Vaginal Birth After Cesarean (VBAC)

What Affects VBAC Success

Pregnancy, labor, and delivery are different for every woman and difficult to predict. Even if your first pregnancy required a cesarean, the next one may not. The likelihood of a successful vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC) is influenced by various factors. Usually, a combination of factors affects how well or poorly a trial of labor goes.

If you are or may be a good candidate for a trial of labor, your chances of delivering vaginally are best when:¹

• Your previous cesarean was not done for stalled labor.
• You do not have the same condition that led to a previous cesarean (such as a breech, or feet-down, fetus).
• You have had a vaginal delivery or a successful VBAC before.
• Your labor starts on its own, and your cervixdilates well.
• You are younger than 35.⁵

If you are or may be a good candidate for a trial of labor, your chances of delivering vaginally are lower when:¹

• Your previous cesarean was because of difficult labor, which is called dystocia. This is especially true if you were fully dilated when you had a cesarean section for dystocia.
• You are obese.
• You are older than 35.⁵
• Your fetus is very large [estimated as bigger than 9 lb (4082 g)].
• You are beyond 40 weeks of pregnancy.

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Author:	Kathe Gallagher, MSW	Last Updated: April 20, 2007
Medical Review:	Joy Melnikow, MD, MPH - Family Medicine Kirtly Jones, MD - Obstetrics and Gynecology
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