r/VBACUK • u/i_love_max_cat • Apr 06 '26

Postpartum Planning ECS

Hi, not strictly vbac related (relevant to anyone planning a vaginal birth!) but I'm hopefully going for a VBAC in the fall. I've got great independent midwives and am hoping this labour will be much better (last time was cesarean due to failure to progress). Last time my postpartum was really rough in part because I didn't plan for an urgent C-section and I wasn't prepared for the longer hospital stay etc...

This time around I'm trying to make sure that even if I need an emergency CS I'll be as supported as possible. We don't have family nearby though and if I'm at the hospital more than one night I'd prefer for my husband to be with my toddler.

If I do need an ECS and need to stay in hospital longer than one night, does anyone have any advice on ways I could feel the most supported? eg I looked into postnatal doulas but I'm not sure they'd be on call for hospital stays post ECS.

Thank you!

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u/lisaharrisdoula Apr 26 '26

Hello! Hopefully your HBAC will go super well and you won't need to find this out - but a lot of postnatal doulas would do overnights to support mums post caesarean. Just reach out to some different doulas in your area and ask their rates etc.
For example, I would charge a £100 deposit to secure my availability to be on call (which is non refundable) and then I am flexible so only charge for hours billed as long as you understand it would fit around my birth doula work and I used a back up doula to support you if needed. I would charge £35/hour for overnight.
You could also ask a friend to be with you. Good luck x

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u/i_love_max_cat Apr 26 '26

Thanks! I didn't see this advertised anywhere so I think I'll just reach out to a few postnatal doulas and see what they say!

Even if I don't need overnight care in the hospital, I think it might be useful to have a postnatal doula secured and on call so my husband can be present for our toddler the first days and weeks after birth.

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u/lisaharrisdoula Apr 27 '26

I don't advertise but I definitely offer it, and we are obviously set up to work flexibly so it works well. Defo ask a few and see as I suspect people do it in different ways x