http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. There is wide variation in the rate of cesarean sections performed at different hospitals across the U.S. and one explanation has been that hospitals with higher c-section rates serve greater numbers of women at high risk for the procedure. Now, a new study by researchers from Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health provides the strongest evidence to date that it's not just medical need that determines who has c-sections, but also something at the hospital level—in other words, the same woman would have a different chance of undergoing a c-section based on the hospital she chooses. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-pregnant-women-likelihood-cesarean-delivery.html Obstetrics & gynaecology Mon, 18 Mar 2013 17:00:02 EST news282829102 Cesarean delivery is the most common surgery in the United States, performed on 1.67 million American women annually. Yet hospital cesarean rates vary widely according to new research from the University of Minnesota's School of Public Health. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-wide-variation-cesarean-delivery-hospitals.html Health Tue, 05 Mar 2013 11:36:43 EST news281705796 New research from the University of Minnesota's School of Public Health has found lower cesarean birth rates among Medicaid beneficiaries with access to support from a birth doula than among Medicaid patients nationally. A doula is not a medical provider, but is a trained, experienced professional person who can provide information, physical assistance and support to a woman during childbirth. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-doula-low-income-women-taxpayers-money.html Health Thu, 14 Feb 2013 16:33:55 EST news280082019 In a study to be presented on February 14 at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine's annual meeting, The Pregnancy Meeting, in San Francisco, researchers will report findings that suggest that planned birthing of twins at 32-38 weeks by cesarean section does not decrease perinatal or neonatal death compared to planned vaginal birth. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-c-sections-advantage-vaginal-birth-twins.html Obstetrics & gynaecology Mon, 11 Feb 2013 10:07:20 EST news279799631