Birthing Options

It’s hard to know exactly what will happen when you give birth. Most people have a plan in mind for how they hope their labor and delivery goes. When it comes to delivering your baby, it’s good to know there are many methods pregnancy care providers use. Types of delivery include:

  • Vaginal delivery

  • Assisted vaginal delivery (vacuum or forceps)

  • C-section (Cesarean birth)

  • VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean)

Vaginal Delivery

In a vaginal birth, your baby is born through your vagina or birth canal. It’s the most preferred and most common way to deliver a baby because it carries the lowest risk (in most cases). A vaginal delivery occurs most often between weeks 37 and 42 of pregnancy. A vaginal delivery has three stages: labor, birth, and delivering the placenta.

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    • Faster recovery

    • Safest for the pregnant person and the baby

    • Lower rates of infection

    • Babies are at lower risk for respiratory problems and have a stronger immune system

    • Lactation and breastfeeding are usually easier

  • Spontaneous vaginal delivery: A vaginal delivery that happens on its own and without labor-inducing drugs. Going into labor naturally at 40 weeks of pregnancy is ideal.

    Induced vaginal delivery: Drugs or other techniques start labor and soften or open your cervix for delivery. Pregnancy care providers often recommend inducing labor when a pregnant person has a medical condition or is past due.

  • An assisted vaginal delivery is when your obstetrician uses forceps or a vacuum device to get your baby out of your vagina. Assisted deliveries often happen when:

    • You’ve been in labor a long time

    • Your labor isn’t progressing

    • You become too fatigued to continue pushing

    • You or your baby are showing signs of distress

    The assisted vaginal delivery procedure your obstetrician recommends will depend on the conditions that arise while you’re in labor. Assisted delivery procedures can include the following:

    Forceps delivery: Forceps are a tong-like surgical tool obstetricians use to grasp your baby’s head in order to guide them out of the birth canal.

    Vacuum extraction delivery: In a vacuum extraction, your obstetrician places a small suction cup on your baby’s head. The cup is attached to a pump that pulls on your baby while you push.

    Vacuum extraction and forceps delivery are similar in their advantages and disadvantages, and often the choice between them comes down to the experience of your obstetrician.

  • If you have had a previous cesarean delivery, you have two choices about how to give birth again: you can have a scheduled cesarean delivery or you can give birth vaginally.

    The greatest concern for women who have had a previous cesarean is the risk of uterine rupture during vaginal birth. Because a surgical cut results in a scar on your uterus, the concern is that the pressure of labor in a vaginal delivery could cause your uterus to open (rupture) along the previous C-section scar. For this reason, certain criteria must be met in order for your obstetrician to attempt a vaginal birth after C-section.

    VBAC does have many benefits, including shorter recovery time and less risk of bleeding, infection, blood clots, and injury to other organs. If you are hoping to have several children in the future, a VBAC also reduces the risk of problems with the placenta—which nourishes the fetus—during later pregnancies.

C-section

Cesarean delivery (C-section) is used to deliver a baby through surgical incisions made in the abdomen and uterus.

A C-section delivery might be planned in advance if a medical reason calls for it, or it might be unplanned and take place during your labor if certain problems arise.

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    • had previous C-section delivery.

    • are expecting multiples.

    • have placenta previa.

    • have a breech baby.

    • have a baby with fetal macrosomia or a large baby.

    • have a uterine fibroid or other obstruction.

  • The need for a first-time C-section may not become clear until after labor starts. Sometimes, your labor and delivery changes, and a cesarean birth becomes necessary for the health and safety of you or your baby.

    An unplanned C-section might be needed if any of the following conditions arise during your labor:

    • Fetal distress (your baby isn’t tolerating labor)

    • Labor isn’t progressing

    • Umbilical cord prolapse

    • Placental abruption

    • Hemorrhage or excessive bleeding

  • If you have had a previous cesarean delivery, you have two choices about how to give birth again: you can have a scheduled cesarean delivery or you can give birth vaginally.

    VBAC, or vaginal birth after cesarean is a possibility if you can meet certain criteria:

    • You don’t have other uterine scars or abnormalities.

    • You had a prior vaginal delivery.

    • You haven’t had a previous uterine rupture.

    The greatest concern for women who have had a previous cesarean is the risk of uterine rupture during vaginal birth. Because a surgical cut results in a scar on your uterus, the concern is that the pressure of labor in a vaginal delivery could cause your uterus to open (rupture) along the previous C-section scar. For this reason, certain criteria must be met in order for your obstetrician to attempt a vaginal birth after C-section.

    VBAC does have many benefits, including shorter recovery time and less risk of bleeding, infection, blood clots, and injury to other organs. If you are hoping to have several children in the future, a VBAC also reduces the risk of problems with the placenta—which nourishes the fetus—during later pregnancies.