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By Mayo Clinic staffIf you choose VBAC, your prenatal care will be just like the care you'd receive during any other healthy pregnancy. When you go into labor, you'll follow the same process as any woman expecting to deliver vaginally. This is called a trial of labor.
Here's what to expect:
- Early hospitalization. Your health care provider will ask you to report to the hospital promptly if your water breaks or when you begin feeling contractions. Laboring at home with a prior C-section scar isn't recommended.
- Pain control. If you choose medication, you'll have various options — typically including epidural anesthesia.
- Continuous electronic monitoring. The medical team will keep a close eye on your baby's heart rate and will check on you often to make sure that labor is progressing normally. A fetal monitor may be attached to your baby's scalp.
- Less tolerance of abnormal labor patterns. A prolonged or difficult labor increases the risk of uterine rupture. Medication to stimulate contractions may pose the same risk. You may need a repeat C-section if your labor isn't progressing well or your baby doesn't tolerate labor.
Remember, your ultimate goal is a healthy baby and a healthy mom — regardless of how you get there.
- Welischar J, et al. Trial of labor after cesarean delivery. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Dec. 28, 2009.
- Grobman WA, et al. Can a prediction model for vaginal birth after cesarean also predict the probability of morbidity related to a trial of labor? American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. 2009;200:56.e1.
- Macones GA. Clinical outcomes in VBAC attempts: What to say to patients? American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. 2008;199:1.
- Vaginal birth after cesarean delivery. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. http://www.acog.org/publications/patient_education/bp070.cfm. Accessed Dec. 28, 2009.
- Healthy pregnancy: Labor and birth. The National Women's Health Information Center. http://www.womenshealth.gov/pregnancy/childbirth-beyond/labor-birth.cfm. Accessed Dec. 28, 2009.
- Healthy pregnancy: Staying healthy and safe. The National Women's Health Information Center. http://www.womenshealth.gov/pregnancy/you-are-pregnant/staying-healthy-safe.cfm. Accessed Dec. 28, 2009.
- Baydock SA, et al. Prevalence and risk factors for urinary and fecal incontinence four months after vaginal delivery. Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Canada. 2009;31:36.
- Harms RW (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. Jan. 12, 2010.
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