 2021!

Certified as a DONA birth and postpartum doula, and VBAC PRO Doula, her goal is to educate, nurture, support and empower every woman and their support partner through their pregnancy, labor and postpartum.