WASHINGTON -- A government panel says too many women who want to avoid a second Cesarean-section for child birth are being denied the chance.
About 15 years ago, nearly 30 percent of women who'd had one C-section were delivering their next baby vaginally, a trend called VBAC for "vaginal birth after cesarean."
But specialists convened by the National Institutes of Health report Wednesday that the VBAC rate has dropped to 10 percent, in part because of litigation-spurred hospital and doctor policies that in some places prohibit women from trying.
The panel says VBAC is a safe alternative for many women, and urges doctors to give low-risk patients unbiased information to weigh the pros and cons for themselves.
