Vaginal birth after caesarean section in a population with a low overall caesarean section rate.

OBJECTIVE

To determine the clinical outcome of vaginal birth after caesarean section (VBAC) in a Dutch population with a low overall caesarean section (CS) rate of 6.5%.

STUDY

DESIGN

Prospective population based cohort study of 252 patients with a previous caesarean section (CS). Outcome parameters were trial of labour (TOL), success rate and VBAC rate.

RESULTS

The TOL rate in the study cohort was 73%, success rate 77%, VBAC rate 56%. The reason for the previous CS influenced success rate. Complications, morbidity and mortality were not different between elective, emergency CS and TOL group, except for a higher incidence of haemorrhage more than 500 ml in the elective CS compared to the TOL group (29% versus 17%, relative risk (RR) 1.74 (1.15--2.34)).

CONCLUSIONS

In this Dutch study the success rate is comparable to rate in US study reports. Increase of the VBAC rate can mainly be achieved by increasing the number of women attempting TOL.