VBAC: Uterine Scar Rupture
The most rare yet most serious risk of vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC) is that the scar on the uterus may break open (rupture) during labor. Women who have a low transverse cesarean scar have a lower risk of rupturing than women who have a vertical incision scar. About 5 to 9 out of 1,000 women (0.5% to 0.9%) with a low transverse scar have a uterine rupture during a trial of labor.1
A woman's risk of uterine rupture increases with:
It is likely that the women who have a rupture have other risk factors, which are things that make them more likely to have this complication.
Having had a vaginal delivery during another pregnancy lowers the risk of uterine rupture during VBAC. Women who have delivered vaginally and later had a cesarean delivery have about one-fourth the risk of women who have had a cesarean delivery but no vaginal delivery.1
In the rare event that a uterine scar ruptures, it can be dangerous to both the mother and her infant.
Depending on severity, a rupture can:
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