Determinants of successful trial of labor after a previous cesarean delivery in East Wollega, Western Ethiopia: A case–control study

OBJECTIVE: Vaginal birth after cesarean could be considered a reasonable and safe option for most women with a previous cesarean section. However, it is not easy to select pregnant mothers who are a candidate for a trial of labor after cesarean. Therefore, this study is aimed to identify determinants of successful vaginal birth after previous cesarean delivery in public hospitals in East Wollega, Western Ethiopia, 2020. METHODS: A facility-based unmatched case–control study was conducted on 115 cases and 115 controls. Cases were those women who successfully delivered vaginally and controls were those women delivered by cesarean section after trial of labor. Data were collected using a pre-tested structured questionnaire and organized using Epidata version 3.1. Descriptive analysis and logistic regressions were performed. The adjusted odds ratio with a 95% confidence interval was used and statistical significance was declared at P-value < 0.05. RESULTS: The study revealed that rural residence (adjusted odds ratio = 3, 95% confidence interval = 1.25–7.21), having no history of stillbirth (adjusted odds ratio = 4.2, 95% confidence interval = 1.20–14.62), prior vaginal birth after cesarean (adjusted odds ratio = 2.4, 95% confidence interval = 1.2–6.4), counseling about a trial of labor after cesarean during antenatal follow-up (adjusted odds ratio = 4.7, 95% confidence interval = 1.88–11.74), and birth interval of >2 years (adjusted odds ratio = 8.9, 95% confidence interval = 3.25–24.67) were found to be determinants of successful vaginal birth after cesarean. CONCLUSION: Place of residence, history of stillbirth, history of vaginal birth after cesarean, counseling about mode of delivery during antenatal care, and birth interval were determinants of successful trial of labor after cesarean. Given these factors, it is recommended that care providers should advocate delaying pregnancy for at least 2 years and counseling women about trial of labor after cesarean during antenatal care follow-up.