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.
Read more...
Click here to listen to podcasts of American Scientist Pizza Lunches, informal lectures where scientists present new research to non-scientists. Originally intended for science communicators in the Research Triangle Park region of North Carolina, the audio slideshows are now available to anyone online. New talks are posted periodically during the academic year.
Science in the Media
Newspapers:
Magazines and Web Sites:
The Science-Media Intersection:
Subscribe to Our Content!
Visit our RSS Feeds page to choose among 13 customized feeds, or create a free My AmSci account to request an email notice whenever a specified author, department or discipline appears online.