The next VBAC Class has been scheduled for Sunday, March 14, 2010 from 1:30 – 5:30pm.

This is the same weekend as the Trust Birth Conference, so if you are in town, you will have ample time after the conference is over at noon on Sunday to scoot on over to Century City (10309 Santa Monica Blvd, Suite 300, Los Angeles, CA 90024) and then back again if you want to attend the Stragglers Dinner at 6:30pm.

Additional classes have been scheduled in Claremont in July and Vista in October.

To register for the LA March class, please go here.  Space is limited.

What will the class discuss?

“The Truth About VBAC” delivers a comprehensive review of the medical research to parents, doulas, midwives, nurses and other birth advocates and medical professionals.  Topics include:

• Repeat Cesarean vs. VBAC Realities
• Risks of Hospital vs. Out-of-Hospital Birth
• Finding a VBAC Supportive OB or Midwife
• The Marketing of “Risk”
• Hospital VBAC Strategies
• Factors of Uterine Rupture
• Maternal & Infant Outcomes
• Elements of VBAC Success
• Benefits of Spontaneous Vaginal Birth
• Hospital VBAC Bans

What do past attendees say about the class?

A mom with two prior cesareans:

This class is all about the facts. It is low pressure. It gives you information from scientific journals that will help you make the best decision for you and your baby.   At the end, you get to decide which set of risks you are willing to accept.  It opened my husband’s eyes. Even though I’ve been telling him, he needed to hear the research and the numbers.  Thank you!!!

A Labor & Delivery nurse:

Thanks for an outstanding class! It was very nice meeting you. Your hard work and dedicated research is incredibly impressive. Knowledge is Power, wish it would rub off on the whole OB community. I think the trend to eventually turn that direction for women’s choice of birth options will happen as more people put that kind of pressure on the issue. Bravo to you!

A mom with one prior cesarean:

My husband and I certainly felt even more confident after the class.  I would definitely recommend it to anyone considering a VBAC.

Do I need to be pregnant to attend?

The best time to educate yourself is before you get pregnant when you have time to research, decide what kind of birth you want, and then assemble your birth team without a due date looming.  That said, highly motivated women have decided mid-pregnancy to change gears, reconsider their scheduled cesarean, and plan VBACs.

Why is this class important?

It’s likely either you or someone you know has had a cesarean.  Unfortunately, there is a lot of fear and misinformation about birth after cesarean.  Is VBAC dangerous?  What are the risks of repeat cesareans? What is the safest thing for babies and mothers?  What should you do if you want a large family?  What hospitals are most supportive of VBAC?  Is out-of-hospital (home or birth center) birth an option?

With half of American hospitals actively enforcing VBAC bans and increasing numbers of obstetricians preferring repeat cesareans, many women wonder if their only choice is another surgical delivery.  A 2005 survey revealed that while 57% of American women desire a VBAC, less than 10% succeed.

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