The Pros and Cons of VBAC

After enduring 44 hours of labor with her first child, when Mistie Thompson finally began to push, the baby crowned almost immediately. But after two hours of pushing and an attempted vacuum extraction, she didn't budge. The baby was delivered by C-section, during which the epidural didn't work properly, so Thompson was given Versed. She woke up in recovery having no idea what happened.

"I was determined to have a different experience with my next child," says Thompson, a St. Louis, Mo., resident. "Or at least, to actually remember my child's birth!" Because of this, she did an enormous amount of research about VBAC, or vaginal birth after Cesarean.

As Thompson discovered, the topic of VBAC is a controversial one. Federal reports in the 1980s and 1990s promoted VBAC as a safe and reasonable alternative. In 1994 and 1995, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) stated that a woman with one previous Cesarean delivery with a lower uterine segment incision should be counseled and encouraged to undergo a trial of labor in her current pregnancy.

In 1999, the position was revised to say "...because uterine rupture may be catastrophic, VBAC should be attempted in institutions equipped to respond to emergencies with physicians immediately available to provide emergency care."

Content on this site is not a substitute for professional medical or healthcare advice, diagnosis or treatment, and may not be used for such purposes. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical question or condition. Reliance on information presented on this site is at your own risk. This site contains the opinions and views of other users. Given the interactive nature of this site, we cannot endorse, guarantee, or be responsible for the accuracy, efficacy, or veracity of any content generated by our users.