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Is VBAC Delivery Allowed in San Antonio Area Hospitals?

VBAC (Vaginal Birth After Cesarean) is becoming more and more rare in our country, and many doctors and hospitals are not willing to allow their patients to attempt it, even though the evidence does not support their position. With the national cesarean rate at over 30% and San Antonio’s rate up to 45% at some local hospitals, this is an issue that every pregnant woman needs to be aware of. Preventing a woman’s first c-section is of course the best route to take, but for those women who have already had one or more c-sections, it can feel as if they have no options but to submit to further surgery with each child.

The International Cesarean Awareness Network is an informational, supportive, and advocacy organization that is seeking to raise awareness of these issues and hopefully lower the rate of c-sections and raise the VBAC rates over time. ICAN has put together a database of hospitals across the country and listed what their VBAC policies are. The information was gathered by volunteers who called their local hospitals with a list of questions, and some hospitals were more willing than others in providing the information. Also, there are 3 labels that are given to the hospitals, and they can be a bit confusing. “Banned” is the easy one, this means that the hospital has an official policy which does not allow VBAC’s. “De facto ban” means that the hospital does not have an official policy banning VBAC, but in practice there are no doctors who will agree to attend one at that hospital. “Allowed” means that the hospital has a policy that allows VBAC’s. This does not mean that they are necessarily supportive of VBAC’s, however. Some of the hospitals were willing to give out the names of doctors who will attend VBAC’s, and others were not.

In a nutshell, what does all of this mean? Well, having a hospital that is supportive of VBAC is important and very helpful. But the bottom line is that a woman needs to have her doctor’s full support, or it’s not going to happen.

Here is a list of the hospitals that are in ICAN’s database and the label they have been given. Next to each hospital I have listed any doctors or practices that were given as possibly supportive of VBAC. This information is subject to change at any time, please go to ICAN’s website for a complete and updated list.

“Allowed” Hospitals in San Antonio Area
Christus Santa Rosa (Dr. Nguyen)
Nix Health Care Center (Dr. Vanwingerden)
North Central Baptist (Northeast OB/GYN and Riverwalk OB/GYN)
Northeast Baptist (Women Partners)
Southwest General Hospital
Southwest Texas Methodist Hospital (Dr. Kuhl)
St. Luke’s Baptist (Lone Star OB/GYN)
University Health System
Frio Regional Hospital in Pearsall (Dr. Garza and Dr. Camero)

“De Facto Ban” Hospitals in San Antonio Area
Metropolitan Methodist
Baptist Medical Center
Central Texas Medical Center in San Marcos

“Banned” Hospitals in San Antonio Area
Hill Country Memorial Hospital in Fredericksburg
Guadalupe Valley Hospital in Seguin