"Mother's love is peace. It need not be acquired, it need not be deserved." ~Erich Fromm
VBAC
Consider VBAC (Vaginal birth after cesarean section):
Depending on the indications for your original c-section, “once a section, always a section” is no longer true. One of our major goals in our small practice is to empower our patients with a prior c-section incision to make an informed decision about trial of labor (TOL) versus elective repeat cesarean delivery (ERCD.)
Over the months of your pregnancy we will work with you, counsel and educate you, to incorporate an evidence-based approach into the decision-making process. We will share all available information, including risk assessment, so that you and your partner can make the best decision regarding delivery route. When both TOL and ERCD are medically equivalent options, your preference will always be honored.
Approximately 75% of women who attempt trial of labor after cesarean section will be successful, depending on reasons for the original surgery. The advantage to this is safety of the mother, less chance of bleeding, anesthesia complications and infection, as well as faster healing time. If you plan on having more children, it is generally considered safer to deliver vaginally, as repeat cesarean sections have increasingly more risks.
In the event you should choose to have a repeat c/s, we will try to schedule it with you after you have completed 39 weeks of gestation, to make sure baby is ready to join us.
We will support you and give our best counsel, but ultimately, the decision is yours. It helps that you and your partner have had adequate time to consider risks and benefits, with all the available information.
"Courage is like a muscle, we stregthen it with use." ~ Ruth Gordon
