Once a cesarean, always a controversy

For most of this century, ''once a cesarean, always a cesarean'' was the rule in the United States. In the 1980s, vaginal birth after cesarean grew in popularity and the pendulum began to swing away from routine repeat cesarean delivery. Recently, the wisdom of this transition has been questioned. As the 20th century comes to a close, the treatment of the patient with a prior cesarean delivery remains controversial. (C) 1997 by The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.