Mothers who have a C-section CAN give birth naturally the next time

It has long been thought that mothers who deliver their first child by Caesarean section should refrain from natural delivery the second time around. 

Mother-of-four Victoria Beckham is thought to have chosen a C-section to give birth to her four children, Brooklyn, Romeo, Cruz and Harper.

And Gwen Stefani reportedly welcomed sons Kingston, Rocco and Apollo via C-sections at an LA hospital. 

Traditionally, once a woman has had a C-section, she will undergo the procedure for subsequent births.

This is due to the risks associated with an emergency C-section if a vaginal delivery goes wrong, such as rupturing of the uterus. 

Also, some women simply have bigger babies - making a natural birth extremely difficult. 

But despite the warnings over the dangers of vaginal birth following a C-section, a new report disputes the theory.

It concludes those who opt for natural birth a second time around have a low rate of suffering complications.

Researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention examined information from birth certificates from 41 US states in 2013.

This represented 90 per cent of all US births that year.

The majority of women who had a previous C-section scheduled the procedure for subsequent deliveries.

But around 20 per cent were found to attempt giving birth naturally.

The findings show, of these women, approximately 70 per cent had a successful vaginal delivery.

The remaining 30 per cent ended up needing an emergency C-section, the report reveals.

Those women who did have a successful natural birth after a C-section were less likely to require blood transfusions, unplanned hysterectomies or admission to intensive care units.  

The report, authored by Sally Curtin, of the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics, states: 'Women with a previous Caesarean delivery who laboured and had vaginal birth generally had lower rates for most morbidities.' 

It goes on: 'Given the lower morbidity for vaginal compared with Caesarean deliveries, attempting a trial of labour is recommended for most women with no previous Caesarean as well as for low-risk women with a previous Caesarean delivery.' 

The experts do, however, warn there are risks associated with vaginal deliveries after C-section.

The risks are heightened among those women who go on to need emergency Caesareans with the rate of uterus rupture found to be seven times higher than those who had a planned C-section. 

They note: 'The attempt to avoid such morbidities may have contributed to the declining percentage of women with previous Caesarean deliveries attempting a trial of labour over the last two decades.'

Dr Eva Pressman, of the University of Rochester in New York, told Livescience there are many reasons why a mother may opt for a C-section for second and subsequent pregnancies.

To try and ensure the safety of mother and baby, hospitals need a spare operating theatre and specialist staff on hand if a woman who opts for natural delivery has had a C-section in the past.

It is because often an emergency C-section will be needed.

As a result, many smaller hospitals cannot offer women the choice.

Dr Pressman said some women, with a history of C-section, cannot opt for natural birth because of medical reasons - for example if their baby is too big. 

'The reason that the vaginal birth after C-section success rate is relatively high is related to choosing the best possible candidates,' Dr Pressman said.  

Putting it into perspective she said if everyone who had a previous C-section attempted to give birth naturally, 'probably less than half of them would be successful'. 

The CDC report does show that, overall, first-time mothers who had a C-section were more likely to die during childbirth than those who gave birth naturally and those who had repeat C-sections.

Meanwhile rates of uterine rupture and unplanned hysterectomy were highest among those women undergoing repeat, emergency C-sections.

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