SCIENCE IN THE NEWS DAILY
Doctors Debate C-Section Options
from the Columbus Dispatch
...Many women who have had a C-section aren't encouraged to try vaginal delivery or are barred from it at smaller hospitals where surgeons and anesthesiologists aren't immediately on hand.
The issue is controversial and prompted the National Institutes of Health to convene experts this week in hopes of helping guide the future of vaginal births after C-sections, a practice also known as VBAC.
In the past 15 years, the practice has declined significantly, from about three in 10 potential VBAC births to about one in 10. Since 1996, about a third of hospitals and half of physicians no longer offer women the option of attempting labor, according to the panel's report. Yesterday, the experts said they agree that most pregnant women who have had a Caesarean delivery should be given the option of attempting labor and vaginal delivery.
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