“Peace on earth begins with birth.”

In this powerful episode, Meagan sits down with Anna Lundqvist, founder of Sacred Birth International. Anna is a seasoned midwife from Sweden whose work has evolved into educating birthing families, doulas, and birth professionals on how to protect birth as a sacred, primal, and physiological event. Drawing from years of attending births around the world, Anna now focuses on teaching how to reclaim the innate design of birth, preserve reverence throughout the process, and support mothers in advocating for their autonomy. Her philosophy is rooted deeply in trauma-informed care and physiological birth wisdom.

Meagan and Anna let the conversation flow naturally as they dive into induction, cervical checks, trauma, and the harsh realities many families face within the medical system. Anna offers heartfelt insight on processing fears, discerning intuition from anxiety, and why she often encourages VBAC at home for those who feel aligned with that path. Thank you for joining us today, @sacredbirthinternational for a very special conversation!!

Content warning: This episode includes frank discussion of birth after sexual abuse and trauma. Please listen with care.

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The Ultimate VBAC Prep Course for Parents

Online VBAC Doula Training

Women of Strength, you won’t want to miss this one!!

In today’s episode of The VBAC Link Podcast, we welcome Sarah, a mom of three boys, an active duty Air Force officer (AND a spouse to one as well!) about her incredible VBA2C during an overseas PCS move from South Korea to Florida.

Sarah’s first birth was a c-section for breech presentation. Her second was a scheduled c-section timed around her husband’s deployment. Her third pregnancy brought navigating prenatal care in a foreign country, a huge move with two toddlers in tow, and the stress of finding a completely new birth team.

After Sarah’s water broke unexpectedly at 37 weeks while visiting family in Kentucky, and with all their belongings either in Arizona or on a boat in the Pacific, she was induced so she could labor while a VBAC-supportive doctor was on call. After 11 hours on Pitocin, she delivered her baby vaginally, finished the move and arrived in Florida when her newborn was just one week old.

Sarah & Meagan also share tips about using nitrous oxide in labor and important Tricare resources for military families. Though there were wild twists and turns, Sarah got her especially redemptive moment of being fully present for the moment she introduced her new baby to her other boys. We are so proud of you, Sarah!!

Nitrous Oxide Article

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The Ultimate VBAC Prep Course for Parents

Online VBAC Doula Training

Catie, a pediatric physical therapist from Northern Kentucky, joins Meagan on the podcast today sharing her three birth stories– a vaginal delivery, c-section, and VBAC! Catie struggled with hyperemesis gravidarum (among other complications) during all three pregnancies but wasn’t officially given the diagnosis until she was hospitalized with her third. By that time, she had researched hard and was ready to proactively manage it, even though her doctor wasn’t up-to-date on all of the ways to do that. Catie shares what she did and how it made a world of difference for that third pregnancy.

In regards to her births, Catie talks about her first induced vaginal birth, her long, traumatic second labor that ended in an urgent c-section, a PTSD diagnosis, and her healing VBAC that was medically induced at 37 weeks due to Cholestasis.

After her traumatic second birth, Catie really fought for healing. Women of Strength, we cannot stress enough how important this is. Through EMDR, pelvic floor therapy, exercise, and more, Catie gained back the confidence and trust she needed in her body to absolutely rock her VBAC!

ICP Care Cholestasis Article

The VBAC Link Blog: Kick Counts

Needed Website: Code VBAC for 20% Off

The Ultimate VBAC Prep Course for Parents

Online VBAC Doula Training