לידה רגילה אחרי קיסרי VBAC

Dear Rabbi,

My wife gave birth to our first child last year by

(unplanned) Cesarian section. While we have been

blessed with a wonderful son, the C-section was very

painful and traumatic for my wife.

We are now expecting our second child and need

guidance relating to the birth.

The idea of another C-section absolutely terrifies my

wife. She would much prefer to attempt a natural

birth (which the doctors call "vaginal birth after

cesarian" or VBAC) rather than scheduling a C-section.

However, we are concerned about the safety for her and

the child as some recent research shows that

attempting a VBAC carries a small chance of a cesarian

scar splitting, and a statistical risk of about one in

1500 to 1/2000 of serious complications (brain damage

or death of the child), chas v'shalom.

Our obstetrician says that as the safest option for

our current pregnancy, he would recommend us to

schedule a

C-section. However, if we ever wanted to have more

children, it would be safer for my wife to attempt a

VBAC now.

In addition, we understand that having another

C-section would mean that all future children would

almost certainly need to be born in this way, giving

my wife considerable pain and the additional risks

inherent in surgery.

Basically, we are comparing a small additional risk of

a very serious complication to the baby (if attempting

a VBAC) with a greater risk of a less serious

complication with my wife, now or in the future,

(elective c-section).

Halachically, can my wife attempt a VBAC?

Thank you for your help.

MG