Recent Trends in Vaginal Birth After Cesarean Delivery: United States, 2016–2018

Questions for Michelle Osterman, M.H.S., Health Statistician and Lead Author of “Recent Trends in Vaginal Birth After Cesarean Delivery: United States, 2016–2018,”

Q: Why did you decide to do a report on rates of vaginal birth after cesarean delivery (VBAC)?

MO: Women who deliver vaginally after a previous cesarean delivery are less likely to experience birth-related morbidities and in recent years there has been an effort in the medical community to make VBAC more available; however, national data on VBAC and VBAC trends just recently become available again This report examines the 3 years of available national data to explore recent VBAC trends.

Q: Was there a specific finding in the data that surprised you?

MO: How widespread the increase was by age, race, state of residence, and for term gestational ages was surprising.

Q: How did you obtain this data for this report?

MO: This information is from all birth certificates reported in the Unites States via the National Vital Statistics System for 2016-2018.

Q: What is the take home message for this report?

MO: There appears to be widespread increases in VBAC from 2016 through 2018.