Three women in their 30s suffered uterine ruptures during a vaginal birth after a cesarean section between 2001 and 2003 at a hospital in the Chubu region, a doctor said Monday on condition of anonymity.
One of the three women lost her baby when she gave birth three years after having a cesarean section, according to a report by the doctor at a recent academic conference.
The doctor said the unprecedented happenings indicate it is necessary for the medical community to compile a basic guideline for VBACs. Under them, delivery procedures should be allowed only at well-equipped facilities able to conduct cesarean sections and deal with massive bleeding.
An increasing number of women in Japan who have delivered by cesarean section want to give birth vaginally, though they face a higher risk of uterine rupture than women who have not had the procedure.
According to both domestic and overseas studies, the rate of successful VBACs is 60 percent to 80 percent.
The doctor said that it now depends on each hospital to decide whether it should conduct VBACs, but that they should be implemented only at medical facilities that can deal with emergencies.
The doctor also noted that it is necessary for doctors to explain the risks involving VBACs to couples.