OBJECTIVE Our purpose was to determine whether completion of the medical audit cycle in labor ward practice could safely reduce cesarean section rates. STUDY DESIGN A retrospective medical audit of all deliveries from 1984 to 1988 was performed. The groups of women contributing most to the overall cesarean section rate were identified. Strategies for labor management directed at the primary i...

Much has been written about the rise in Caesarean section rates seen worldwide and in Ireland. The recent ESRI paper 1 suggested that physician behaviour might be an important factor in Ireland. The study concluded that changes in maternal characteristics accounted for only about half of the increase in Caesarean section rates but it did not include maternal obesity in the analysis (the data ar...

BACKGROUND The Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative aims at protecting, promoting, and supporting breastfeeding. Cesarean section is known to represent an obstacle to breastfeeding. In this observational study we compared Baby-Friendly and non-Baby-Friendly hospitals (BFHs and non-BFHs, respectively) in terms of cesarean section rate. MATERIALS AND METHODS Italian BFHs were compared with non-BFH...

Cesarean section is the most common surgery performed in the United States with over 30% of deliveries occurring via this route. This number is likely to increase given decreasing rates of vaginal birth after cesarean section (VBAC) and primary cesarean delivery on maternal request, which carries the inherent risk for intraoperative complications. Urologic injury is the most common injury at th...

OBJECTIVE To determine if "early rupture of membranes" (early ROM) during induction of labor is associated with an increased risk of cesarean section in term nulliparas. STUDY DESIGN The rate of cesarean section and the timing of ROM during the course of labor were examined in term singleton nulliparas whose labor was induced. Cases were divided into 2 groups according the timing of ROM: 1)"e...

BACKGROUND Placenta accreta (PA), a severe complication during delivery, is closely linked with massive hemorrhage which could endanger the lives of both mother and baby. Moreover, the incidence of PA has increased dramatically with the increasing rate of cesarean deliveries in the past few decades. Therefore, studies evaluating the effects of different perioperative managements based on differ...

There is great concern about the increasing rise in the rate of caesarean section in both developed and developing countries. This study was to ascertain the prevalence and compare outcomes of elective and emergency caesarean sections among women who deliver at the University of Cape Coast Hospital, Ghana. This retrospective study reviewed records of 645 women who delivered through caesarean se...