There’s a great article on VBACs (or Vaginal Birth After Cesarean) in last week’s Time Magazine. You can read it here.
Pamela Paul does a good job laying out the lines of thought from practitioners who are wisely concerned about overuse of surgery and loss of skill, to those who have put aside medical pragmatism for fear of increasing liability premiums. The liability insurance industry is basically, at this point, determining access to and quality of obstetrical care in this country. By raising premiums to an unfathomable level, doctors and midwives who take time with their patients-which is documented to improve outcomes-are being put out of business. When will medicine and healthcare get some balls and become ‘by the people for the people’?
Luckily, for our cesarean “veterans” as the article calls them, we know many experienced midwives and dedicated doctors who are achieving great success at supporting women in their VBAC’s. The largest body of evidence shows that if possible, it is wise to decrease the woman’s risk of additional surgery both for her and her baby’s well-being. If you have questions about VBAC, birthing options in NYC or need a VBAC class call us for more information and resources!
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