A recent presentation at the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) meeting discussed the effects of weight loss on the chances of having a vaginal birth after a previous cesarean (VBAC). This paper showed that if a woman lost 1 BMI unit, about 12 pounds for a woman in the normal weight category, that she was able to increase the likelihood of a vaginal birth. For overweight women, this weight loss resulted in a 12% increase in VBAC success, and for obese women, the rate jumped to a 24% increase in the likelihood of VBAC.
The study also looked at the weight loss factor and VBAC success for normal weighted women and found that this was not correlated. However, gaining weight between pregnancies in any category was shown to decrease the chances of successful vaginal birth. Overall, the VBAC rate in this study was 60%.
One thing that is important to point out here is that while weight may play a factor in successful vaginal births, there is also a lot of practice variation. (This study didn't look at that factor.) This means that your choice of doctor or midwife for your care will also largely influence your success rates for a vaginal birth. A good combination of both being healthy, including weight loss when appropriate, and the choice of a provider who is pro-VBAC and has experience.
What do you think?
Related:
Callegari L, et al "Interpregnancy body mass index change and success of vaginal birth after cesarean" ACOG 2013; Abstract Oral 2.
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Increase Your Chances of VBAC with Weight Loss originally appeared on About.com Pregnancy & Childbirth on Tuesday, May 28th, 2013 at 07:24:24.
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