Always on
This project successfully funded on 9th November 2025, you can still support them with a donation.
Support The VBAC Hub's Start Up Costs
Milton Keynes, United Kingdom
Aim
Help us launch The VBAC Hub CIC - a not for profit offering training and support to birth workers and families after caesarean birth.
Our Story
Hi, I’m April Austin, a doula, antenatal teacher and the founder of The VBAC Hub CIC (Community Interest Company). I started this because I could see a huge gap in support for people planning a vaginal birth after caesarean (VBAC). Families are often left with limited information and conflicting advice, and birth workers themselves aren’t always given the training they need to feel confident supporting VBAC clients.
As someone who’s lived this myself, navigating my own VBAC after two caesareans, I know how hard it is to find evidence based, compassionate information. I had to dig, research, and lean on Birthrights to even get through the system. Nine years on, the caesarean rate is higher than ever, and families deserve better.
Our Vision
According to the National Maternity & Perinatal Audit, VBAC rates in England have dropped from 24.5% in 2016/17 to just 14.2% in 2023. Alongside this over the past decade, the caesarean birth rate in the UK has risen sharply, from around 25% to nearly 40% nationally (with some areas at 70%+). That means more and more families are entering new pregnancies after a caesarean, yet the support, training, and evidence based information around VBAC has not kept pace with this change.
The VBAC Hub exists to close that gap by offering resources that cover both VBAC and caesarean, so families and birth workers alike can make informed, confident choices that protect wellbeing and mental health.
We are a not for profit organisation with a simple mission: to make VBAC support accessible, evidence based and empowering for both families and the birth workers who walk alongside them.
We want to:
- Create high-quality training courses for birth workers, so they feel confident and knowledgeable supporting VBAC.
- Launch a podcast sharing stories, research, and real experiences.
- Build a community hub of resources, events, and conversations for families and professionals.
In the future, we aim to run conferences, publish resources, and campaign for better maternity care.
Why We’re Fundraising
Right now, we’re at the very start. We’ve officially set up as a CIC (Community Interest Company), but to get this work off the ground, we need help with our start-up costs.
Your support will help cover:
- Insurance to protect our work and community.
- Zoom & website hosting so we can deliver online training and resources.
- Branding & setup costs so the project looks professional and is ready to grow.
- Initial pilot training sessions, so we can test and refine the birth worker course before rolling it out.
This crowdfunder is our first step. It will get us started, help us run a pilot, and provide the proof of concept we need to then apply for larger grants such as National Lottery funding. In other words, you’re helping us lay the foundations for something much bigger and longer lasting.
Why It Matters
Families deserve choice, dignity and evidence based care. Birth workers deserve to feel prepared, resourced and supported when working with VBAC. By backing this project, you’re helping to fill a vital gap in maternity care.
We are a not for profit CIC with an asset lock, which means every penny raised goes straight back into the project, not private profit.
Funding method
Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made