VBAC: Vaginal Birth After Cesarean
For mothers who’ve had a previous cesarean section (c-section), we offer an array of support and resources should you decide to give vaginal birth for a current or future pregnancy. This can be a very healthy and fulfilling experience for both you and your baby should you decide to safely avoid c-section birth. Here is some initial research to begin with:
In the United States more than one million women, 1 in 3, give birth by cesarean every year, the most common major operation performed in the country. Current evidence shows that the majority of women can have a safe vaginal birth after cesarean (a VBAC), but according to the US Centers for Disease Control the VBAC rate fell 67% in the last ten years.
Birth is a major life event that significantly impacts a mother's physical and emotional well-being. A cesarean can be a life-saving procedure for a mother and/or her baby, but overall, birth by cesarean puts healthy pregnant women at risk for medical complications. Recent evidence suggests that cesarean birth, particularly if it was unexpected, may also put women at increased psychological risk.
Performing a cesarean section on one out of three women and a repeat cesarean on more than 90% of women with a prior cesarean runs contrary to the US Healthy People 2010 goals. US National objectives to improve maternal, infant, and child health outcomes is to lower the cesarean rate for first time mothers to 15%, and increase the VBAC rate to 63% by the year 2010.
High cesarean rates also run contrary to national health goals to increase the proportion of mothers who breastfeed their babies. The Centers for Disease Control has identified cesarean section as a risk factor for the initiation of breastfeeding. According to the CDC Guide to Breastfeeding Interventions, medications and procedures administered to the mother during labor affect the infant's behavior at the time of birth, which in turn affects the infant's ability to suckle in an organized and effective manner at the breast. Breastfeeding has been linked to several life-long health advantages for both mothers and babies. Mothers who give birth by cesarean can initiate, establish and continue breastfeeding particularly if they are encouraged, educated and supported by breastfeeding specialists.
Every childbearing woman is a giver of life, and as such deserves our support, respect, and admiration. Every child is precious no matter how she or he is born. Based on the available information, every woman can decide with her caregiver what best meets her needs.
*The term VBAC was first coined and used by Nancy Wainer Cohen author of Silent Knife: Cesarean Prevention & Vaginal Birth After Cesarean. It was chosen as the best book in the field of Health and Medicine by the American Library Association in 1983.