Trial of labour and vaginal birth after caesarian section: Do myths and misconceptions overshadow medical evidence in guiding patient’s decisions.

Abstract

Objective: To analyse the prevalence of myths related to trial of labour after caesarian section (tolac) and vaginal birth after caesarian section (VBAC). Study Design: Cross-sectional Knowledge, Attitude and Practice study. Setting: PNS Shifa Hospital Karachi; A Tertiary Care Centre. Period: January 2020 to June 2020. Material & Methods: A questionnaire was designed including demographic details; age, education level, socioeconomic status and whether or not patient has received counselling about (VBAC) from obstetrician and answers to fifteen close ended questions related to prevalence of myths concerning trial of labour after c section(TOLAC) and vaginal birth after c section (VBAC). Every question had three possible answers: Yes (myth), No (correct answer) and don’t know (unsure). SPSS 22 was used for data analysis. Results: Of the 1000 forms, 850 were completed and returned. The mean age of study population was 34.22±11. 63 years. 480 participants (56.48 %) gave more than 50% yes answers and 370 participants (43.52%) gave more than 50 % no answers. There was significant inversely proportional impact of education (p<0.001) and socioeconomic class (p<0.002) and attendance of antenatal counselling on VBAC by obstetrician on prevalence of myths (p<0.001). The effect of age on the prevalence of myths was not significant (p<0.017). Conclusion: Our study delineated the fact that while considering vaginal birth after c section, myths and misconceptions overshadowed medical evidence in guiding patient’s decisions.