In a long overdue press release, the American Congress of Obstetrics and Gynecologists finally steps forward to revise the old guidelines that had once caused so many hospitals and doctors to “ban” VBAC. In a revision released today, The ACOG now states,
“a vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC) is a safe and appropriate choice for most women who have had a prior cesarean delivery, including for some women who have had two previous cesareans…”
Hallelujah! It’s about time!
But they didn’t come to this decision on their own. Back in March, the National Institutes of Health held a conference on Vaginal Birth After Cesarean – a conference that I attended, wrote about, and was even featured in during the “Mother’s Stories.” I was so proud to see that at that conference, birth activists from all walks of life – doctors, researchers, midwives, and mothers – gathered to help try to convince the panel to see what we’ve all been seeing, which is that women’s rights are being trampled on when they are denied the safe option of vaginal birth. The ACOG President himself sat in a theatre listening to stories of doctors who couldn’t help their patients because their hands were tied. They heard stories from mothers who had to battle hospitals for the right to birth vaginally, or instead birthed unassisted at home because they could not find a provider able to help them. And they listened to highly respected doctors and researchers present the latest available evidence, which is that VBAC is a safe option, and in fact, it is a safer option than a repeat cesarean for most women.
They were also shown a slide listing grassroots organizations and activists who tirelessly battle to preserve patient autonomy and protect the rights of childbearing women. Thanks to those women who stood up and demanded that this was a human right’s issue, the ACOG also included this in their statement:
“restrictive VBAC policies should not be used to force women to undergo a repeat cesarean delivery against their will if, for example, a woman in labor presents for care and declines a repeat cesarean delivery at a center that does not support TOLAC.”
Do they know how long we’ve waited to hear those words?
I know many of us don’t care what the ACOG says, and we’d be VBAC’ing whether they got on board or not. But this statement could actually change maternity care in this country. They have now admitted that women are being “forced” into surgeries they do not want or need. They now admit that cesareans have risks, and that the risks of vaginal birth are much lower than previously implied. They are now admitting that despite their claim as the authority on All Things Obstetric, it took a government panel to investigate this issue for the Truth about VBAC to be exposed.
And I don’t think they get the credit here. I think we do. That’s right – you and me. So thank you to the the women like Joy Szabo, and Jill from Unnecesarean. To the women like Desirre Andrews, and Jennifer Block. To Nicette Jukelevics and Jen from VBACFacts.com. To the women of ICAN, and the midwives who risk prosecution to attend a home birth after cesarean where the state doesn’t support it. To all the women who Tweeted, and Facebooked, and Blogged this issue until government health experts couldn’t help but take notice.
We did this. We made this change happen because we spoke up and insisted on being treated better. But the work is not done yet. Now, we must take this statement to our providers and hospitals and challenge those VBAC “Bans.” Send the statement to your sisters, coworkers, and friends who may be considering a VBAC. Write about it, talk about it, and keep spreading the message until VBAC is no longer a four letter word.
Change is coming. I can see it in the horizon.
Thank you so much for including my book, Understanding the Dangers of Cesarean Birth: Making Informed Decisions, as one of the many birth advocates' efforts to reduce cesareans. I've been a childbirth educator for 30 years and had many physicians refer pregnant moms to my VBAC classes in the eighties and early nineties. It was unbelievable to see the pendulum swing after the 1999 ACOG guidelines recommended an emergency cesarean be "immediately available" as opposed to "readily available" when women labored for a VBAC as it had been since their first VBAC guidelines came out in the early eighties.
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