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Vaginal Birth after C-Section Pittsfield, Massachusetts (MA) - Berkshire Health Systems
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  5. Vaginal Birth after C-Section

Health Take-Away

Health Take-Away

  • Alcohol's Impact on Breast Cancer Risk
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  • Hospitalists: Your Around the Clock Caregiver
  • Weight Loss Surgery Has Lasting Impact
  • Can you Find Joy in the Holidays When Sick?
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  • New Tool to Assess Breast Cancer Risk
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  • Urgent Care or Emergency Department
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  • Rehabilitation from Stroke Onset
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  • Mammography and MRI for Women with High Risk of Breast Cancer
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  • Stop Mindless Eating
  • Hospitals Working to Improve Heart Health
  • Your Healthy Gut Bacteria
  • Give Up Smoking in 2018
  • Healthy Resolutions for 2018
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  • Concussions: Myths and Truths
  • Celebrate a Thankful & Healthy Holiday
  • Don't Die of Embarrassment: Get Screened for Colon Cancer
  • Don't Let the Flu Get You This Season
  • Advanced Cardiac Imaging
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  • What is a Hospitalist?
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  • Walking to Good Health
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  • Self Care is Our Future
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  • Overcoming Crisis With Resiliency
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  • Kicking the Habit and Ending the Fear
  • High Blood Pressure: One of the Few Things in Life We Can Control
  • Friendship is Powerful Medicine
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  • How Walking Can Change Your Life
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  • Have a Healthy Summer
  • Head to a Farmers' Market
  • Just Breathe
  • Lyme Disease Facts
  • Mindful Eating
  • Empathy in Healthcare
  • Preparing Your Family for an Emergency
  • Helping Someone to Cope with Opioid Addiction
  • Breast Cancer Awareness: Mammograms Save Lives
  • Antibiotic Resistance
  • Lung Cancer Screening
  • Giving Thanks
  • Healthy Holidays
  • Alcohol's Impact on Breast Cancer Risk
  • Acupuncture Can Help with Relief in Breast Cancer Care
  • Breast Reconstruction Surgery Journey is Personal
  • Building Your Immunity during COVID-19
  • Emotional Toll of COVID-19
  • COVID-19 Anti-Body Testing: What It Tells You What It Won't
  • Treating Varicose Veins
  • Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine: What is OMM
  • Know Your Audiology Options
  • Pets as Therapists
  • Reducing the Stigma of Substance Use Disorder
  • Be Kind to Your Heart
  • Headache Care
  • Managing Presenteeism
  • Don't Struggle with Resolutions
  • Enjoy the Holidays Through the Gift of Giving
  • Seasonal Affective Disorder
  • Save a Life, Lift Your Soul, Give Blood
  • Team Approach for Breast Cancer
  • Surviving Breast Cancer: A Journey
  • Hunger in the Berkshires
  • Vaccinations Help Avoid Needless Risks
  • Embrace Mindfulness
  • Low Carb High Fat Diet has Benefits
  • Probiotics Uses the Good Bugs to Fight the Bad Ones
  • Use the Power of Nature for Better Health
  • Unplug from Online for Better Health
  • Weight Loss Through Narrowing Your Eating Window
  • Mammography and Dense Breast Tissue
  • Medication-Assisted Treatment for Addiction Disorder
  • Smoker or Former Smoker? Lung Cancer Screening is Recommended for You
  • Be Safe When Using Over the Counter Medications
  • Screenings for Colon Cancer
  • Thyroid Health Essential to Metabolism
  • Go for Nutrition that is Heart Healthy
  • High Blood Pressure and Ways to Lower It
  • Hospitalists: Your Around the Clock Caregiver
  • Weight Loss Surgery Has Lasting Impact
  • Can you Find Joy in the Holidays When Sick?
  • Coping with Holiday Depression
  • When Quitting Smoking You May Need to Try and Try Again
  • Vaginal Birth after C-Section
  • New Tool to Assess Breast Cancer Risk
  • Migraines: How to Treat Them
  • Vestibular Care: It's All in Your Ears
  • Prepare for a Healthy Trip Abroad
  • New Moms Encouraged to Breast Feed
  • Language Diversity Important to Healthcare
  • Latest Advances in Joint Replacement
  • Vaping and Nicotine Addiction
  • Urgent Care or Emergency Department
  • Free Medicare Wellness Visit
  • Rehabilitation from Stroke Onset
  • Life Threatening Stroke Can be Prevented
  • Mammography and MRI for Women with High Risk of Breast Cancer
  • Breaking the Silence on Kidney Disease
  • Stop Mindless Eating
  • Hospitals Working to Improve Heart Health
  • Your Healthy Gut Bacteria
  • Give Up Smoking in 2018
  • Healthy Resolutions for 2018
  • Healthy Giving for 2017
  • Concussions: Myths and Truths
  • Celebrate a Thankful & Healthy Holiday
  • Don't Die of Embarrassment: Get Screened for Colon Cancer
  • Don't Let the Flu Get You This Season
  • Advanced Cardiac Imaging
  • Chronic Wound Care
  • What is a Hospitalist?
  • Healthy Heart Rhythms
  • Wellness Coaching
  • Men's Health In Crisis
  • Prevent Stroke or Respond FAST
  • Walking to Good Health
  • Healing Through Acupuncture
  • Self Care is Our Future
  • Family Wellness - Play Together Stay Healthy Together
  • Rewriting Your Book of Life
  • Pre-Diabetes: A Wake-Up Call for Better Health
  • Overcoming Crisis With Resiliency
  • Stepping Off the Slippery Slope
  • Sleep & Wellness: Learning to Cherish Your Sleep
  • Kicking the Habit and Ending the Fear
  • High Blood Pressure: One of the Few Things in Life We Can Control
  • Friendship is Powerful Medicine
  • It's Flu Season: Get the Vaccine!
  • The Healing Power of Gratitude
  • Where's the Joy?
  • New Year's Resolutions to Live By
  • Preventing Falls: A Leading Health Risk for the Older Population
  • Staying Healthy in the Office
  • Exercising at Home and Staying Fit in the Winter
  • Cardiac Rehabilitation: Regaining a Healthier and Better Life
  • Nutrition & Exercise: Two Great Gifts for Children
  • A Screening That Has Saved More than a Million Lives
  • How Walking Can Change Your Life
  • Injury-Free Sports & Activities
  • Have a Healthy Summer
  • Head to a Farmers' Market
  • Just Breathe
  • Lyme Disease Facts
  • Mindful Eating
  • Empathy in Healthcare
  • Preparing Your Family for an Emergency
  • Helping Someone to Cope with Opioid Addiction
  • Breast Cancer Awareness: Mammograms Save Lives
  • Antibiotic Resistance
  • Lung Cancer Screening
  • Giving Thanks
  • Healthy Holidays

Vaginal Birth after C-Section

Vaginal Birth After a Cesarean Section? With the right care and support, it’s relatively safe for most women
By Lauren B. Slater, MD

All parents hope for the perfect childbirth experience. Yet, nature sometimes interferes and a cesarean section becomes necessary to ensure the safety of the mother or infant. A generation ago, women who had one c-section were told that all future births would necessarily be by c-section – not great news for mothers who faced major surgery with each new baby.

Today, the outlook is much more optimistic. With a low-risk pregnancy and the appropriate care, a vaginal birth after c-section (VBAC) is relatively safe. In fact, more than 70% of women with previous c-sections successfully delivered their next babies vaginally. Good candidates to attempt a trial of labor after a cesarean include women who’ve had one c-section, or those who have had a vaginal birth followed by a c-section. The risk increases for women with multiple c-sections because the area along the incision lines of their previous surgeries is weaSLATER.jpgker.

In addition to their own medical history, women who hope to avoid another c-section have other important factors to consider. Top on the list is their obstetrician. Not all physicians will offer prenatal care and delivery for mothers who want the choice, and will refer these patients to obstetricians with VBAC experience. And not all hospitals allow a woman to attempt labor after a cesarean, because they can’t guarantee that the right physicians and operating room teams are always available if an emergency c-section becomes necessary.

None of these barriers to a successful VBAC exist in our community. The physicians at Berkshire OB-GYN of BMC have both the expertise and the will to provide care for women who want the opportunity to try for a vaginal birth after a cesarean. And the operating rooms at Berkshire Medical Center function around-the-clock with all necessary medical specialties. At 25%, our c-section rates are lower than the national average of 31.9% - a point of great pride for physicians and staff at BMC’s Mother Baby Unit.

That’s because providing the care needed for a VBAC helps these mothers avoid the risks of abdominal surgery that can include scarring, bleeding, infection, or injury to other organs located near the surgery. Recovering from a c-section can take from six to 10 weeks and include severe pain, no lifting or driving, and all of the complications involved in trying to care for a newborn while recovering from a major surgical procedure. And with each subsequent c-section, recovery becomes more and more difficult.

Yet c-sections for low-risk deliveries remain alarmingly high worldwide. One out of every three babies is born by c-section – often unnecessarily. Studies indicate that at least half of these could have been avoided if mothers had received the kind of support and interventions that enabled them to labor a little longer. 

These are among the many reasons why major medical organizations that oversee labor and delivery in the US have mounted national campaigns that seek to lower the rate of primary c-sections, and provide awareness about the success of VBAC for most women.

And above all, the vast majority of mothers hope for an uncomplicated vaginal birth, even after a previous c-section. As obstetricians, our goal is to always do our best to help them achieve it.  

Lauren B. Slater, MD, is a physician at Berkshire OB/GYN of BMC

 

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