Advocates Push ACOG to Remove Barriers to VBACs

Written by Amie Newman for RHRealityCheck.org – News, commentary and community for reproductive health and justice.

Birth activists including providers have waged a long fight against barriers to VBACs (Vaginal Birth After Cesarean). For too long, they say, women who have had a prior c-sections and would like to attempt a vaginal birth for subsequent pregnancies, have had inadequate access to at least attempting a trial-of-labor. The reasons for the lack of access? Well, it depends upon who you ask.

Ask many hospital adminstrators and ob-gyns and they’d say there’s a risk of uterine rupture (which is true), and that recommended hospital policy, via organizations like the American College of Obstetricians and Gyneocologists (ACOG), has made allowing for women’s access to VBACs extremely challenging. Many hospitals have enacted bans on VBACs. State legislators have even jumped into the fold, attempting to ban VBACs in birth centers and elsewhere.

On the other hand, the recently held National Institue of Health consensus conference on VBACs, led by a panel of maternity care experts concluded that,

“…a trial of labor is a reasonable option for many women with a prior cesarean delivery. They [the panel] also urged that current VBAC guidelines be revisited, malpractice concerns be addressed, and additional research undertaken to better understand the medical and non-medical factors that influence decision making for women with previous cesarean deliveries.”

As well, the panel chair, Dr. F. Gary Cunningham, chair of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Texas Southwester Medical Center said, of the findings, “The use or employment of VBAC is certainly a safe alternative for the majority of women who have had one prior c-section.”

Then, this summer, ACOG responded. Read more