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Comparative Study
. 2018 Jul-Sep;17(3):145-150.
doi: 10.4103/aam.aam_54_17.

Outcome of vaginal birth after cesarean section: A retrospective comparative analysis of spontaneous versus induced labor in women with one previous cesarean section

Rana Kiwan  1 , Nourah Al Qahtani  1
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Outcome of vaginal birth after cesarean section: A retrospective comparative analysis of spontaneous versus induced labor in women with one previous cesarean section

Rana Kiwan et al. Ann Afr Med. 2018 Jul-Sep.

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this study is to compare the success rate of vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC) in spontaneous and induced labor.

Design: This is an 8-year retrospective comparative study.

Setting: University hospital.

Population: Five hundred and ninety-four women who had one previous lower segment cesarean delivery.

Materials and methods: This is a retrospective study of all women, who had lower segment cesarean section, admitted for trial of labor between April 2010 and November 2016. Five hundred and sixty-seven women who elected to have trial of labor after one previous cesarean were included in the study, of these 477 (84.13%) had spontaneous onset of labor (control group) and 90 (15.87%) had induction of labor (IOL) (study group). Two hundred and seventy-seven women had no previous vaginal delivery, and 297 had one previous vaginal delivery.

Results: We compared the success rates of VBAC in women who had IOL with those who came with spontaneous labor. The rate of vaginal delivery after CS (VBAC) was 50.0% and 66.6% in the study and control groups, respectively. There was a significant increase in the rate of cesarean delivery due to fetal distress in the study group (P = 0.016). There were no cases of uterine rupture in the control group and one case in the study group. Patients who had spontaneous labor and at least one previous vaginal delivery have higher success rate of vaginal delivery.

Conclusion: Women with one previous CS, who undergo IOL, have lower success rates of vaginal delivery compared with those who presented in spontaneous labor. They also have higher risk of CS delivery due to fetal distress. Previous normal vaginal delivery increases the success rate of VBAC.

Keywords: Induction of labor; previous lower segment cesarean section; prostaglandin; vaginal birth after cesarean section.

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Conflict of interest statement

There are no conflicts of interest

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