Women seeking VBAC are sometimes required to sign “VBAC Consent Forms” which usually list the (exaggerated) risks VBAC, the (minimized) risks of cesareans with no mention of the benefits of vaginal birth for mom or baby. This causes many women seeking VBAC much frustration because, unless you have done your research, you are left with the feeling that VBAC is risky and cesareans are safe.
VBAC consent forms are not usually as balanced as this pamphlet from the American Academy of Family Physicians.
Below is a link to an excellent Cesarean Section Consent Form written by a woman who wants a VBAC, but is unable to find a truly supportive care provider.
Read, laugh, and then think about how crazy it is that women have to fight in order to avoid surgery especially when the risks go up with each repeat cesarean, but go down with each VBAC. Finally, remember that the safety of mom and baby are not why repeat cesareans are performed and there was a time when VBACs were the norm, but due to a confluence of variables, the pendulum has swung to the other side.
Giselle’s Total Waste of Bandwidth: A Different Kind of Consent Form
hi! I would love to see your VBAC consent form…. can you repost it on the internet or email it to me? I’m a home birth midwife and am trying to make a good consent form for my VBAC mamas!
Georganna,
I have tried to create a VBAC consent form, but never completed it because it morphed into a four hour class that I taught for about 18 months. I think the idea of a “VBAC consent form” or “repeat cesarean consent form” is incomplete. I think there should be a more encompassing “birth after cesarean consent form” that goes over the risks and benefits for VBAC vs. repeat cesarean for mom and baby as well as how the mode of birth impacts future births. Naturally, this would be a very long document, but I think people need to understand more than just the risks of VBAC or just the risks of repeat cesarean.
A good place to start is the Quick Facts page.
Warmly,
Jen