Reducing C-sections
After planning for a vaginal birth, I ended up getting a Caesarean section. It wasn't an ideal situation, but things happen in the delivery room that you can't anticipate.
I have always heard that once you've had a C-section, you must repeat it for subsequent births.
But that's not the case. Women can safely give birth the normal way later, called vaginal birth after Caesarean, or VBAC.
Last week, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists issued a new set of medical guidelines meant to make it easier for women to find doctors and hospitals that allow VBAC. The New York Times reports:
Women’s health advocates praised the new guidelines because they expand the pool of women considered eligible for vaginal births, but they expressed doubts about whether the recommendations go far enough to change a decade of entrenched behavior by doctors, hospitals and insurers.
The figure for Caesareans is eye-opening: 1.4 million of women or about 32 percent of all births in 2007, the latest year that figures are available from the National Center for Health Statistics.
Like earlier guidelines, the new ones say that vaginal birth is safe for most women who have had a Caesarean, provided that the cut in the uterus was low and horizontal, the way nearly all Caesareans are performed today. Sixty to 80 percent of women who have what doctors call “a trial of labor” — an attempt to deliver vaginally — after a Caesarean succeed.
What do you think of these new guidelines? Have you delivered a baby the normal way after having a C-section? Was your doctor supportive?
Comments
Two vaginal births here. But I do wonder if the new guidelines will be actually followed by those in obstetrics. I have several friends who wanted a VBAC and were denied the opportunity to even try by their doctor. At least one switched doctors and was able to deliver the way she wanted, but another felt like that wasn't an option for her and was "forced" into a c-section she didn't want.
Posted by: Kayris | July 26, 2010 10:24 AM
Had an emergency c-section after my 1st son became stuck in birth canal, in 1994. Had VBAC with 2nd son in 1997. Although I had to stress my desire to have VBAC, Doctor was supportive. Strongest reason for me to have VBAC was that I didn't want to be laid up too long with a toddler to watch.
Posted by: marylandmom2 | July 28, 2010 8:51 PM
The International Cesarean Awareness Network (ICAN) has been fighting for these changes for years. I encourage all women who are birthing after a previous cesarean to contact one of our Maryland chapters for information regarding the risks/benefits of each approach to birth as well as our chart of the Maryland hospital cesarean rates and our chart showing the number of VBACs at each Maryland hospital in 2009. We can also refer you to caregivers who are VBAC supportive.
We have three outright hospital VBAC bans in Maryland - Memorial at Easton, Garrett County, and Cecil County. Women in those areas can use these new guidelines as well as the recent NIH VBAC recommendations to encourage hospitals to reverse their bans and put the decision as to how to birth back in the hands of the women where it belongs.
Barbara Stratton
National ICAN VBAC ban chair
ICAN of Baltimore co-leader
www.icanofbaltimore.org
Posted by: ICANofBaltimore | July 30, 2010 12:33 PM