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VBAC FAQ and Helpful Links **Updated 2/09**
Look who's talking…This topic is locked from replying.
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by Joan_BZCL - Posts 17454
Welcome! Many people ask "What is a VBAC?". VBAC stands for Vaginal Birth After Cesarean, and it is an option that not many know about. "Once a cesarean always a cesarean" is not always true!
This board is a resource for women who have had cesarean surgery for previous births and are looking for alternatives. We are here to support and educate each other in our choices, and ask for everyone to be respectful of other's choices and opinions. For any questions, please refer to the Usage Policy.
Info on your hosts, and some great questions about VBAC for providers are posted in the replies! Keep reading.
Helpful Links:
(all links are current as of 2/24/09)
Time Magazine has an article on VBAC's and how hard it is to find a provider to do one: www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1880665-1,00.html (added 2/24/09)
This is the Mayo Clinic's VBAC decision guide, a great place to start if you are unsure on VBAC vs ERCS:
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/vbac/VB99999
I-CAN (International Cesarean Awareness Network) Local support groups, lots of pro-VBAC information.
ICAN has a page where you can search for hospitals that allow or prohibit VBAC's in your state: www.ican-online.org/vbac-ban-info (scroll down to the bottom of the page to do a search, added 2/24/09)
http://vbacfacts.com/ Good summary of Research.
http://www.gentlebirth.org/archives/vbacrisk.html Relative Risks of Uterine Rupture.
http://childbirthconnection.com/ Has a brochure on the Rights of Childbearing Women (http://www.childbirthconnection.org/article.asp?ck=10084&ClickedLink=0&area=27) and other great VBAC information
VBAC.com Good risk comparisons to put it in perspective.
Spinning Babies Information about optimal fetal positioning.
Plus Size Pregnancy Good cesarean/VBAC info with personal stories. It is aimed at plus sized women, however has valuable information for any pregnant woman.
Here is a link that summarizes the ACOG VBAC Guidelines: http://www.aafp.org/afp/20041001/practice.html
AAFP Guidelines for TOLAC: http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/clinical/clinicalrecs/tolac.html
Recommended Reading List:
The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Childbirth by Henci Goer
Silent Knife and Open Season by Nancy Wainer Cohen & Lois J. Estner
VBAC Companion by Diana Korte
Understanding and Teaching Optimal Foetal Positioning by Jean Sutton and Pauline Scott
Ina May's Guide to Childbirth and Spiritual Midwifery by Ina May Gaskin
Birth After Cesarean by Bruce Flamm, MD
PUSHED by Jennifer Block
Common Abbreviations and Terms
ERCS: Elective Repeat Cesarean Section
VBAC: Vaginal Birth After Cesarean
TOL: Trial of Labor
OP: Occiput Posterior ("Sunny Side Up")
OA: Occiput Anterior
Previous Articles and QOTW
http://babyzone.com/Community/f_Posts.asp?tpc=11401958&brd=650 Women Choose VBAC more than ERCS
This board is a resource for women who have had cesarean surgery for previous births and are looking for alternatives. We are here to support and educate each other in our choices, and ask for everyone to be respectful of other's choices and opinions. For any questions, please refer to the Usage Policy.
Info on your hosts, and some great questions about VBAC for providers are posted in the replies! Keep reading.
Helpful Links:
(all links are current as of 2/24/09)
Time Magazine has an article on VBAC's and how hard it is to find a provider to do one: www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1880665-1,00.html (added 2/24/09)
This is the Mayo Clinic's VBAC decision guide, a great place to start if you are unsure on VBAC vs ERCS:
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/vbac/VB99999
I-CAN (International Cesarean Awareness Network) Local support groups, lots of pro-VBAC information.
ICAN has a page where you can search for hospitals that allow or prohibit VBAC's in your state: www.ican-online.org/vbac-ban-info (scroll down to the bottom of the page to do a search, added 2/24/09)
http://vbacfacts.com/ Good summary of Research.
http://www.gentlebirth.org/archives/vbacrisk.html Relative Risks of Uterine Rupture.
http://childbirthconnection.com/ Has a brochure on the Rights of Childbearing Women (http://www.childbirthconnection.org/article.asp?ck=10084&ClickedLink=0&area=27) and other great VBAC information
VBAC.com Good risk comparisons to put it in perspective.
Spinning Babies Information about optimal fetal positioning.
Plus Size Pregnancy Good cesarean/VBAC info with personal stories. It is aimed at plus sized women, however has valuable information for any pregnant woman.
Here is a link that summarizes the ACOG VBAC Guidelines: http://www.aafp.org/afp/20041001/practice.html
AAFP Guidelines for TOLAC: http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/clinical/clinicalrecs/tolac.html
Recommended Reading List:
The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Childbirth by Henci Goer
Silent Knife and Open Season by Nancy Wainer Cohen & Lois J. Estner
VBAC Companion by Diana Korte
Understanding and Teaching Optimal Foetal Positioning by Jean Sutton and Pauline Scott
Ina May's Guide to Childbirth and Spiritual Midwifery by Ina May Gaskin
Birth After Cesarean by Bruce Flamm, MD
PUSHED by Jennifer Block
Common Abbreviations and Terms
ERCS: Elective Repeat Cesarean Section
VBAC: Vaginal Birth After Cesarean
TOL: Trial of Labor
OP: Occiput Posterior ("Sunny Side Up")
OA: Occiput Anterior
Previous Articles and QOTW
http://babyzone.com/Community/f_Posts.asp?tpc=11401958&brd=650 Women Choose VBAC more than ERCS
Fri Nov 18, 2005 2:01 am
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by Joan_BZCL - Posts 17454
Thanks CourtneyCBZHost for compiling this list!
The following lists of questions were found in The VBAC Companion by Diana Korte.
10 Interview Questions for a Doctor or Certified Nurse-Midwife
1. Approximately how many VBACs have you attended?
2. Of those patients in your practice who wanted VBACs, how many were successful?
3. What do you think my chances are of VBAC success, given my childbirth history?
4. What is your cesarean rate?
5. How do you usually manage a postdate pregnancy or a suspected CPD (cephalopelvic disproportion)?
6. What?s a reasonable length of time for a VBAC labor if I?m healthy and my baby appears to be healthy?
7. What percentage of your patients do you deliver yourself?
8. How many people can I have with me during labor and birth?
9. What is your usual recommendation fo IVs, Pitocin, prostaglandin gel, amniotomy, epidurals, confinement to bed, fetal monitoring, etc.?
10. How close together are your appointments?
10 Interview Questions for Homebirth Midwives
1. Approximately how many VBACs have you attended?
2. How many women in your care have been transferred to a hospital? Who is your back-up physician?
3. How long have you been a midwife, and how births have you attended as the primary midwife?
4. What is your training, and where did you get it?
5. What will happen in my monthly visits?
6. Do you attend births when there are twins expected?
7. How do I prepare my house for a homebirth? Can my other children be there with me?
8. How do you monitor labor?do you use a fetoscope or a Doppler?
9. Will you stay with me during my entire labor?
10. What is you fee and what services does it include?
10 Questions for a Hospital
1. What is the VBAC rate at your hospital?
2. Which doctors have the highest VBAC rates?
3. Do any certified nurse-midwives practice at your hospital?
4. What is the cesarean rate at your hospital?
5. What is the nurse-patient ratio at your hospital?
6. Are all of your maternity rooms combines labor-delivery-recovery rooms?
7. How many other people can I have with me during my labor and birth?
8. What is your epidural rate?
9. What is your EFM (electronic fetal monitoring) requirement?
10. Do you have jacuzzis for use during labor?
10 Questions for a Birth Center
1. Do VBACs take place at your birth center?
2. Are you staffed by certified nurse-midwives, direct-entry midwives, or physicians?
3. What is your hospital transfer rate?
4. How many of the women who come to your facility for a VBAC end up with another cesarean?
5. Are VBAC classes, as well as prenatal, childbirth, and postpartum care, included in your fee?
6. How long is a typical prenatal visit?
7. Do you use a fetoscope or a Doppler for prenatal visits and labor?
8. Do you offer pain medications?
9. Who will be with me during labor and birth?
10. How long is a typical postpartum stay at the birth center? Is a home visit part of my postpartum care?
I found this book to be immensely informative. There are birth stories, lots of explanations, and suggestions for other sources of information. I think this is a must read for any woman who is seriously considering a VBAC. I plan to interview the hospital first to find out which doctors/mid-wives are most promising. Good Luck to all of you!!
The following lists of questions were found in The VBAC Companion by Diana Korte.
10 Interview Questions for a Doctor or Certified Nurse-Midwife
1. Approximately how many VBACs have you attended?
2. Of those patients in your practice who wanted VBACs, how many were successful?
3. What do you think my chances are of VBAC success, given my childbirth history?
4. What is your cesarean rate?
5. How do you usually manage a postdate pregnancy or a suspected CPD (cephalopelvic disproportion)?
6. What?s a reasonable length of time for a VBAC labor if I?m healthy and my baby appears to be healthy?
7. What percentage of your patients do you deliver yourself?
8. How many people can I have with me during labor and birth?
9. What is your usual recommendation fo IVs, Pitocin, prostaglandin gel, amniotomy, epidurals, confinement to bed, fetal monitoring, etc.?
10. How close together are your appointments?
10 Interview Questions for Homebirth Midwives
1. Approximately how many VBACs have you attended?
2. How many women in your care have been transferred to a hospital? Who is your back-up physician?
3. How long have you been a midwife, and how births have you attended as the primary midwife?
4. What is your training, and where did you get it?
5. What will happen in my monthly visits?
6. Do you attend births when there are twins expected?
7. How do I prepare my house for a homebirth? Can my other children be there with me?
8. How do you monitor labor?do you use a fetoscope or a Doppler?
9. Will you stay with me during my entire labor?
10. What is you fee and what services does it include?
10 Questions for a Hospital
1. What is the VBAC rate at your hospital?
2. Which doctors have the highest VBAC rates?
3. Do any certified nurse-midwives practice at your hospital?
4. What is the cesarean rate at your hospital?
5. What is the nurse-patient ratio at your hospital?
6. Are all of your maternity rooms combines labor-delivery-recovery rooms?
7. How many other people can I have with me during my labor and birth?
8. What is your epidural rate?
9. What is your EFM (electronic fetal monitoring) requirement?
10. Do you have jacuzzis for use during labor?
10 Questions for a Birth Center
1. Do VBACs take place at your birth center?
2. Are you staffed by certified nurse-midwives, direct-entry midwives, or physicians?
3. What is your hospital transfer rate?
4. How many of the women who come to your facility for a VBAC end up with another cesarean?
5. Are VBAC classes, as well as prenatal, childbirth, and postpartum care, included in your fee?
6. How long is a typical prenatal visit?
7. Do you use a fetoscope or a Doppler for prenatal visits and labor?
8. Do you offer pain medications?
9. Who will be with me during labor and birth?
10. How long is a typical postpartum stay at the birth center? Is a home visit part of my postpartum care?
I found this book to be immensely informative. There are birth stories, lots of explanations, and suggestions for other sources of information. I think this is a must read for any woman who is seriously considering a VBAC. I plan to interview the hospital first to find out which doctors/mid-wives are most promising. Good Luck to all of you!!
Thu May 24, 2007 12:16 pm
