ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: Recently, enormous amount of the studies about trial of labor after cesarean section has been reported to decrease the rate of cesarean section. This study focused on analyzing multiple variables and results to acknowledge the safety and complications of VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean section). METHODS AND MATERIALS: This study was performed based on 97 pregnant women who were tried vaginal delivery after cesarean section at Hanyang University Hospital from January 1990 to December 1999. The age of mother, gestational age, estimated fetal body weight by ultrasonography, neonatal body weight, cervical dilatation, cervical effacement, Bishop score, the number of previous vaginal delivery, complications of mother, and complications of fetus were analyzed between successful group (82 patients) and failure group (15 patients) with trial of labor. Student T-test and Chi-square test were used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: In the 97 cases with trial of labor after cesarean, the success rate was 84.5% and failure rate was 15.5%. The estimated fetal body weight by ultrasonography, cervical dilatation and effacement, Bishop score, Apgar score had notable differences between successful group and failure group, while the other factors had not. There was no maternal death or uterine rupture in the cases of trial of labor. CONCLUSION: Trial of labor after cesarean section is relatively safe method of delivery if it is performed under strict indication. It could be suggested that VBAC has relatively little complication in both mother and fetus. The studies with large populations and performed by multi-centers will be needed for the evaluating safety of VBAC and developing safe protocols to decrease the risk of complications.