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The best compilation of VBAC/ERCS research to date

“There is a major misperception that TOLAC [trial of labor after cesarean] is extremely risky” – Mona Lydon-Rochelle MD, March 2010. “In terms of VBAC, “your risk is really, really quite low” – George Macones MD, March 2010. Both Drs. Macones and Lyndon-Rochelle are obstetricians and researchers who made these statements at the 2010 NIH [National Institutes of Health] VBAC Conference. Now you may think, “Wait a sec. Everything I’ve heard from my family, friends, and medical provider is how risky VBAC is and how cesareans are the conservative, prudent, and safest choice.” Why the discrepancy between the statements of these two doctor researchers and the conventional wisdom prevalent in America? [...]

Confusing fact: Only 6% of uterine ruptures are catastrophic

questionmarkwoman

How many times have you heard “Only 6% of uterine ruptures are catastrophic” or “Uterine rupture not only happens less that one percent of the time, but the vast majority of ruptures are non-catastrophic?” But what does that mean? Does that mean only 6% of uterine ruptures are “complete” ruptures? Result in maternal death? Infant death? Serious injury to mom or baby? This article will explain to you the difference between uterine rupture and uterine dehiscence as well as explain the source and meaning of the 6% statistic. [...]

Confusing math misleads women on uterine rupture and mortality risk

VBAC Facts reviews a blog post that shares a study on VBAC along with statistics the blogger calculates, many of which misrepresents the risk of uterine rupture and infant mortality during a VBAC attempt demonstrating why it is important to not only know the source of the statistics, but also know that the blogger can do simple math. [...]

Myth: Risk of uterine rupture doesn’t change much after a cesarean

1/18/12 – The difference in uterine rupture (UR) rates between unscarred and scarred uteri is significant: 0.7 in 10,000 in an unscarred uterus and 64 in 10,000 in a scarred uterus. This 91 times greater risk does not mean that the risk of UR is so large in a scarred mom, it’s that it’s so [...]

Myth: Unscarred mom induced as likely as VBAC mom to rupture

Update 1/20/12 – Someone who believed this birth myth to be true, told me that the source of this information was an OB from St. Louis who presented at the 2011 ICAN conference.  I contacted ICAN and they said that the person must be referring to Dr. George Macones.  Yet, no one on the ICAN [...]

Myth: Unscarred mom induced as likely as VBAC mom to rupture

Update 1/20/12 – Someone who believed this birth myth to be true, told me that the source of this information was an OB from St. Louis who presented at the 2011 ICAN conference. I contacted ICAN and they said that the person must be referring to Dr. George Macones. Yet, no one on the ICAN [...]

Lightning strikes, shark bites & uterine rupture

When someone understates the risk of UR, I think it’s just as important the clarify as it is when someone overstates the risk.  How else are women to make an informed decision?  Just as it’s plain wrong for an OB to tell a woman with one prior low transverse cesarean that she has a 20% [...]

Predicting uterine rupture by uterine thickness via sonogram

A couple weeks ago Virginia from Switzerland left this comment:

I am planning to have a vbac at a hospital in Geneva, Switzerland. In general, they are very supportive of vbacs here.

It is common practice here to measure the uterine scar at 37 weeks using a sonogram. Apparently, if the scar tissue is 3.5mm [...]