For many women, a cesarean birth can leave lingering questions: Could my body have done it naturally? Will I ever be able to birth vaginally?
For Jenny Duke, a mom of two boys from Texas, her first cesarean was the beginning of a redemptive journey that would eventually lead her to a pain-free VBAC home birth of a ten-pound baby.
Her story, shared on the Pain Free Birth Podcast with host Karen Welton, is one of faith, preparation, surrender, and physiological power. It is a powerful reminder that healing after a C-section is possible and that the human body, when supported and trusted, knows exactly what to do.
Jenny’s First Pregnancy: A Surprise Breech and Planned Cesarean
Jenny’s journey began nearly four years earlier with her first pregnancy. She had always envisioned an unmedicated natural birth, feeling deeply that the Lord had placed it on her heart. She took a birth course, prepared mentally, and believed she was ready for a gentle, physiological delivery.
But at 36 or 37 weeks, everything changed when an ultrasound revealed her baby was breech.
“We did everything under the sun to try to flip him, acupuncture, chiropractic, even flips in the pool,” Jenny laughed. “I read somewhere that handstands underwater could help, so I tried it all.”
Her midwife practice, though supportive, did not allow vaginal breech births. Jenny’s only options were to find a new midwife that late in her pregnancy or schedule a cesarean. At 39 weeks, she opted for a planned C-section.
Although it was not the birth she had hoped for, she describes it as peaceful:
“They respected every wish I had. It wasn’t traumatic. It was just not what I wanted. But I can see now how God used that experience to lead me to the right people and the right healing.”
That cesarean, Jenny says, became the foundation of her healing and preparation for her next birth. Through her recovery, she connected with a pelvic floor therapist, chiropractor, and birth professionals who would later play key roles in her VBAC journey.
The Moment She Decided: “I’m Going to Have a VBAC”
Even before her first baby was born, Jenny knew she wanted a different experience next time.
“I told my midwife and OB during my C-section, ‘Take your time stitching me up, I want to have a VBAC next time.’ And they both supported that.”
From that moment, her mindset shifted. She started viewing her recovery as preparation for a future vaginal birth.
Jenny worked closely with her pelvic floor therapist to heal her scar and restore core function. What started as postpartum rehabilitation evolved into birth prep. Her therapist eventually became her doula for her second birth.
She also incorporated regular chiropractic care, ensuring optimal alignment and pelvic balance for future pregnancy.
But beyond the physical preparation, Jenny knew the real work would be mental and spiritual.
Discovering Pain Free Birth
When she became pregnant again, Jenny immersed herself in Karen Welton’s Pain Free Birth Course, a resource that became the cornerstone of her transformation.
“The course completely changed my mindset,” she said. “It helped me understand what my body was doing, removed fear, and taught me how to stay calm and connected through every stage.”
Through the course, she learned the importance of working with her body instead of against it, using breath, surrender, and trust to allow birth to unfold naturally.
“I didn’t realize how much fear was still inside me until I started letting it go. Once the fear was gone, so was the pain.”
Jenny described watching the videos, studying the phases of labor, and replaying them in her mind so often that when the time came, the knowledge was instinctual.
“During labor, I’d think, ‘Oh, this is what Karen said would happen.’ It kept me grounded and calm. Even when I was in transition, I felt peace because I knew my body was doing exactly what it was designed to do.”
Choosing the Right Birth Team
Jenny interviewed five or six different midwives before choosing one who felt like the perfect fit, someone calm, confident, and unbothered by the label VBAC.
“She didn’t make it a big deal. She just said, ‘You’re a healthy woman having another baby.’ That’s when I knew she was the right one.”
That mindset rubbed off.
By the final month of pregnancy, Jenny says she actually forgot she was a VBAC. The label no longer defined her.
“I wasn’t thinking about success rates or calculators or risk factors. I was just preparing for birth.”
Waiting in Faith: 41 Weeks and 4 Days
Jenny’s second pregnancy stretched well past her due date, 41 weeks and four days to be exact.
The waiting tested her patience and faith.
“That was the hardest part,” she admitted. “Every day I wondered if something was wrong or if I’d go into labor. But my midwife was so calm. She kept saying, ‘You’re fine. You’re going to go into labor soon.’ Her peace kept me grounded.”
While many providers would have pressured for induction by 41 weeks, her midwife trusted Jenny’s intuition and baby’s timing.
That calm confidence paid off. Just three days before 42 weeks, labor began naturally.
Early Labor and the Fear Factor
Jenny woke up at midnight feeling mild contractions but wasn’t sure if it was real. By 2 a.m., she knew it was. Her contractions were seven to eight minutes apart, lasting a minute long, and she texted her doula to stay updated.
By 5 a.m., everything changed.
“I felt this huge shift, like baby moved. Suddenly contractions were every two minutes. They were intense and stacked on top of each other.”
She and her husband quickly prepared to leave for the birth center. The drive, however, proved to be one of the most challenging parts.
“Even though I was only in early labor, the car ride was the hardest. I couldn’t move freely, and fear crept in, like, ‘What if this gets too hard? What if I can’t do it?’”
When they arrived, the environment shifted everything.
“The moment I walked into the birth center, I relaxed. The lights were dim, my team was calm, and suddenly the pain wasn’t pain anymore, it was just intensity. Once I felt safe, everything changed.”
Karen explained this phenomenon beautifully:
“Safety is medicine for labor. The moment you feel safe, your body releases oxytocin, your muscles relax, and labor progresses smoothly.”
The Power of Environment and Hormones
In their discussion, Karen shared insight into how environment and hormones shape the birth experience:
“Even a car ride can be an intervention. Movement, fear, or noise changes your physiology. Your body can’t labor efficiently if it doesn’t feel safe. But once that sense of safety returns, contractions become more productive, not necessarily stronger, but more effective.”
Jenny’s story perfectly illustrated that truth.
After arriving at the birth center, she was checked by her midwife. She was between 3 and 4 centimeters, though she had chosen not to be told at the time.
“I’m glad she asked if I wanted to know,” Jenny said. “If I had heard I was only a three, it would’ve messed with my mindset. But because I didn’t know, I just kept trusting my body.”
The Emotional Release
Jenny labored in the shower and on the birth ball for several hours. Then she asked to get into the tub.
The moment she did, something shifted.
“As soon as I laid in the water, I started crying. It wasn’t sadness, it was like my body knew it was safe to let go. Tears just fell. It was the most powerful release.”
She put on noise-canceling headphones, turned on worship music, and listened to “Goodness of God” by CeCe Winans.
“It felt like time stopped. I just laid there in peace, worshiping. That was my transition moment. My mind, body, and spirit aligned. It was like the Lord was right there in the water with me.”
Karen later reflected,
“We can’t underestimate the power of emotional release that creates physical release. When you surrender, your body opens. That’s God’s perfect design.”
Transition and the Urge to Push
Soon after that sacred moment, Jenny began feeling the urge to bear down.
“I looked at my midwife and said, ‘Do I need to start pushing?’ She smiled and said, ‘Just keep doing what your body’s doing.’”
That simple reassurance gave Jenny confidence.
She wasn’t told to push, coached to hold her breath, or directed to count. She simply followed her body’s natural urges, what’s known as the Fetal Ejection Reflex.
“I didn’t push my baby out. My body did. It was like my uterus knew exactly what to do. I just focused on breathing and staying open.”
Karen celebrated this as one of the most beautiful differences between coached and physiological pushing:
“Force isn’t what you need. Openness is. Our uterus is powerful enough to birth a ten-pound baby without us forcing it. When we trust the process, the body does exactly what it was created to do.”
A 10-Pound Baby, No Tearing
After about 45 minutes of instinctive pushing, Jenny’s son was born, weighing a stunning ten pounds, with no epidural, no tearing, and no complications.
“I couldn’t believe it. I’ve had friends tear badly with six-pound babies. I truly believe it’s because I didn’t force it. I breathed him down and let my body lead.”
Her midwife later confirmed that Jenny’s calm breathing and slow, instinctual pushing likely prevented tearing.
Karen explained:
“When you hold your breath and bear down, you work against your body’s natural rhythm and increase the risk of tearing. But when you breathe and open, you’re allowing your uterus to do the work, not your pelvic floor muscles. That’s how Jenny birthed a 10-pound baby without trauma.”
A Moment of Concern and Divine Strength
As Jenny’s baby was crowning, her midwife noticed more bleeding than usual. She calmly asked Jenny to move from the tub to the floor so she could monitor everything closely.
“I didn’t even think about it. I just got out of the tub. My husband later said they helped me, but in the moment it felt like I just stood up and did it. It was like supernatural strength kicked in.”
Moments later, her baby was born safely on all fours. His head emerged in one contraction, his body in the next.
Her midwife later explained that she had suspected possible shoulder dystocia, but because the baby’s heart rate stayed strong, she allowed Jenny’s body to resolve it naturally, which it did perfectly.
“She never panicked or made me feel unsafe. I didn’t even realize she was concerned until afterward. That calm confidence allowed me to stay peaceful.”
The Aftermath: Peace, Health, and Healing
When the baby was born, Jenny felt a rush of awe and gratitude.
“Everything was calm. My baby was healthy, breathing well, and my midwife said, ‘You just had a messy birth, but everything is fine.’”
Though there had been more blood than expected, there were no complications. Jenny had only a tiny tear, one so minor her midwife said it would have healed without stitches.
“She told me, ‘You didn’t need stitches, but since you’re moving soon, I’ll do one just to be safe.’”
Within four hours, Jenny, her husband, and their new baby were back home, resting in their own bed, surrounded by peace.
“It was surreal. To go from a C-section in a hospital to being home just hours after giving birth, it was everything I’d prayed for.”
The Spiritual Side: Faith Over Fear
Throughout the episode, Jenny and Karen returned again and again to one theme: faith over fear.
Jenny’s birth wasn’t just a physical experience. It was deeply spiritual. Every stage of her story reflected trust, surrender, and divine orchestration.
“Fear and pain are connected,” she said. “When the fear left, the pain left. It was still intense, but it wasn’t suffering. It was holy.”
Karen echoed that sentiment:
“This is what birth was meant to be, not something to fear, but something to experience fully, with God at the center. It’s His design.”
The Power of Preparation
Jenny’s VBAC success wasn’t accidental. It was the result of intentional preparation, physically and mentally.
Her advice for other women desiring a natural VBAC is clear:
“Commit. Don’t go in saying, ‘I’ll try, but if it’s too hard, I’ll get the epidural.’ Decide that you’re doing it. That’s why I chose a birth center. There was no backup plan. I had to go all in.”
She encourages other moms to invest time in:
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Birth education such as the Pain Free Birth Course
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Pelvic floor therapy
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Chiropractic care
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Mindset and prayer
“You can prepare your body all you want, but if you’re not mentally and emotionally ready, fear will take over. The mind is where birth begins.”
What She’d Do Differently
Though Jenny’s VBAC home birth was everything she’d hoped for, she reflected on one thing she might do differently next time.
“I wore noise-canceling headphones the whole time, which helped me stay focused, but afterward I realized I was so in my own world that I missed some of the connection with my husband and birth team. Next time, I might be more present.”
She laughed, adding,
“But honestly, I think that’s exactly what my body needed for that birth. God knew what I needed.”
Karen agreed:
“Every birth teaches us something new. Sometimes your body needs deep focus and solitude, sometimes it needs intimacy and connection. Birth is as unique as every baby.”
A Message of Hope
Jenny’s story is one of redemption, healing, and faith, a testimony to what’s possible when women are educated, supported, and unafraid.
“God redeems birth,” Karen said. “He writes beauty into every story. And Jenny’s birth shows that even after a cesarean, your body is not broken. It’s wise, powerful, and fully capable.”
For any mom preparing for a VBAC, home birth, or unmedicated labor, Jenny’s journey offers hope:
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You are not broken.
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You can trust your body.
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Fear does not have the final word.
Key Takeaways from Jenny’s VBAC Home Birth
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Healing is preparation. Jenny’s first C-section led her to the exact resources that supported her second birth.
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Education matters. Understanding physiology through the Pain Free Birth Course changed everything.
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Faith is stronger than fear. Releasing fear transformed pain into purpose.
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Your environment affects your body. Feeling safe is essential for labor to progress naturally.
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Your body is wise. Trusting its timing and signals is the key to a pain-free birth experience.
More about Jenny:
Jenny Duke lives in Texas with her husband and their two beautiful boys. After leaving her corporate job, she embraced her dream of becoming a full-time stay-at-home mom and couldn’t be happier or more fulfilled with that decision. A true homebody at heart, Jenny loves to bake and dreams of one day having a homestead complete with a large garden, chickens, and other farm animals.
Want to Experience a Faith-Filled Birth Too?
If you’re ready to transform your mindset and birth with peace and purpose, check out the free Unlocking a Pain Free Birth Masterclass. Discover the 3 keys to a Pain-Free birth so you can experience the joyful, supernatural power of birth the way God designed it.
