Resources

VBAC, HBAC & CBAC links

• UK VBAC & HBAC Yahoo group
• Can I still have a homebirth? by Homebirthers & Hopefuls
• www.homebirth.org.uk/vbac
• VBAC Support Group UK private Facebook group
• VBAC: Making a mountain out of a molehill by Midwife Thinking, Austrailian midwife Dr Rachel Reed
• Midwife Mary Cronk on early detection of scar problems during labour
• The natural caesarean by Newbury Doula is about gentle, natural or family centered caesareans
• VBAC: what happens, risks and things to consider by NCT
• Special scars awareness, understanding and support for women with atypical caesarean scars and unusual uterine scars
• A Woman’s Guide to VBAC: Putting Uterine Rupture into Perspective from givingbirthwithconfidence.org shows comparisons with other childbirth emergencies

Research, evidence & guidelines

• NICE (National Institute for Health & Care Excellence) Guidance & Guidelines for Casearean Section: This clinical guideline offers evidence-based advice on the care of women who have had a caesarean section in the past; have a clinical indication for a caesarean section; or are are considering a caesarean section when there is no other indication.
• Uterine Rupture by Intended Mode of Delivery in the UK: A National Case-Control Study, 1:500 risk of scar rupture (or dehiscences) (Fitzpatrick et al, 2012)
• UK Obstetric Surveillance System (UKOSS) study: Uterine Rupture Is Rarer Than Previously Thought
• HBAC: Maternal and perinatal outcomes in women planning vaginal birth after caesarean (VBAC) at home in England: secondary analysis of the Birthplace national prospective cohort study. (Rowe R, et al. BJOG. 2016.)
• Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists: Birth After Previous Caesarean Birth Guideline (updated & issued 1st October 2015) and a statement from Birthrights, the human rights in childbirth charity, in response to the RCOG updated VBAC guidelines: “Women still fighting for VBAC options.”
• Evidence-based fetal monitoring from Evidence-Based Birth
• The evidence for skin-to-skin after a caesarean by Evidence-Based Birth
• The evidence for doulas by Evidence-Based Birth (US)
• The evidence for “Advanced Maternal Age” by Evidenced-Based Birth

Local hospital data

• The Rosie Hospital VBAC Guidelines
• The Bigberthas website has numerous Rosie Hospital guidelines including homebirth, Rosie Birth Centre and care of high risk women
• Hinchingbrooke Hospital VBAC Guidelines
• Peterborough Hospital VBAC Guidelines
• Further information is on our hospital data page.

Birth stories

• 37 x VBAC & HBAC birth stories! from vbac.co.uk
• More VBAC, HBAC & CBAC birth stories
• Listen to A Journey of Healing: VBA2C and A Beautiful Birth At Last about her HBA2C by @QuashieMichelle
• Birth Without Fear VBAC stories
• Birth Without Fear caesarean stories (oops cesarean!)
• VBA2C, VBA3C, VBA4C and more! from lotsofVBA3Cstories.blogspot.com

 Finding support

• Cambridge VBAC Friends’ online support group @CambVBACFriends
• Peterborough & Stampford VBAC online support group
• Cambridge & Hinchingbrooke Birth Choices (PBM group), @BirthCambs 
• Positive Birth Movement, Facebook page @BirthPositive
• Positive Birth Movement Cambridge @PBMCambs
• Positive Birth Movement St Neots @PBM_StNeots
• Positive Birth Movment Saffron Walden
• Positive Birth Movement Royston & area
• Positive Birth Movement Biggleswade
• Positive Birth Movement Peterborough & Stamford
• Positive Birth Movement Bury St Edmunds
• VBAC Support Group UK private Facebook group
• Doula UK @DoulaUK
• Cambridgeshire Doulas and Facebook page
• IMUK Independent Midwives UK @IMUKmidwifery
• AIMS  Association for the Improvements in Maternity Services @AIMS_online
• Birthrights protecting human rights in childbirth @birthrightsorg
• Petals charity provides specialised counselling for trauma or loss during pregnancy and birth @Petalscharity
• Bigberthas.co.uk has great resources for bigger mums and mums-to-be
• Special scars awareness, understanding and support for women with atypical caesarean scars and unusual uterine scars

VBAC hot topic – arranging a VBAC in a midwife-led unit (MLU) or birth centre

• Midwife-led VBAC and place of birth are topics which come up regularly in our support group, we wrote a blog recently about how to arrange a midwife-led birth at a midwife-led unit (MLU) or birth centre.
• Look at the VBAC hospital data collated from Freedom of Information requests in 2015, for example, The Rosie has a care pathway for VBAC women birthing outside the delivery unit.
• Local birth stories: VBAC #2 and VBAC #8 in the Rosie Birth Centre
• Statement by Birthrights about a women’s right to make choices about childbirth is protected by Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (the right to private life)
• “She can’t come here” birth centre criteria and ethics, guest post on midwifery unit network by Dr. Mandie Scamell
• Talk to other local women who’ve had a VBAC birth in a midwife-led unit or birth centre in our online support group

VBAC hot topic – due date induction

• www.gentlebirth.org/archives/postdates.html is a midwifery discussion about postdates.
• midwifethinking.com/…/induction-of-labour…/ Australian midwife Dr Rachel Reed explaining the risks of encouraging baby out vs waiting.
• www.gentlebirth.org/archives/datesppr.html is a paper from the midwifery archives about postmaturity, which is the condition the healthcare professionals worry about when a pregnancy goes over 40 weeks, though postmaturity can happen before 40 weeks too.
• www.sarawickham.com/articles-2/ten-things-i-wish-every-woman-knew-about-induction-of-labour-the-article/ is a blog by Sara Wickham which also links to an excellent article she wrote for the AIMS (Association of Maternity Services) journal.
• Another great blog from Sara Wickham on How to cancel a labour induction?
• www.mothering.com/articles/the-last-days-of-pregnancy-a-place-of-in-between/ is a wonderful read to calm the soul.
• Evidence on inducing labour for going past your due date by Evidence Based Birth (US)

VBAC hot topic – continuous fetal monitoring

• Cochrane review: Comparing continuous electronic fetal monitoring in labour (cardiotocography, CTG) with intermittent listening (intermittent auscultation, IA)

• Evidence-based fetal monitoring from Evidence-Based Birth

• Electronic fetal monitoring: a bridge too far an article in the Journal Legal Medicine

VBAC, HBAC & CBAC hot topic – third stage

• The placenta: essential resuscitation equipment by Midwife Thinking, Austrailian midwife Dr Rachel Reed
• Everything you need to know about…Optimal Cord Clamping by UK campaigner and midwife Amanda Burleigh on the Positive Birth Movement Blog
• Optimal/delayed cord clamping inforgraphic from bloodtobaby.co.uk #BloodtoBaby
• Delayed cord clamping – why you should demand it by http://www.bellybelly.com.au
• The evidence for skin-to-skin after a caesarean by Evidence-Based Birth (US)
• Can hospitals keep mums and babies together after a caesarean? by Evidence-based Birth (US)
• Skin-to-skin contact after a ceasarean is going down well at The Rosie in Cambridge by Cambridge News (note: optimal cord clamping is not yet routine, if you want it, make sure you ask for it!)

Recommended books

• AIMS publications: Birth After Caesarea”Am I Allowed?” by Beverley Lawrence Beech, Birth After Ceasarean by Jenny Lesley, Birthing Your Placenta: The Third Stage by Nadine Pilley Edwards and Sara Wickham, Making Informed Decisions by Sara Wickham
• Guide to Childbirth by Ina May
• The VBAC Handbook by Helen Churchill and Wendy Savage
• Open Season by Nancy Wainer Cohen
• Why Doulas Matter by Maddie McMahon
• Why VBAC Matters DUE FOR RELEASE IN 2017

Have we missed anything? If you know of any other resources for women planning birth after ceasarean, please comment below.

Cambridge VBAC Friends is a peer support group for women planning birth after caesarean in Cambridge (UK). If you are looking for support, we have a private online support group and free monthly face-to-face meet ups.

Disclaimer: we are not medical professionals. If you have any concerns during pregnancy talk to your midwife, GP or hospital.