[TRANSCRIPT OF ANSWER]
Risks of VBAC
The major reason why women are told that they need to have a repeat cesarean has to do with number one, the fact that your uterus could rupture. The incidents of uterine rupture are extremely small, and if the uterus has not ruptured prior to the onset of labor, it’s most likely proved its integrity and you don’t have to worry about uterine rupture. It’s very rare for a uterus to rupture, especially if the woman has eaten really well and she’s very healthy.
Size of the Baby
Another reason why women are told that they need to have a repeat cesarean has to do with the size of the baby. And the size of the baby has very little, if anything, to do with whether or not the woman can birth the baby. Big babies come out of vaginas just like smaller babies do. The position has to be just right and so we work ahead of time and we’re proactive with getting the baby’s position lined up.
Be Proactive
On the top of the baby’s head. There are fontanels, so if we do a vaginal exam, if we have any questions about the position of the baby’s head, then we can know we’ve been given landmarks. We’ve been given sort of directional signals. And if at the beginning of labor, the baby’s not in the right position, we do things proactively so that the woman is not going to have a long labor with a posterior baby. We do things to get this baby turned around quickly because the longer the woman labors with the baby in an unfavorable position, the more likely she’s going to end up with a very long difficult birth or a cesarean section.
So she’s told that position, she’s told that size, and she’s also told that a rupture of the uterus and we have proven all of those to be non-issues over the course of the last 30 to 40 years.
