Roger Harms, M.D., Mayo Clinic specialist in obstetrics-gynecology

Women should be concerned about a uterine rupture. Let me start by saying that the separation of the scar under the duress of labor, where no part of the baby is actually extruding through the uterus, is not really what we're talking about with uterine rupture. When we're talking about a uterine rupture, we're talking about parts of the baby actually coming out through the wall of the uterus into mom's abdominal cavity during the course of labor. The results are several. The first is that there could be a lot of bleeding from the surface of the uterus that has been torn by this process. And if a good part of the baby is extruding through the incision — or through the rupture — then the placenta doesn't have a chance to function as well anymore and the baby's oxygenation can be threatened considerably.

So first of all, it is a serious complication and shouldn't be belittled. One out of 100 is a low risk of this happening, but one in 100 will happen. So what's important is to make sure that the facility where you are trying a vaginal birth is ready to deal with that complication. And being ready to deal with that complication means that there's a physician present who can do a Caesarean delivery immediately, that there are anesthesia resources available to allow that to be done safely, and that there's a blood bank available to replace any blood loss that would occur in the first few minutes of this procedure.

VIDEO HELP

If the video does not play, you may need to download and install the latest version of the Adobe Flash Player. For additional troubleshooting tips, browse the Multimedia FAQ.