3 Births, 2 VBACs & a 1 in 100,000 Birth Complication - Sharni's Story

Have you ever heard of subcutaneous emphysema? Three births. Two VBACs and one incredibly rare complication that she never saw coming. After her first birth ended in an emergency caesarean following 15 hours of labour and foetal distress, she went into her second birth determined to have a VBAC. She did except this birth was anything but straightforward. Her second labour involved bleeding, two hours of pushing, a second-degree tear, postpartum haemorrhage, retained products and infection. But one of the most unexpected complications was something she had never even heard of: subcutaneous emphysema, an extremely rare complication associated with intense pushing where air can become trapped beneath the skin. And then, after everything her body had experienced, she went on to have a third birth! Another VBAC, just four hours long, with around 20 minutes of pushing, a water birth, no cervical checks and no medical intervention. Sharni is now preparing for her fourth homebirth! Three births. The same woman. The same body. Three completely different experiences. In this episode, we talk honestly about emergency caesarean birth, choosing a VBAC, what it’s like when a VBAC becomes medically complicated, the reality of postpartum haemorrhage and retained products, the bizarre experience of subcutaneous emphysema and what happened when she approached her third birth after everything she had already been through. This is a conversation about VBAC, birth trauma, trusting your body, and the fact that you can never completely predict how your next birth will unfold.