VBAC Facts » Uterine Rupture

Blogger’s confusing math results in ultra low risk of uterine rupture & infant mortality

Jen Kamel — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 00:25:50 +0000

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: Unscarred mom induced (with Pitocin/ Cytotec/ Cervidil) as likely as VBAC mom to rupture

Jen Kamel — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 22:32:44 +0000

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 [...]

Birth intervals & uterine rupture aka how long to wait to VBAC

Jen Kamel — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 04:58:37 +0000

Suzanne recently left this comment in response to the article, I’m pregnant and want a VBAC, what do I do?

Hi. I’m new to your site and just trying to get some more info on VBAC. My daughter was a normal vaginal delivery. My second pregnancy(a surrogate pregnancy) was also a normal vaginal delivery. My [...]

Lightning strikes, shark bites & uterine rupture

Jen Kamel — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 05:24:53 +0000

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% [...]

Placenta accreta – a risk of cesarean section

Jen Kamel — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 19:23:11 +0000

There is this idea that if you don’t VBAC and you schedule a repeat cesarean, that you will be safe from complications. This is because during a “VBAC counsel,” women are often told of the risks of VBAC, namely uterine rupture, but they are rarely told the risks of repeat cesareans in their current and [...]

VBAC Class Bibliography

Jen Kamel — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 04:21:30 +0000

Below are the sources I used for the VBAC Class given on March 20, 2009. More classes are in the works, so keep checking back, subscribe, or become a fan on Facebook.

Many of the studies measure multiple items – uterine rupture, VBAC success, etc. – but I categorized them by the topic that I [...]

If VBAC is so safe, why does my OB say it is dangerous?

Jen Kamel — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 16:10:25 +0000

This is a question that I’ve heard a lot.

Here is the three second answer: in the 90s, babies and moms were unnecessarily injured and died when VBAC labors were induced with Cytotec resulting in a high rate of uterine rupture. Lawsuits were lost and loads of money was paid out. Rather than taking a [...]

Study Finds VBAC "As Safe" As Repeat Cesarean

Jen Kamel — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 16:09:13 +0000

Note: I wrote this in early 2006 before I had my VBAC at home in November 2007.

As someone who is planning a vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC) with my next child, I am always reading the latest research studies about the risks of VBAC vs elective repeat cesarean section.

All the studies I have [...]

Predicting uterine rupture by uterine thickness via sonogram

Jen Kamel — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 17:30:10 +0000

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 [...]

Comprehensive chart on uterine rupture measuring multiple variables

Jen Kamel — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 14:12:46 +0000

This article entitled Uterine Rupture in Pregnancy from eMedicine dated January 2008 is a gold-mine of information about uterine rupture. Below is a chart which is a compilation of studies from the 1930s to 2002. I really wish they would update this to include the studies performed in the last six years.

This part [...]

VBAC vs. Repeat Cesarean by the American Academy of Family Physicians

Jen Kamel — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 05:16:25 +0000

This is a great piece for deciding between VBAC and repeat cesarean. Those who wish to VBAC, but have husbands, family, and/or friends who don’t understand why, might find this document very useful. I have found that people who are anti-VBAC really seem impressed by what doctors and medical organizations have to say, so I’m [...]

Uterine rupture is SO not worth it for a VBAC

Jen Kamel — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 02:09:29 +0000

It’s an unfortunate reality that a lot of people believe:

1. If you have a cesarean, your baby will be born healthy.

2. For a woman with a prior cesarean, you are not at risk of uterine rupture until labor begins.

The reality is…

1. There are no guarantees regardless of how your baby is [...]

Rupture rate 10% for VBA2C with prior vaginal birth within one year of last cesarean?

Jen Kamel — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 05:56:24 +0000

I just read a blog where a woman, with a prior vaginal birth and two cesareans, was told that her risk of uterine rupture was 5%. She was also told that since her VBAC would be within one year of her cesarean, her rupture risk doubled to 10%. It just breaks my heart to read [...]

Uterine rupture risk drops significantly after first VBAC

Jen Kamel — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 04:46:47 +0000

When planning the size of your family, considering the implications of multiple cesareans versus multiple VBACs.

As we know, the risks of cesareans goes up with each surgery, especially in terms of adhesions.

But, as this study found “VBAC success increased with increasing number of prior VBACs” and “the rate of uterine rupture decreased after [...]

Cesarean Risks: Overview

Jen Kamel — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 05:40:34 +0000

We all know the primary risk of VBAC – uterine rupture. And when your typical VBACing mom meets with an OB, she must sign a “VBAC consent form” acknowledging that she understands this risk. However, I find it ironic that women signing up for a repeat cesarean are not required by their OB to sign [...]