Cesarean Section News and Research

Latest Cesarean Section News and Research

Labor can be longer for obese pregnant women

It takes obese pregnant women who are given medication to induce labor longer to deliver their babies than women of normal body weight.

16 May 2006

Average pregnancy in the U.S. is now 39 weeks

The most common length of pregnancy in the United States is now 39 weeks, a week shorter than the traditional definition of a full-term pregnancy. This shift occurred between 1992 and 2002, according to a new analysis by the March of Dimes published this month in a special supplement of the journal "Seminars in Perinatology."

23 Mar 2006

Risks of cesarean delivery are under reported, benefits overstated

Unnecessary cesarean delivery constitutes a threat to the future health of mothers and babies who undergo major surgery, according to experts who spoke at a media briefing hosted by the American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM), in Washington, D.C. today.

20 Mar 2006

New sensor to provide early warning of oxygen loss to unborn children

Researchers at the University of Warwick, and the University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust, have devised a new sensor which dramatically improves the amount of early warning doctors and midwives get of a dangerous situation in the birth process when the unborn child's brain is starved of oxygen - Fetal Hypoxia.

14 Feb 2006

Babies of obese mothers have higher risk of some birth defects

Compared to normal-weight women, overweight and obese women suffer more pregnancy complications and their babies have more medical problems at birth, according to a position paper of the Public Affairs Committee of the Teratology Society.

5 Feb 2006

Cesarean births not linked to childhood asthma

The theory that whether a child born by cesarean section or in the normal way, via the birth canal, could affect his or her chances of developing asthma later in life, has been laid to rest.

27 Oct 2005

C-section crisis demands congressional review

April is Cesarean Awareness Month and the American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM) is renewing its call for Congressional hearings into the nation’s rising Cesarean section rate and the impact on women’s health and the overall health care system. Recent data indicates that as many 4 women in 10 gave birth by Cesarean in 2003, with an increasing percentage of first-time Cesareans being performed with no medical indication.

19 Apr 2005

Midwives credited with reducing C-section rate at New Jersey hospital

Certified nurse-midwives working for a federally qualified health center in New Jersey are credited with helping reduce the Cesarean section rate at one of the state's hospitals, according to a report in the Plainfield Courier-News this week.

4 Apr 2005

The facts on prenatal care

The nine months of pregnancy come complete with a rich folklore, from guessing at a baby’s sex by the expectant mother’s shape to home remedies for morning sickness. Along with these ageless stories and advice, women also face a variety of recommendations from the modern world of medicine on how best to take care of themselves during pregnancy.

3 Apr 2005

Rising professional liability insurance costs in Florida have had a major impact on the availability of health care services in rural areas

According to the article, almost half of the states, including Florida, face serious problems with professional liability insurance (PLI). In these states, huge increases in insurance premiums, physicians leaving these states, and the closing of health care facilities including emergency departments, are reported frequently.

8 Nov 2004

Prenatal factors may play a role in autism

Mothers of children diagnosed with autism are more likely to be older and to have experienced obstetric difficulties during pregnancy, labor and delivery, but these complications are likely related to underlying genetic factors, according to an article in the June issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

14 Jun 2004

Obese women more likely to have pregnancy complications and caesarean sections than women of average weight

The controlled study is one of the largest ever to look at obesity in pregnancy, following more than 16,000 pregnant women at 14 medical centers across the country.

20 May 2004