Women's Perceptions of Contributory Factors for Not Achieving a Vaginal Birth After Cesarean (VBAC)

BACKGROUND: With cesarean rates around the world escalating, concern is growing around why women wanting a vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC) are not achieving their goal. AIM: To gain an understanding of women’s perceptions of factors they felt contributed to not achieving a VBAC. SETTING AND PART...

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Main Authors: Kelly, G., Hauck, Yvonne, Bayes, Sara, Hardwick, T.
Format: Journal Article
Published: Springer 2013
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/20492
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author Kelly, G.
Hauck, Yvonne
Bayes, Sara
Hardwick, T.
author_facet Kelly, G.
Hauck, Yvonne
Bayes, Sara
Hardwick, T.
author_sort Kelly, G.
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description BACKGROUND: With cesarean rates around the world escalating, concern is growing around why women wanting a vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC) are not achieving their goal. AIM: To gain an understanding of women’s perceptions of factors they felt contributed to not achieving a VBAC. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: Fifteen women were interviewed following a nonelective repeat cesarean section (NERCS). They had attended a Western Australian midwifery-led service, next birth after cesarean (NBAC), and labored but were not successful in achieving a VBAC because of reasons around delayed progress. Interview transcripts were analyzed using Colaizzi’s method of thematic analysis. FINDINGS: Five themes emerged: “Tentative commitment with lingering doubts,” “My body failed me,” “Compromised by a longer than tolerable labor,” “Unable to effectively self-advocate in a climate of power struggling and poor support,” and “The inflexibility of hospital processes.” The final theme included two subthemes: “Restrictive policies” on labor and use of the cardiotocography, “The CTG.” CONCLUSIONS: When labor did not progress as envisaged and hospital processes adversely affected how women were supported, women’s doubts around being able to achieve a VBAC were reinforced with a NERCS. Maternity services need to ensure clinical practice reflects best evidence while assuring staff are supportive of women’s choice.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-204922017-09-13T13:50:23Z Women's Perceptions of Contributory Factors for Not Achieving a Vaginal Birth After Cesarean (VBAC) Kelly, G. Hauck, Yvonne Bayes, Sara Hardwick, T. VBAC childbirth qualitative evaluation perception BACKGROUND: With cesarean rates around the world escalating, concern is growing around why women wanting a vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC) are not achieving their goal. AIM: To gain an understanding of women’s perceptions of factors they felt contributed to not achieving a VBAC. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: Fifteen women were interviewed following a nonelective repeat cesarean section (NERCS). They had attended a Western Australian midwifery-led service, next birth after cesarean (NBAC), and labored but were not successful in achieving a VBAC because of reasons around delayed progress. Interview transcripts were analyzed using Colaizzi’s method of thematic analysis. FINDINGS: Five themes emerged: “Tentative commitment with lingering doubts,” “My body failed me,” “Compromised by a longer than tolerable labor,” “Unable to effectively self-advocate in a climate of power struggling and poor support,” and “The inflexibility of hospital processes.” The final theme included two subthemes: “Restrictive policies” on labor and use of the cardiotocography, “The CTG.” CONCLUSIONS: When labor did not progress as envisaged and hospital processes adversely affected how women were supported, women’s doubts around being able to achieve a VBAC were reinforced with a NERCS. Maternity services need to ensure clinical practice reflects best evidence while assuring staff are supportive of women’s choice. 2013 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/20492 10.1891/2156-5287.3.2.106 Springer fulltext
spellingShingle VBAC
childbirth
qualitative evaluation
perception
Kelly, G.
Hauck, Yvonne
Bayes, Sara
Hardwick, T.
Women's Perceptions of Contributory Factors for Not Achieving a Vaginal Birth After Cesarean (VBAC)
title Women's Perceptions of Contributory Factors for Not Achieving a Vaginal Birth After Cesarean (VBAC)
title_full Women's Perceptions of Contributory Factors for Not Achieving a Vaginal Birth After Cesarean (VBAC)
title_fullStr Women's Perceptions of Contributory Factors for Not Achieving a Vaginal Birth After Cesarean (VBAC)
title_full_unstemmed Women's Perceptions of Contributory Factors for Not Achieving a Vaginal Birth After Cesarean (VBAC)
title_short Women's Perceptions of Contributory Factors for Not Achieving a Vaginal Birth After Cesarean (VBAC)
title_sort women's perceptions of contributory factors for not achieving a vaginal birth after cesarean (vbac)
topic VBAC
childbirth
qualitative evaluation
perception
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/20492