What makes a good VBAC candidate?

alizabethanne

I am still very far from trying for another baby, but since I had my CS unplanned and had a very slow and rough recovery I have been very curious about what makes someone a good candidate for a VBAC?

annabelle.27

I think most people are good candidates.

First, the reason for the csection should be not likely to occur with another pregnancy. A woman with a heart condition whose cardiologist doesn't want her in labour is obviously not a candidate while a woman who had a csection for breech baby usually is.

Second, the incision should be low transverse across your bikini line and not vertical.

Third, some research indicates that a vbac should be two years or more after the csection, although that isn't written in stone.

Some will argue that women who had "failure to progress" or were diagnosed with CPD are poor candidates, but I dont think research supports that. There are many women on these boards who had their csection for these reasons and went on to have uncomplicated vbacs. The baby's positioning has a lot of impact on a labour that doesn't progress, and poor fetal positioning won't necessarily happen again.

alizabethanne

My CS ended up being preformed based on failure to progress and my water being broken for 14 hours. But during the surgery it was discovered my scoliosis (curved spine) had more of an impact on the babies position and made her descending impossible. I have a feeling a RCS is possibly my future. But its really great to read how many women have had success and anything is possible!

nanabanana06

I had failure to progress with DD, but am planning on a VBAC with this baby. I feel the reasoning behind my C/S had everything to do with baby positioning (cord wrapped around her neck so many times she never dropped), being induced, and lack of movement during labor. Also, a lot of docs call failure to progress too soon just to cover their own asses.

I do not have scoliosis though. That really may impact how you will be able to give birth in the future.

Geekchick921

Lots of things affect your chances for VBAC.  Age, BMI, current pregnancy, reason for previous C-section, history of vaginal delivery, whether you go into labor spontaneously and when, etc.  All of those things play into it, but the majority of women with a previous C-section are acceptable candidates for VBAC  (the success rate is about 75% with all those variables accounted for) and should have the option.