How do good candidates for trial of labor after cesarean (TOLAC) who undergo elective repeat cesarean differ from those who choose TOLAC?

Objective: Our aim was to compare good candidates for trial of labor after cesarean (TOLAC) who underwent repeat cesarean to those who chose TOLAC.

Study design: Data for all deliveries at 14 regional hospitals over an 8-year period were reviewed. Women with a primary cesarean and 1 subsequent delivery in the dataset were included. The choice of elective repeat cesarean vs TOLAC was assessed in the first delivery following the primary cesarean. Women with ≥70% chance of successful vaginal birth after cesarean as calculated by a published nomogram were considered good candidates for TOLAC. Good candidates who chose an elective repeat cesarean were compared to those who chose TOLAC. Women who were delivered at 2 preselected tertiary centers by a general obstetrician-gynecologist practice were subanalyzed to determine whether there was an effect of physician group.

Results: In all, 5445 women had a primary cesarean and a subsequent delivery. A total of 3120 women were calculated to be good TOLAC candidates. Of this group, 925 (29.7%) chose TOLAC. Women managed by a family practitioner or who were obese were less likely to choose TOLAC while women who were managed by a midwife or had a prior vaginal delivery were more likely to choose TOLAC. At the 2 tertiary centers, 1 general obstetrician-gynecologist group had significantly more patients who chose TOLAC compared to the other obstetrician-gynecologist physician groups (P < .001), with 63% of their patients choosing TOLAC.

Conclusion: Less than one-third of the good candidates for TOLAC chose TOLAC. Managing provider influences this decision.