DON'T CUT ME AGAIN! True Stories About Vaginal Birth After Cesarean (VBAC) [Paperback]

Angela J. Hoy (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1591139945 | ISBN-13: 978-1591139942 | Publication Date: February 21, 2007

Once a cesarean, always a cesarean? Not quite! Have you had a cesarean section (c-section) and are you pregnant again? Is your doctor or hospital trying to force you to undergo another c-section, just because you've had one previously? Are they spewing statistics about the potential consequences of Vaginal Birth After Cesarean (VBAC), but not telling you how dangerous another c-section can be? Across the country and the world, women are being forced to undergo major abdominal surgery against their wishes, often for the convenience and profits of the doctors and hospitals. Yes, a c-section is often billed at much higher rates than a vaginal delivery! Would it surprise you to know that many doctors do, in fact, support VBACs in healthy women, but are instead allowing the hospital and their own insurance company to dictate the medical care you're about to receive? That's right! Your doctor's insurance company, not your physician, may be directing your care right now! In these pages, you'll read true stories from women who refused to submit to the medical community's threats and fear-tactics. These courageous moms instinctively knew what was best for their babies and themselves and, after having a prior c-section, they successfully birthed their babies vaginally. DON'T BECOME A STATISTIC! If you feel you're being forced into a cesarean against your will, or if you're trying find the courage to attempt a VBAC and don't know where to turn, read this book.

Editorial Reviews

From the Author

I was stunned and angered when I was told I would not be permitted to birth my fifth child vaginally, even though I'd had three successful vaginal births and only one previous c-section. My research into this ludicrous practice revealed a nationwide trend of hospitals forcing women to have major, and often unnecessary, surgery against their wishes. My pleas for help led me to other women who had already successfully done what I wanted to do, have a VBAC! Their courageous, sometimes painful, and often humorous birth stories appear herein.

About the Author

Angela Hoy is well-known in the online freelance writing community as the publisher and editor of WritersWeekly.com, a site that publishes new freelance jobs and paying markets for writers every Wednesday. She is also a vocal advocate for writers' rights, publishing numerous articles on how writers can protect themselves from deadbeat editors and publishers, as well as common industry scams. She created and moderates the Whispers and Warnings forum on WritersWeekly.com, where writers can share experiences with deadbeat companies. She has one traditionally published book (How to Publish and Promote Online, St. Martins Press), as well as nine self-published titles.

Her interest in VBACs and the practice of doctors pressuring women into unnecessary c-sections started when she was told she could not birth her fifth child naturally. Angela has five children (three birthed the old-fashioned way, one c-section and a VBAC).

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Booklocker.com, Inc. (February 21, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1591139945
• ISBN-13: 978-1591139942
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #135,760 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great compilation of the fight VBAC women face, December 4, 2007

By 

Lauren N. Cooper (CNY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: DON'T CUT ME AGAIN! True Stories About Vaginal Birth After Cesarean (VBAC) (Paperback)

This is a wonderful compilation of VBAC stories that show just how hard women often have to fight for their basic right to birth. It shows the high rate of interferences and intervention one can expect with a hospital, actively managed birth, which makes this book useful in learning how to anticipate the fights and how to avoid them (whether it be by knowing what questions to ask, how to effectively refuse, or to change your birth attendant/birth place to a more supportive one).

This book doesn't have studies or stats which, while I think are important to know, make this book special in that it helps remind you that birth is not about numbers- it's about women becoming mothers, babies joining families.

And as a side note, my CBAC story is in there- the one with the sabotaged hospital VBAC attempt where I was flat out lied to and coerced into an unnecessary, traumatizing repeat cesarean. I went on to birth my third child at home after two cesareans, almost a full pound bigger than my 'too big' baby that took too long for the doctor to wait for with my second child ;)

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must read!, May 29, 2007

By 

Diane Gardner (Melbourne, Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: DON'T CUT ME AGAIN! True Stories About Vaginal Birth After Cesarean (VBAC) (Paperback)

For all those who are contemplating a VBAC or those studying birth this is a must read book. It shows the empowerment of women who trust in their bodies and birth the way THEY want to birth rather than how they are TOLD to birth.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars SO many helpful stories, June 27, 2008

By 

Kelly Fischer - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: DON'T CUT ME AGAIN! True Stories About Vaginal Birth After Cesarean (VBAC) (Paperback)

What attracted me to this book was that these are actual birth stories of women and families that tried for VBAC. Statistics, studies, politics and opinions are fine, but I want to make my own decision! Do you want to know "what is VBAC really like?" this is a way to find out; learn from people who have been there/done that. After reading it, it was exactly what I wanted- I can learn something from every mother's experience. Not every C-section is "evil" and not every vaginal birth is "perfect" but you do read the patterns of (often unneeded) medical intervention, and realize that next time you can have more confidence to create and experience birth, whatever it brings.