Midwives and obstetricians' attitudes towards VBAC: Development and validation of the HCAV-scale

To develop a scale that measures attitudes towards vaginal birth after caesarean (VBAC) among clinicians.

A cross sectional survey among midwives (n = 58) and obstetricians (n = 51). A 23-item "Hannover Clinicians' Attitudes towards VBAC scale" (HCAV-scale) was developed. Indicators of reliability and validity were assessed, including item-to-total correlation, Cronbach alpha coefficient and factor analysis.

The response rate was 35.3% (n = 109). The HCAV-scale showed high construct validity and high internal consistency. The Cronbach alpha coefficient of the 23 items was 0.87 (n = 89), indicating good internal consistency of the items. Exploratory factor analysis resulted in factor loadings between 0.34 and 0.70; all 23 items loaded above 0.3 on one factor, providing evidence that the scale can be conceptualized as one-dimensional.

The HCAV-scale is a reliable and valid tool to assess clinicians' favourable attitudes towards VBAC. The scale can be used to assess how attitudes of clinicians might contribute to institutional variations in VBAC rates, and has the potential to enhance inter-professional understanding and collaboration around VBAC and quality of care for childbearing people with a previous caesarean.