High-risk pregnancy is a term health care providers use when there are possible complications that could affect the mother or child, or both, during the pregnancy. Read on to learn what factors may cause a pregnancy to be considered high-risk.
Common practice used to be that once you had a child delivered through a cesarean section, all subsequent children needed to be delivered that way. However, advances in medicine and surgical techniques have made it possible for up to 90% of women who’ve had a baby with a C-section to deliver their next child vaginally. That’s good news for the nearly 30% of women who’ve delivered by C-section in the past.
The expert OB/GYNs at OB/GYN Specialists in Denton, Texas, are committed to making your birth experience as safe and natural as possible for you and your baby. If you’ve previously delivered via C-section, they conduct a thorough examination and take a medical history to determine if you can have a vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC).
Delivering vaginally allows you to experience the birth of your child more directly and intimately. A VBAC also lets you avoid some of the disadvantages of a second or third C-section, such as:
If you’re a good candidate for VBAC, the team at OB/GYN Specialists categorizes your pregnancy as a high-risk pregnancy to ensure that you and your baby get all of the extra care you need for an uneventful gestation period and healthy delivery. You may come into the office more frequently for check-ups and ultrasounds, to ensure that VBAC is still right for you.
One of the most important factors we consider when determining if VBAC is the best approach for your delivery is the location of your prior C-section scar. The most serious complication of VBAC is uterine rupture. If you had a high transverse incision, you shouldn’t have VBAC.
If you had a low transverse incision for a prior C-section, you only have about a 1% chance of uterine rupture. Other qualifications for VBAC include:
Meeting all the criteria for VBAC is essential for your and your baby’s health. If you start a VBAC and then need a C-section, your risk for complications — including infection — increases. If a C-section is the best choice for you, our doctors and medical team ensure that you and your baby get the care you need.
Even though labor can be exhausting for you and your baby, the process also gives you both many benefits. When your baby passes through your vaginal canal, the process:
If you and your baby are healthy, and if this pregnancy doesn’t have the same issues that your C-section pregnancy had, you may be a good candidate for vaginal birth. To find out if VBAC is right for you and your baby, call us today at 940-202-0566 or contact our OB/GYNs with our handy online form.
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