VBAC Facts

Cerebral palsy cases linked with genetic abnormalities

Jen Kamel — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 05:14:13 +0000

Conventional wisdom has historically linked oxygen deprivation during labor and delivery to cerebral palsy (CP), but a new study suggests that the majority of CP cases are actually due to genetic abnormalities in at least six genes.

A Medical News Today article dated January 30, 2012 discusses the study published in The Lancet Neurology:

Although [...]

Study finds vernix protects newborns from infection

Jen Kamel — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 19:37:45 +0000

There is a reason why vernix is present. Read below for some very technical language which essentially says vernix protects newborns from fungi, parasites, and makes pathogens susceptible to our immune system. In other words, vernix protects newborns from infection which is why it is beneficial to not wash your baby and scrub away all [...]

Study finds pregnant women with prior cesarean choose the delivery method preferred by their doctor

Jen Kamel — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 20:11:08 +0000

"When patients perceived that their doctor preferred a repeat cesarean, very few chose to undergo trial of labor, whereas the majority chose trial of labor if that was their doctor's preference." Additionally, 73% of the women admitted for a ERCS did not know the chances of a successful VBAC and 64% did not know the risk of uterine rupture. 54% of women choosing a TOLAC did not know the chances of a successful VBAC and 45% did not know the risk of rupture! [...]

Repeat cesarean due to 130/100 blood pressure?

Jen Kamel — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 18:40:55 +0000

A woman seeking VBAC currently has her 130/100 blood pressure under control with the help of medication, yet her OB is recommending a repeat cesarean. Jen collects and shares information and opinions from the Mayo Clinic, OBs, midwives, doulas, and moms including questions for the mom to ask of her OB. [...]

Mom encounters VBAC ban and request advice

Jen Kamel — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 20:45:39 +0000

A mom seeking a VBAC runs into major roadblocks at her local hospital which has a VBAC ban. VBAC Facts compiled a list of options based on real live decisions of women who VBACed despite bans. Did you deliver at a VBAC ban hospital? What was your strategy? Are you a health care provider at a VBAC ban hospital and have some insight? [...]

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

Jen Kamel — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 22:33:47 +0000

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% increase in 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

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 [...]

ICAN lists favorite research blogs, including VBAC Facts!

Jen Kamel — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 20:52:45 +0000

VBAC Facts was included in ICAN’s top 5 favorite research blogs!

Thanks ICAN and congratulations on your 30th anniversary!

Oregon hospital supports vaginal breech birth

Jen Kamel — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 05:09:04 +0000

I recently came across Oregon Health & Science University’s website where they support vaginal breech birth! The Portland, OR based facility says,

OHSU hospital offers breech vaginal birth for mothers who qualify based on Ultrasound and other testing. Please talk to your doctor or midwife about breech delivery. What is a breech birth?

Babies may [...]

Do intrauterine pressure catheters make VBAC safer?

Jen Kamel — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 11:10:35 +0000

A mom planning a VBA1C (vaginal birth after one cesarean) at a Southern California Kaiser recently emailed me. She discovered while interviewing her care provider and asking how they treat VBAC labors differently than non-VBAC labors (an excellent question), that they require intrauterine pressure catheters (IUPC) in all VBAC labors. She wanted to know what [...]

Contra Costa Regional Medical Center Supports VBAC & Wins Award

Jen Kamel — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 16:40:27 +0000

Below I’ve included an article from MartinezPatch and I highlighted some sections. This hospital boasts a 90% VBAC success rate. That is huge!

As I shared in A father asks “Why invite the risk of VBAC?:

I had the opportunity to attend the March 2010 National Institutes of Health VBAC Conference where the ability of [...]

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 [...]

A father says, Why invite the risk of VBAC?

Jen Kamel — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 04:47:56 +0000

I recently had an exchange with a father that I wanted to share because I think he has the same concerns as many other fathers and mothers.

He first left a comment in response to the article I’m pregnant and want a VBAC, what do I do?

Make sure they have a surgical team ready [...]

How to prepare a quick presentation on VBAC

Jen Kamel — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 02:49:58 +0000

Someone recently contacted me because they were asked to speak about VBAC vs. repeat cesarean. Below is what I wrote. If you have the opportunity to speak to a group, maybe you would find this information helpful. It is by no means comprehensive. The class I developed is 4 hours long. But this is a [...]