VBALM Birth Story

Mabel planned for an unmedicated hospital birth with an OB practice. This desire was prompted by her deep research of VBALM — vaginal birth after Laparoscopic Myomectomy. After years of searching for an OB who would support her desire to have a vaginal birth, she found Dr. John Gonzalez, who encouraged her of his support. However, upon the unexpected death of Dr. Gonzalez, she switched to Centreville OBGYN, a midwife/OB practice, at 35 weeks. The plan changed to having a midwife, instead of an OB, deliver her son. Due to her history of GD and fibroid removal, the midwives and OBs decided that if a vaginal birth was desired, Mabel should not be induced but she should instead hope for a spontaneous labor.

At 40 weeks and 6 days, Mabel went into labor at home and labored at home as long as possible. She checked into the hospital at 4 pm on September 14th and labored with support of her doulas, husband, and midwife. After almost 14 hours of slowly progressing, she opted for an epidural at 9.5 cm. After a total of 36 hours, she welcomed her son after almost 2 hours of pushing. Upon delivering the placenta, she experienced a major hemorrhage which resulted in the placement of a Rusch balloon and a blood transfusion. Despite how crazy things got after delivery, Mabel was still very proud of her pregnancy and birth experience. After being told that a vaginal birth was not possible for her, she is proud that she stood her ground, did her research and sought for the right medical team to support her wishes. She attributes her pregnancy and birth experience to the great support of her husband, doula, her determination, and the grace of God.

mabel pregnancy

Mabel Bashorun Bio

Mabel is 31 years old and lives in Northern Virginia with her husband, Tim and son, Darasimi. She married her college sweetheart in 2013 and the couple decided to wait for a year before actively trying to get pregnant. After learning she had fibroids shortly after she started her TTC journey, Mabel decided to have a laparoscopic myomectomy done to remove multiple fibroids from within her uterine wall. The journey to get pregnant continued on for another 2 years before she got a positive pregnancy test which was a both a surprise and relief. She had a relatively smooth pregnancy with a few hiccups which included fibroid degeneration and gestational diabetes. Her son was born vaginally in a hospital in September 2018 after a 36 hour labor.

Mabel works as an education specialist for her local school county and enjoys spending time with her close circle of family and friends and learning about birth work. She is also a new doula, ready to support women in advocating for their desires regarding birth and pregnancy. You can find her on Instagram @mabedababe (personal) and @withinherbirth (doula business).

Resources

Mama Natural Youtube, blog, book
Supernatural Childbirth by Jackie Mize
Baby Center app
Medical articles on VBALM

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