#367 | Your VBAC Questions Answered by The First Woman to Have One, Nancy Wainer episode artwork

EPISODE · May 13, 2026 · 52 MIN

#367 | Your VBAC Questions Answered by The First Woman to Have One, Nancy Wainer

from Down to Birth · host Cynthia Overgard & Trisha Ludwig

In today’s episode, Cynthia and Trisha are joined once again by Nancy Wainer, award-winning author, longtime home birth midwife, and the woman who coined the term VBAC in her 1980s book Silent Knife. With decades of experience supporting women through vaginal birth after cesarean, Nancy brings clarity to a conversation that is shaped by fear, false information, and shifting medical standards.This episode is part free-flowing conversation and part Q&A, where we take listener questions and explore them in depth. We cover topics including delayed postpartum hemorrhage after cesarean, uterine rupture, scar thickness, “uterine windows,” closely-spaced pregnancies, doulas in a home birth setting, and VBAC with twins or breech babies. We also look at the common reasons women are given for repeat C-sections and where those claims hold up and where they don’t. We wrap with Quickies and a personal question Nancy's never been asked.#273 | Special Q&A Featuring Nancy Wainer on VBAC and More#272 | Nancy Wainer, CPM and Pioneer of the VBAC, Shares Her Journey from Mother to MidwifeSend us Fan Mail Support the showAccess our workshops: Have a Physiologic Birth in the Hospital and Ultrasound: The Research vs RhetoricNeeded <-- for 20% off DrinkLMNT <--  for FREE 8-day supplyPrimally Pure Skincare: Use code DOWNTOBIRTH Postpartum Soothe: Use code DOWNTOBIRTHENERGYBits Superfood<--for 20% offJoin Patreon hereIG @downtobirthshowCall 802-GET-DOWN. Watch us on YouTube! Please note we don’t provide medical advice.

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published May 13, 2026

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In today’s episode, Cynthia and Trisha are joined once again by Nancy Wainer, award-winning author, longtime home birth midwife, and the woman who coined the term VBAC in her 1980s book Silent Knife. With decades of experience supporting women through vaginal birth after cesarean, Nancy brings clarity to a conversation that is shaped by fear, false information, and shifting medical standards. This episode is part free-flowing conversation and part Q&A, where we take listener questions and...

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#367 | Your VBAC Questions Answered by The First Woman to Have One, Nancy Wainer

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