62 Percent Of All Women Attempting Natural Delivery After C-Section Are Successful

Sixty two percent of all women that attempt to give birth to a child naturally after a previous c-section delivery are successful, a new study finds.

The findings were revealed after researchers from the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine studied the data of 143,970 women who had c-section deliveries between 2004 and 2011. The researchers made a few observations:

• 52 percent of women who had c-section deliveries attempted a vaginal birth after caesarean section (VBAC) for their second child
• 60 percent of women aged less than 24 attempted a VBAC compared to only 45 percent of women aged over 34.
• 62 percent of Black women attempted VBCA compared to 49 percent among white women
• VBAC success rate was higher among white women than black or Asian women: 66 percent Vs 50 percent respectively.
• Women aged over 34 reported a 59 percent success rate compared to 69 percent among younger women.

"The majority of women with an uncomplicated first caesarean section are candidates for attempting VBAC, but our data found that only half of those women chose this option," Hannah Knight, Office for Research and Clinical Audit, Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and lead researcher of the paper, said in a statement. "Women from a non-white ethnic background were more likely than white women to attempt a VBAC, but the success rate in non-white women was lower. This could point to different patient preferences or a lack of access to elective repeat caesarean section for non-white women."

The reason for the first caesarean section was also found to strongly determine the likelihood of successful natural delivery in the second pregnancy. Furthermore, women with a history of failed induction of labour were almost twice as likely to have a failed VBAC.

"An informed discussion about whether or not to attempt a vaginal delivery after a caesarean section requires an assessment of the risk of emergency caesarean, and this paper provides valuable information both for women and the obstetricians and midwives caring for them," the author revealed

This study shows encouraging results for women who attempted a natural delivery after a primary c-section and could prove useful for women and their doctors considering this option.