Effects of patient, physician and hospital characteristics on the likelihood of vaginal birth after previous cesarean section in Quebec

Abstract

Repeat cesarean section is a major factor contributing to the rising cesarean section rate. Although vaginal birth after a previous cesarean section (VBAC) is advocated in most cases, it has not yet been adopted as widespread policy. In a case-control study we compared 400 women in Quebec who underwent VBAC with 1600 women who had a repeat cesarean section from 1985 to 1987 in an attempt to identify factors that favour vaginal delivery. Using both simple and multiple logistic regression analyses we examined the effect of independent variables linked to the patients (two variables), the attending physicians (seven) and the hospitals (two) on the dependent variable (type of birth) with the use of odds ratios. We found that the physician characteristics related to type of practice and the degree of hospital specialization were significant factors in predicting the type of delivery. Women who gave birth vaginally were more likely than those who had a repeat cesarean section to be attended by a physician with a specialized practice and to give birth in a hospital providing an intermediate or high level of care. This suggests that VBAC is still perceived as a high-risk option and is managed by only a minority of specialized obstetricians.