Kootenai | Kootenai Health | Issue 3, 2017

We’ve Got Your VBAC Family Birth Center now offers vaginal birth after cesarean By Andrea Nagel Pregnancy and birth are deeply personal experiences. Every woman has her own way of navigating her journey into motherhood and planning for the birth of her child. Kootenai Health’s Family Birth Center is proud to offer expectant parents as many options as possible for their birth experience. Recently added to this long list of options is VBAC, or vaginal birth after cesarean. While VBAC is a good option for many women who delivered via C-section previously, it is considered high-risk and is not appropriate for everyone. “Good candidates for VBACs are patients who have had a VBAC before or someone who previously had a C-section that was done for breech presentation or fetal distress in labor,” said Brenna McCrummen, M.D., Kootenai Clinic OB-GYN. “The baby should be in the head-down position and be an appropriate size. Ideally, labor for these patients will start spontaneously, though there are some instances where induction may be appropriate.” Women consider delivering via VBAC for many reasons: Delivering vaginally allows them and their partner to actively participate in the delivery, it may help reduce risks associated with having multiple C-sections, and it offers a shorter recovery time. “I had a C-section with my first baby and was hoping for a better recovery process the second time around,” said Sarah Donahoe, one of Kootenai’s first VBAC patients. “I knew I didn’t want to do that again. Luckily, everything went very smoothly, the recovery was much easier and it was one of the best hospital experiences I’ve had.” To accommodate VBAC deliveries and prepare for potential emergency C-sections, the Family Birth Center staff needed to make sure several safety measures were in place. OBSTETRICS 8