Your likelihood of success with a vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC) is influenced by various factors. Among large numbers of women, researchers have observed that:
- If the problem that led to a previous cesarean (such as breech position) doesn't recur in the present pregnancy, a woman is about as likely to have a successful vaginal delivery as women who have not had a previous cesarean.1
- A woman who has had both a vaginal and a cesarean delivery has a greater chance of having a successful VBAC than a woman who has not delivered vaginally.2 Even women who have previously had a trial of labor followed by a cesarean have some advantage in future vaginal births.
References
Citations
American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (2004). Vaginal birth after previous cesarean delivery. ACOG Practice Bulletin No. 54. Obstetrics and Gynecology, 104(1): 203–212.
Cunningham FG, et al. (2005). Cesarean delivery and peripartum hysterectomy. In Williams Obstetrics, 22nd ed., pp. 587–606. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Credits
| Author | Kathe Gallagher, MSW |
| Editor | Kathleen M. Ariss, MS |
| Associate Editor | Pat Truman, MATC |
| Primary Medical Reviewer | Joy Melnikow, MD, MPH - Family Medicine |
| Specialist Medical Reviewer | Kirtly Jones, MD - Obstetrics and Gynecology |
| Last Updated | April 20, 2007 |
Author:Kathe Gallagher, MSW
Last Updated: 04/20/2007
