VBACs a Thing of the Past?

From USA TODAY comes this interesting article about the rise of c-section rates and the decline of the VBAC (Vaginal Birth After Cesarean). The steeply falling VBAC rate is not due to new medical research or other medical reasons, but because of the cost -- hospitals need to have an anesthesiologist and surgeon standing by on call -- and fear of lawsuits. (This seems somewhat counterintuitive to me, as a c-section is expensive major surgery, which always carries a risk in and of itself.)

As someone who had two uneventful VBAC births, I am saddened by this new trend toward unnecessary major abdominal surgeries. The trial lawyers strike again.