In the Birthing Room: Cesarean versus VBAC

It's rare to find someone these days who had a cesarean, and then a subsequent VBAC (Vaginal Birth After Cesarean) delivery. My first pregnancy, I had a natural, drug-free delivery, but for the birth of my second child, I had to have a cesarean due to my baby being breech. As a result, I assume that if my husband and I wanted to have more kids, they would be delivered via cesarean. It makes me a bit sad, but then I think that I was lucky  to experience a vaginal birth--many others haven't been able to do the same. I have friends who, for some reason or another, had to have cesarean deliveries for their firstborns, and long to have a vaginal birth to see what it's like. But, they feel that the medical world, "is what it is" and leave it at that. One friend wanted nothing but a natural, drug-free birth and ended up having a cesarean, and being pumped so full of drugs that she couldn't

hold her baby for hours after he was born. When she got pregnant a second time, she knew her OB was against VBACs and wouldn't perform them, and then it was too much trouble find a OB that did perform them which was covered by her insurance. Politics shouldn't get in the way for how one wants to deliver her baby. Luckily, the National Institutes for Health (NIH) agrees. I posted a news story last week which spoke of the NIH convening to speak of changing VBAC recommendations. In the article, it was stated that, ". . . pregnant women currently have limited access to clinicians and facilities able and willing to offer a trial of labor after previous cesarean delivery because of so-called VBAC bans. Many, even those at low risk for complications in a trial of labor, are not offered this option. The panel affirmed that a trial of labor is a reasonable option for many women with a prior cesarean delivery." Although my mom never had a cesarean, she did have fibroid surgery prior to giving birth to my brother and me and says that a vaginal delivery was never questioned. This was in the 1970's. My friend Kristine (pictured above), recently had a VBAC, and she never thought twice about doing it. Her first son was delivered vaginally, second was delivered via cesarean due to being breech, and so for her third, she opted for the VBAC. The first was delivered without a problem, so she thought, "why not?" Kristine had this to say about the experience, "I never hesitated to have a VBAC with my third child after learning through research that since I had had one regular delivery with my first, and the risk of uterine rupture is less than 1%, I was a good candidate. I was determined to have a regular delivery and I'm so glad that I did - the recovery is so much easier, especially when you have to get home and take care of other small children." If you never thought having a vaginal birth would be something you could do, think again. Ask your OB, they may just say yes.