In today’s episode, I interview Shelley who shares her two pregnancies and births. Shelley has herpes simplex virus (HSV) and experienced considerable stress throughout pregnancy which led to an outbreak. Despite planning a vaginal birth, Shelley consulted with her care provider and made the informed decision to have a caesarean birth (there are significant risks to the baby if the mother births vaginally with an active HSV outbreak). In her second pregnancy, Shelley was proactive in preventing an outbreak and had a successful VBAC.