Vaginal Birth after Caesarean

Abstract

Vaginal Birth after Caesarean, also known as vaginal trial of labor, refers to the attempt of a woman to deliver a baby normally that is through vagina, after having delivered a baby via caesarean section is the past. The risk of a normal delivery for such women is higher than the risks involved in delivery through caesarean section. The paper discusses evidence based practice involved in vaginal birth after caesarean, the success of vaginal birth after caesarean section through various clinical and non clinical interventions and the common litigations that have been filed in the past.

Table of Contents

Introduction1

Evidence based practice1

Common Litigations2

Success of vaginal birth after caesarean section3

Clinical Interventions3

Non Clinical Interventions4

Conclusion4

Personal Position4

References6

Vaginal Birth after Caesarean

Introduction

Vaginal Birth after Caesarean, also known as vaginal trial of labor, refers to the attempt of a woman to deliver a baby normally that is through vagina, after having delivered a baby via caesarean section is the past. The risk of a normal delivery for such women is higher than the risks involved in delivery through caesarean section. The research on the topic suggests that the majority of women who have had a caesarean surgery in the past prefer to have their next baby through vaginal delivery (Catling-Paull & Johnston, 2011a). Most of these deliveries were conducted successfully with minor complications. However, a few cases reported complications during labor after which the women had to undergo a caesarean.

The paper discusses evidence based practice involved in vaginal birth after caesarean, the success of vaginal birth after caesarean section through various clinical and non clinical interventions and the common litigations that have been filed in the past.

Evidence based practice

Literature on evidence based practice concerning vaginal birth after caesarean suggests that women are often bullied into vaginal birth when really for a woman who has undergone a caesarean before, the latter remains a far better safer choice of delivery. They argue that it prevents urinary and anal incontinence and other complications post delivery (Catling-Paull & Johnston, 2011). However, it must be noted that the chances of maternal death are way higher in caesarean than they are in vaginal birth in spite of the advancements in technology and research and development on improvement of surgical techniques.

Other than maternal death, there are implications on the life of a woman such as chronic pain in her pelvic muscles post delivery, pain during sexual intercourse that can weigh heavy upon the intimate life of the women for life, and bowel problems. In addition, one of the worst and rather non-prevalent hazards of vaginal trial of labor is risk of infertility. Some women have been found to become infertile after their elective Cesarean (Fenwick & Gamble, 2006).

Aside from the risks and implications of an elective Cesarean for the mother, it is important to understand the implication on the neonatal health and life. While the caesarean delivery, there are very high chances of injury to the infant. The poor condition of the infant again has implication for not only ...