Vaginal delivery following previous cesarean section in 1983.

In 1983 the question whether or not to perform vaginal delivery following previous cesarean section is again presented to the obstetrical community. Data are presented on 778 patients managed during the decade January 1, 1973 to December 31, 1982. Four hundred seventy-six had scheduled repeat cesarean section on an elective basis. One hundred sixty-five experienced normal vaginal delivery. One hundred thirty-seven failed the attempt and were delivered by cesarean section. The group that delivered vaginally and scheduled elective cesarean section did well. However, in the failed attempt the problems were awesome regardless of indication or number of previous cesarean sections.