Episode 209 Author Hazel Keedle, PhD + Birth After Caesarean: Your Journey to a Better Birth

We are honored to have Dr. Hazel Keedle join us today all the way from Australia! Hazel is the author of Birth After Caesarean: Your Journey to a Better Birth. She has more than 25 years of experience as a clinician both in nursing and midwifery, an educator, and a published researcher. Her work remains rooted in her desire to strengthen and empower women. Hazel tells us how her own VBAC birth journey lit a fire that led to the completion of her doctorate degree and her book. Everything in her book is ESSENTIAL for VBAC-hopeful mamas and is all backed with evidence-based research. We know you will LOVE listening to Hazel. She is so gracious and such an invaluable asset to the birth world. This episode is a must-listen and her book is most definitely a must-read for all! Additional links Birth After Caesarean: Your Journey to a Better Birth by Hazel Keedle, PhD Hazel’s Instagram: @hazelkeedle Hazel’s Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VBACmatters Sarah’s Instagram: @sarah_marie_bilger or @entering_motherhood How to VBAC: The Ultimate Prep Course for Parents Full transcript Note: All transcripts are edited to correct grammar, false starts, and filler words.  Meagan: You guys are listening to The VBAC Link and I’m so excited for today’s episode. We have Hazel Keedle today. She’s in Australia and it’s 1:00 a.m. She stayed up all night just to be with us today on this podcast. So grateful for her. We’re going to be time sensitive so we can make sure to get her tucked into bed at a somewhat reasonable hour, but guess what?  Today, we have a co-host. A co-host! I’m so excited to start bringing on some co-hosts here and there. Today, we have Sarah and she is one of our VBAC doulas. I’m so excited to have her with us today.  Review of the Week Meagan: Sarah is going to actually do the honors of reading you a review. So go ahead, Sarah.  Sarah: Hi, yeah. I’m glad to be here. We have a review from Katelyn Bayless. This one is from google and it says, “I honestly can’t recommend The VBAC Link enough. I had my son via C-section in 2021 and even though I’m not pregnant with number two yet, I feel so ready and even excited for when that time comes because of all of the stories and education from The VBAC Link. I have been binging the podcast for the past couple of weeks and I have a note on my phone that is specifically for VBAC resources and education that has been mentioned on this podcast.  “I am looking into providers and planning on starting interviewing some soon. I can’t tell y’all enough. Thank you for all that you do and I hope one day I can share my VBAC story.” Meagan: Oh, I love that. I love that. Well, today’s episode is going to have some more resources for you for sure.  Hazel Keedle, PhD Meagan: We are coming to you from The VBAC Link. We have a guest from Australia. We’re so excited to have her. We’re so, so excited. We actually just connected here. We are connecting for the first time, I should say today, but Hazel, our guest today, just connected with us about a week or two ago.  You guys, she is so amazing. It’s 1:00 a.m. and she is in Australia recording right now, so I just want to give her a huge shoutout and thank you for being with us at 1:00 a.m. Oh my goodness. I told her I probably would have been, “Nope. Let’s find another time,” but here she is. She is so dedicated at 1:00 a.m. recording with us and I cannot wait to share with you this wonderful, wonderful human being.  We are going to jump right into it because again, it’s 1:00 a.m. I don’t want to take too much time but I wanted to introduce her quickly. This is Hazel Keedle. She is a lecturer of midwifery and completed her PhD in 2021 at Western Sydney University in Australia. Hazel has more than 25 years of experience as a clinician in nursing and midwifery, educator, and researcher.  Her research is – it might as well be 1:00 here Hazel.  Hazel: You’re doing great. Meagan: