VBA2C and Virtual!

Everyone should have a Leila in their lives throughout their pregnancy and labor/delivery experience. We hired Leila at the end of 2019 to help us achieve our goal of a VBA2C for our birth in May 2020. She provided us with invaluable information to prepare us for birth and made us feel confident in ourselves to handle any obstacles or decisions that would come our way. Enter COVID-19... and quite a bump in our path. But Leila kept us informed of how hospitals were handling changes and led us to still feel confident about our TOLAC even in the midst of a pandemic. When the time came for us to labor, she still was not allowed into the hospital (we were only allowed one guest, which was my husband) so we spent many hours talking and face-timing with Leila. She was ALWAYS available throughout our 36 hour labor and picked up within a couple seconds of us reaching out. As we updated Leila with dilation and contraction patterns, she provided us with appropriate exercises to help baby into the best position for each stage of labor. Even though she wasn't able to physically be there with us, when I look back on labor now it feels as if she was there with us because she remained so involved, even virtually. There were even a few times that she suggested something that only seemed possible for her to know what was going on if she had seen me, but at the time we were only on a phone call. Just by listening to my noises through contractions she knew what was going on. Through a long, slow induction, labor, and delivery, Leila helped us achieve our VBA2C, which I strongly believe would not have happened without her. Leila's guidance and encouragement far surpassed what the hospitalists could have provided us with, even though they were present and she was not. Although I wish she could have been there with us, I am still so thankful to have had her as a supportive resource all along the way. Truly couldn't recommend her enough.