Australian VBAC Stories are back! And we've got a cracker of a VBAC story for you... In celebration of Multiple Birth Awareness Week, Katelyn speaks with Brooke who shares her amazing TWIN VBAC story!

Brooke’s first birth ended in an emergency caesarean after a breech diagnosis and a series of interventions that ultimately left her feeling disempowered and separated from her baby in those early hours. Despite having strong birth knowledge and support, the experience was not what she had hoped for, and it shaped how she approached her next pregnancy.

When Brooke fell pregnant again, she discovered she was carrying twins. Navigating a twin pregnancy after a caesarean came with its own set of challenges, both physically and within the maternity system.

Her labour with the twins was intense and, at times, overwhelming. Brooke speaks candidly about the impact of past trauma during labour, the moments she felt like she couldn’t continue, and the support around her that helped her keep going. After a long and demanding labour, she birthed both of her boys vaginally with assistance, describing the experience as one of the hardest and most significant moments of her life.

In the postpartum period, Brooke reflects on the realities of recovering from a twin VBAC, navigating feeding challenges, and adjusting to life with newborn twins and a toddler. She also shares the role of community support, both during pregnancy and after birth, and how this shaped her overall experience.

This episode explores the intersection of preparation, support, and circumstance, highlighting how different each birth can be, even with the same mother. Brooke’s story is a reminder of the importance of informed choice, supportive care, and the space to process birth experiences in your own way.

Brooke would like to share the following thanks:

Would love to thank My amazing midwife and mother Janine O’Brien @ibirth. The wealth of knowledge you have is incredible. I always felt, loved, heard and supported through every decision I made. To my birth team - Dr Marisa Martin thank you for supporting and believing in me that I could achieve a VBAC! Jo hunter, Chantelle, Ash and UTS student midwife Lara, thank you so much for creating a safe space and for being there for me even though, I almost turned into a wild banshee during birthing my babies earth side lol 🤣 To all the people that helped out with providing services to me pre and post labour I’m so grateful. Love to you all. I GOT MY VBAC!! X

Please join us on our journey to bringing you all kinds of VBAC stories from across the country from here on in by subscribing and following us on social media, @australianvbacstories on Instagram and Australian VBAC Stories on Facebook.

If you enjoyed this episode, we’d love to rate or review, and tell your friends!

If you are feeling that you might benefit from mental health support after listening to our podcast, please reach out to one of the organisations below:

PANDA https://panda.org.au/

Gidget Foundation https://www.gidgetfoundation.org.au/

COPE Australia https://www.cope.org.au/

If you've experienced mistreatment or disrespectful care in your pregnancy, birth or postpartum and are seeking advocacy support, please contact one of the following organisations:

Maternity Choices Australia https://www.maternitychoices.org/

Maternity Consumer Network https://www.maternityconsumernetwork.org.au/

Thank you for tuning in to our podcast.

In this episode, we speak with Josi, who shares her experiences across four pregnancies from a breech caesarean, to an unexpected twin pregnancy complicated by HELLP syndrome, to finally planning and achieving a VBA2C.

Josi walks us through her first birth after moving from Germany, navigating an unfamiliar maternity system, an unsuccessful and painful ECV, and an overall positive planned caesarean, somewhat initially complicated by a botched spinal. She then describes falling pregnant with twins while breastfeeding her first baby, shifting into high-risk care, and the rapid chain of events that led to their early arrival and NICU stay.

She speaks candidly about the months that followed, managing feeding complications, sourcing donor milk, recovering from major surgery, and caring for three children under 16 months without much local support.

Years later, a surprise fourth pregnancy prompted her to re-evaluate her options. With fears about another spinal and limited support for VBA2C at her local hospital, Josi sought private midwifery care, changed hospitals at 30 weeks, and prepared thoroughly for a vaginal birth. When her baby turned breech late in pregnancy, she navigated her options again, ultimately going ahead with a successful ECV before going on to have her VBA2C.

Josi’s episode offers a clear look at the practical decision-making, self-advocacy, and system navigation involved across very different pregnancies and births, and how this path changed her career trajectory into doula work herself.

Josi would like to thank her midwife, Meg, from It Takes a Village midwifery (https://www.facebook.com/ittakesavillagemidwifery) for taking her on so late, driving across the country side for over 2 hours to get to her chosen hospital and believing in her.

Find Josi at www.instagram.com/nurturedby_by_josi

Please join us on our journey to bringing you all kinds of VBAC stories from across the country from here on in by subscribing and following us on social media, @australianvbacstories on Instagram and Australian VBAC Stories on Facebook.

If you enjoyed this episode, we’d love to rate or review, and tell your friends!

If you are feeling that you might benefit from mental health support after listening to our podcast, please reach out to one of the organisations below:

PANDA https://panda.org.au/

Gidget Foundation https://www.gidgetfoundation.org.au/

COPE Australia https://www.cope.org.au/

If you've experienced mistreatment or disrespectful care in your pregnancy, birth or postpartum and are seeking advocacy support, please contact one of the following organisations:

Maternity Choices Australia https://www.maternitychoices.org/

Maternity Consumer Network https://www.maternityconsumernetwork.org.au/

Thank you for tuning in to our podcast.

In this episode, we speak with Courtney about how she reclaimed/found her power with her powerful VBAC after a previously traumatic, preterm birth experience.

Courtney shares openly about the emotional aftermath of her first birth, which involved a preterm labour and eventually a caesarean, leaving her feeling overwhelmed and disconnected. Determined to approach her next pregnancy differently, she immersed herself in learning, sought out supportive care, and began rebuilding trust in her body and its ability to birth.

Through her story, Courtney reflects on the importance of being informed, asking questions, and surrounding yourself with people who truly listen. Her VBAC experience was more than a birth — it was a reclamation of her power, a moment of healing, and a reminder that strength often grows from the most vulnerable beginnings.

🎧 Tune in for a powerful story of courage, growth, and the transformative impact of education and self-belief on the journey to a positive, autonomous birth.

Notes and resources about this episode

A huge thankyou to my MGP Midwife Jess who has now started her own birth education business @cub.andkin Without her support and advocacy this would have been a much more difficult journey. While I didn’t cover a lot of my healing journey (that’s a whole extra episode!) I want everyone to know that healing is possible. Thankyou to Lael Stone @laelstone and B at @coreandfloorrestore for everything you do for women, supporting them through motherhood. Without the two of you this journey towards healing wouldn’t have been possible. But the biggest thanks goes out to my husband for his endless love and support. His dedication to our birthing journey and his trust in me leading us. I know our VBAC was just as healing for him as it was for me.

BIO

I’m Courtney, a mumma to two little ones, Henrietta (6) and Arlo (4). I’m a Zoo Keeper (midwife to the animals is one of my favourite roles!) turned Birth Debriefing practitioner and Hypnobirthing Australia practitioner. After the traumatic pre-term birth of my daughter, I felt inspired to support women on their birthing journey. Further inspired by the empowering VBAC of my son I decided a career change was needed and became a Hypnobirthing Australia practitioner and studied Birth Debriefing with Lael Stone and Bernadette Lack. My first birth, while traumatic, has lead me to be the woman I am today. More connected with my boundaries and a better advocate for myself and my family. My second birth, my VBAC, is the single most powerful and life changing event I’ve ever experienced. It allowed me to find my power hidden within and restored my faith in my body. My VBAC was an experience and feeling I wish every single mumma could feel during and after birth. Because of this I am truly inspired to work within the birth community to help decrease birth trauma and allow women to reconnect with the power they have within!