Saturday, September 26, 2009

VBAC/HBAC and TOLAC


VBAC (Vaginal Birth After Cesarean) and HBAC (Home Birth After Cesarean) are two acronyms I'm seeing/hearing with increasing frequency.  I'm also, unfortunately, hearing a new one - TOLAC (Trial Of Labor After Cesarean).

Increasingly, many hospitals are no longer offering women VBACs due to the American College of Obstetrics' recent recommendation that hospitals not offer VBACs without an anesthesiologist and surgeon on staff. Financially this inhibits many rural hospitals from serving women in this way even when they want to, as it opens them up to additional liability if they do. For this reason, I am getting lots of calls from women who are not willing to sign up for a repeat Ceasarean section and feel a HBAC is their only viable alternative.

Hospitals who do still offer VBACs no longer call them VBACs; instead they call them TOLACs which, in my mind, sets women up for failure as it doesn't positively reflect that they will succeed. This makes me angry. While I am always more than happy to offer homebirth as an alternative, not all women are suitable candidates, and this will leave them out in the cold.

What are your thoughts on this?

1 comment:

  1. It makes me also sick.
    I have had 3 cesarean section. I am now pregnant almost 13 weeks along now, and looking for a doctor that would let me try for another v-back. I no that it is what I want and that they can not make me do what I do not want to, but even thro I have my husband by my side. medically I do not want to be alone. Please if there is a way you can help me please email me @ lilliemaeb@hotmail.com. I need all the help I can get.

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