Frequently Asked Questions about C-section:
Local Practitioners who offer VBAC
Unfortunately, at this time there are no practitioners in Southeast Texas who offer VBAC as an option that we know of. If your Southeast
Texas OB offers VBAC, please contact us so that we may get in touch with him or her about adding him or her to this section.
If you would like to help bring VBAC back to Southeast Texas, we urge you to write a letter to your practitioner and to the local hospitals.
We are currently working on an online petition to help address the issue of VBAC in Southeast Texas, among other things.
At this time, our recommendation for women interested in VBAC is to contact a Houston-area midwife listed on our Pregnancy page.
Texas OB offers VBAC, please contact us so that we may get in touch with him or her about adding him or her to this section.
If you would like to help bring VBAC back to Southeast Texas, we urge you to write a letter to your practitioner and to the local hospitals.
We are currently working on an online petition to help address the issue of VBAC in Southeast Texas, among other things.
At this time, our recommendation for women interested in VBAC is to contact a Houston-area midwife listed on our Pregnancy page.
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| Whole Mothering Center Southeast Texas Maternal Resources |
| Cesarean Awareness & Empowerment |
What is a cesarean section (c-section)?
A caesarean section (cesarean section), or c-section, is a form of childbirth in which a surgical incision is
made through a mother's abdomen and uterus to deliver one or more babies. It should only be performed
when a vaginal delivery would put the baby's or mother's life or health at risk.
Why might I have a c-section?
Usually, a woman's medical care provider will recommend a c-section when one or more factors present
themselves, however different providers may disagree about when a cesarean is required. For example,
while one obstetrician may feel that a woman is too small to deliver her baby, another or a midwife might
well disagree. Similarly, some care providers may be much quicker to cite "failure to progress" than others.
Disagreements like this help to explain why cesarean rates for some physicians and hospitals are much
higher than are those for others. The medico-legal restrictions on vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC),
have also increased the cesarean rate.
You can find a list of medically indicated reasons for c-sections here. A discussion of other factors that may
prompt an OB to recommend c-section can be found here.
"Obstetricians and hospitals have found that high-intervention birth, warranted or not, is very profitable. So
there is a tremendous financial incentive to bypass the clinically optimal approach, and opt for convenience
and profit. For example, many hospitals across the country have eliminated facility-based midwifery
practices simply because the low-intervention approach, while clinically sound, does not bring in as many
dollars." - Tonya Jamois, president of ICAN
What factors increase the risk of having a c-section?
"Epidurals rip women off of an opportunity to experience themselves as competent adults." - Margaret
Egeland, CNM
"Technology has turned the fetus into a patient, reducing the mother to being the 'maternal environment'
and preventing attachment until after the ultrasound has shown the fetus to be 'normal'." - Jennifer Hall
Can I have a vaginal birth after having a c-section (VBAC)c-section?
For most women, the answer is YES, YOU CAN! Watch this video on YouTube.
Vaginal birth after cesarean, even after repeat cesarean, is not only possible but it is usually SAFER for
both mother and baby and safer for future pregnancies as well. As in all things, there are some instances
where VBAC carries more risk than a repeat c-section, but those instances are fewer than you may think.
Each mother should ask questions about her previous cesarean(s) and learn what the circumstances were
that led to the cesarean section recommendation in order to make decisions based on what best fits her
needs. Discussing your previous birth(s) with your care provider and getting a second and/or third opinion
from another type of care provider is always a good idea as well!
"If I don't know my options, I don't have any." - Diana Korte
Why should I consider VBAC?
Repeat cesarean has been proven to be more dangerous than VBAC (childbirthconnection.org).
Additionally, women who have successfully had a VBAC report that they have a better postpartum
experience. Few women would choose major abdominal surgery that requires a lengthy recovery period
over a natural process that has fewer risks, a shorter recovery period (mothers are often able to perform
most tasks within hours or days of birth) and statistically better outcomes.
"Quite interestingly, the highest rate of VBAC is in women who have experienced both vaginal and
cesarean births and given the choice, decide to deliver vaginally." American Pregnancy.org
"Reluctant doctors like to believe that they haven't much influence over their patients, but that is clearly not
the case. Several studies have found that when doctors genuinely encouraged women to have VBACs,
most of them did, and when they said nothing or acted neutral, most women didn't. Finally, when
obstetricians discouraged VBAC in women who wanted to try it, none of them did."
"A study of interactions between women and obstetricians offers an explanation. It described three levels
of increasing power imbalance: In the first, you fight and lose; in the second you don't fight because you
know you can't win. However, in the highest level of power differential, your preferences are so
manipulated that you act against your own interests, but you are content. Elective repeat cesarean
exemplifies that highest level." - Henci Goer, Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth
A caesarean section (cesarean section), or c-section, is a form of childbirth in which a surgical incision is
made through a mother's abdomen and uterus to deliver one or more babies. It should only be performed
when a vaginal delivery would put the baby's or mother's life or health at risk.
Why might I have a c-section?
Usually, a woman's medical care provider will recommend a c-section when one or more factors present
themselves, however different providers may disagree about when a cesarean is required. For example,
while one obstetrician may feel that a woman is too small to deliver her baby, another or a midwife might
well disagree. Similarly, some care providers may be much quicker to cite "failure to progress" than others.
Disagreements like this help to explain why cesarean rates for some physicians and hospitals are much
higher than are those for others. The medico-legal restrictions on vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC),
have also increased the cesarean rate.
You can find a list of medically indicated reasons for c-sections here. A discussion of other factors that may
prompt an OB to recommend c-section can be found here.
"Obstetricians and hospitals have found that high-intervention birth, warranted or not, is very profitable. So
there is a tremendous financial incentive to bypass the clinically optimal approach, and opt for convenience
and profit. For example, many hospitals across the country have eliminated facility-based midwifery
practices simply because the low-intervention approach, while clinically sound, does not bring in as many
dollars." - Tonya Jamois, president of ICAN
What factors increase the risk of having a c-section?
"Epidurals rip women off of an opportunity to experience themselves as competent adults." - Margaret
Egeland, CNM
"Technology has turned the fetus into a patient, reducing the mother to being the 'maternal environment'
and preventing attachment until after the ultrasound has shown the fetus to be 'normal'." - Jennifer Hall
Can I have a vaginal birth after having a c-section (VBAC)c-section?
For most women, the answer is YES, YOU CAN! Watch this video on YouTube.
Vaginal birth after cesarean, even after repeat cesarean, is not only possible but it is usually SAFER for
both mother and baby and safer for future pregnancies as well. As in all things, there are some instances
where VBAC carries more risk than a repeat c-section, but those instances are fewer than you may think.
Each mother should ask questions about her previous cesarean(s) and learn what the circumstances were
that led to the cesarean section recommendation in order to make decisions based on what best fits her
needs. Discussing your previous birth(s) with your care provider and getting a second and/or third opinion
from another type of care provider is always a good idea as well!
"If I don't know my options, I don't have any." - Diana Korte
Why should I consider VBAC?
Repeat cesarean has been proven to be more dangerous than VBAC (childbirthconnection.org).
Additionally, women who have successfully had a VBAC report that they have a better postpartum
experience. Few women would choose major abdominal surgery that requires a lengthy recovery period
over a natural process that has fewer risks, a shorter recovery period (mothers are often able to perform
most tasks within hours or days of birth) and statistically better outcomes.
"Quite interestingly, the highest rate of VBAC is in women who have experienced both vaginal and
cesarean births and given the choice, decide to deliver vaginally." American Pregnancy.org
"Reluctant doctors like to believe that they haven't much influence over their patients, but that is clearly not
the case. Several studies have found that when doctors genuinely encouraged women to have VBACs,
most of them did, and when they said nothing or acted neutral, most women didn't. Finally, when
obstetricians discouraged VBAC in women who wanted to try it, none of them did."
"A study of interactions between women and obstetricians offers an explanation. It described three levels
of increasing power imbalance: In the first, you fight and lose; in the second you don't fight because you
know you can't win. However, in the highest level of power differential, your preferences are so
manipulated that you act against your own interests, but you are content. Elective repeat cesarean
exemplifies that highest level." - Henci Goer, Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth
| You may ask yourself "Why do they have a page dedicated to c-sections?". Research shows that there is an increase in postpartum depression, postpartum psychosis and post-traumatic stress disorder in women who have had c-sections. Many of our friends and clients have had c-sections for various reasons and we feel that this is an area that really calls for more support. This is particularly important in light of the fact that the c-section rate for Jefferson County is over 43% (2004). Our goal with this page is to help women understand what factors can increase their risk of c-section, what having a c-section might mean for them and what options they have for pregnancies after a c-section, and to support them throughout their experiences no matter what the circumstances. We realize that some of our positions on birth and maternity care are unpopular. We feel that this quote explains our position better than we could: "A truth's initial commotion is directly proportional to how deeply the lie was believed. When a well-packaged web of lies has been sold gradually to the masses over generations, the truth will seem utterly preposterous and its speaker, a raving lunatic." - Dresden James Click here to return to the Pregnancy page. |
- continuous fetal monitoring
- staying in bed during labor
- having epidural or spinal block
- having pain relieving drugs
- going to the hospital 'too early'
- allowing 'too frequent' internal
examination - lack of confidence or self-
esteem - lack of support
- maternal health complications
- fetal health considerations
- history of sexual abuse
- inadequate prenatal care
- lack of education about birth
and the issues that surround it - not knowing what the
variations on normal are in
childbirth - choosing to birth in a hospital
- thinking of pregnancy &
birth as an illness or a
medical event - thinking of c-section as
'normal' - not asking your OB what
his or her c-section rate is - having lots of friends who
have had c-sections
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| APRIL IS: |
Recommended Reading
| Copyright 2008 Whole Mothering Center This page updated August 2, 2008 |