Preparing for a VBAC: How Prenatal Massage Can Support the Journey

By Sparrow Harrington, Prenatal Massage Educator & VBAC Mama

For those of us who have had a cesarean birth and long to experience a vaginal delivery, preparing for a VBAC (Vaginal Birth After Cesarean) can feel like walking a road filled with both hope and hurdles. I know this intimately—not just as a prenatal massage therapist and educator, but as a mother who had an unnecessary C-section with my first son and then gave birth on my own terms with my second, at home.

VBAC is absolutely possible. But preparing for it, especially within a hospital setting, requires both physical readiness and emotional fortitude. As a prenatal massage therapist, I see how bodywork can play a profound role in this preparation, offering not only physical support but also kinesthetic awareness, emotional regulation, and a deeper connection to your body, especially during the transformational process of birth.

Understanding the VBAC Landscape

Before we talk about how massage can help, it’s important to understand what you’re up against.

Hospitals often have strict criteria before “allowing” a woman to “attempt” a VBAC, which they call a Trial of Labor After Cesarean (TOLAC). Criteria may include:

• A low transverse incision on the uterus (not just the skin)
  
• A singleton pregnancy
  
• No more than 1–2 prior C-sections
  
• No prior uterine rupture
  
• Spontaneous labor vs. induction (induction can raise risk of rupture)
  

Even when a woman meets all of these criteria, some providers or hospitals remain reluctant to support a VBAC due to legal fears or outdated practices.

I placed “allow” and “attempt” in quotes above for a reason: medical professionals technically cannot override your legal right to choose your birth path—they are “not allowed to not allow you,” but that’s not how it’s presented. Many women preparing for a VBAC face quiet resistance from the very systems designed to support their birth.

This can lead to a tremendous amount of emotional pressure, self-doubt, and fear. You might wonder:

What if my body doesn’t work? What if I can’t do it? What if I end up with another C-section anyway?

These are real concerns—and they deserve real support.

I know I faced these doubts myself in preparing for my VBAC, and ultimately made the more “radical” decision to birth at home with a traditional unlicensed midwife because I knew I’d be in the most conducive environment for my body to birth—without any licensed providers projecting their own limitations, biases, or institutional fears onto me and my baby.

The result was a beautiful, intimate, and ecstatic birth, where mine were the first hands to touch, hold, and discover my baby. It’s one of the proudest moments of my life, and I wish that for every woman who desires it. And the recovery from a vaginal birth compared to a C-section was night-and-day easier.

The Role of Massage in VBAC Preparation

Massage therapy, when delivered by a knowledgeable, skilled prenatal practitioner, can be a powerful ally in the VBAC quest. Here’s how:

1. C-SECTION SCAR TISSUE WORK
Healing starts well before the next pregnancy. In the months or years following a C-section, massage can help soften adhesions, increase mobility in the abdominal fascia, and restore sensation and connection to the lower belly. Scar tissue can restrict uterine mobility and affect baby’s positioning in a future pregnancy, so addressing it early—ideally before a subsequent pregnancy—is ideal. However, it’s never too late to receive care. Whether you’re years out from your C-section or already well into a new pregnancy, we support women at every stage in preparing for their dream birth.

As my mentor, Carole Osborne, often teaches, our hands not only soften tissue but awaken awareness. Gentle, intentional scar work helps the nervous system re-map the area—restoring not just movement, but confidence.

2. INCREASING KINESTHETIC AWARENESS
A woman preparing for a VBAC needs to feel at home in her body. She needs to trust that she can listen and respond to its cues. Massage increases proprioception and body awareness, allowing her to better sense alignment, breath, and tension patterns that may influence her labor experience.

3. OPTIMIZING SPACE FOR BABY
Massage techniques that address uterine ligaments, pelvic alignment, and fascial mobility can help create optimal space in the womb and pelvis. This contributes to optimal fetal positioning—a key factor in making a vaginal birth smoother and more easeful for both mother and baby.

When the body is balanced and supple, babies are more likely to engage well in the pelvis. Tight psoas muscles, pelvic floor imbalances, or fascial restrictions can all inhibit this engagement and slow labor.

4. PRACTICING RELAXATION FOR LABOR
Massage offers a safe space to practice deep relaxation—a crucial skill in birth. With each session, women learn how to let go—of tension, fear, control, and (perhaps) expectation. This conditioning of the nervous system builds the parasympathetic pathways that help labor unfold with more ease.

When clients breathe through discomfort on the massage table, they’re building skills for their birth.

5. EMOTIONAL SUPPORT AND CONFIDENCE BUILDING
For many women hoping for a VBAC, massage becomes one of the only places where their story is heard and their hopes are held without judgment. The therapeutic presence of a trained maternity massage therapist can offer validation, encouragement, and hope.

At Sparrow’s Nest, we root for you, believe in you, and celebrate every VBAC! And if a VBAC doesn’t unfold as planned, we’re here with compassion and support to help you process and heal—body and soul.

What I Wish Every VBAC-Seeking Mama Knew

You don’t have to carry the weight of your first birth into your next one—massage can help you release it, gently and intentionally. Your body is not broken. You are not broken.

You deserve providers who see your strength, and modalities that honor your body’s ability to birth.

If you’re a massage therapist wanting to support VBAC clients—or if you’re a mother seeking one—I’d love to connect. This work is sacred. And together, we can make VBAC births not only possible—but beautifully normal.

Book A Massage 

Train with Us