a balanced look at c-sections and vbac

In the media, wow!!!

By Monica Fleming

Staff Reporter

Delaware's C-section rate in 1995 statewide was 21.48%; in 2005, it was 29.94%. Sussex County's C-section rate in 1995 was 21.58%; in 2005, it was 33%. VBACs statewide in 1995 were 3.52%; no statistics were available for 2005. (source: CDC)

As rates for C-sections continue to rise both nationally and regionally, options for women in subsequent pregnancies — in particular for a trial of labor with the goal of vaginal birth after Cesarean, or VBAC (pronounced vee-back) — are dwindling.

C-Sections rise at record pace

What was once a decision to be made between a women and her healthcare provider is many times now being decided by a hospital, or more specifically, lawyers and insurance companies, putting women in this area at increased risk for losing control over their own health care and at more risk for future surgical births.

In the past 10 years, as VBACs have decreased and C-sections have increased; infant mortality — the traditional concern that led to Caesarian delivery — has stayed nearly the same, decreasing only slightly, from 7.57 (per 1,000 births) to 6.78 (per 1,000 births).

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the national C-section rate rose to more than 30 percent in 2005, a full 4 percent higher than 2004 and a new United States record. The same report stated that the Cesarean rate had fallen dramatically between 1989 and 1996 — a period when VBAC was more widely accepted and encouraged — but has risen 46 percent since.

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