Volunteer to Help Build the

ICAN VBAC Ban Database

The VBAC Ban Database

The ICAN VBAC Ban Database is a work in progress and aims to track VBAC policies of hospitals across the USA. Once completed, people may use this database to navigate local birth options!

Become a volunteer today!

We will send you a list of area hospitals to call and a script to follow. Your contribution will greatly serve your community!

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What is a VBAC?

VBAC stands for vaginal birth after cesarean.

What is a VBAC ban?

A VBAC ban is when a hospital has a policy against VBACs. Anyone desiring a vaginal birth after cesarean would have to seek care at another facility.

What is a de facto VBAC ban?

A de facto ban is when there is no outright policy against VBACs, but the facility does not have any providers able or willing to attend VBAC.

Respect for patient autonomy also dictates that even if a center does not offer TOLAC, such a policy cannot be used to force women to have cesarean delivery or to deny care to women in labor who decline to have a repeat cesarean delivery

Source: Vaginal birth after cesarean delivery. ACOG Practice Bulletin No. 205. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Obstet Gynecol 2019;133:e110-27.

Why does it matter?

VBAC bans reduce access to appropriate care for individuals seeking VBAC rather than repeat cesarean. Doctors or hospitals refuse to care for patients who desire VBAC, leaving them with few options. Often, individuals are counseled that repeat cesarean is their only option.