British doctors argue over Caesareans

More experienced doctors present during the final stages of labor would mean a lot less emergency Caesarean sections, a British report says.

The problem stems from an acute shortage of experienced obstetricians, which often requires trainee doctors to make decisions about a Caesarean or vaginal birth, three senior doctors said editorially in the British Medical Journal.

A recent study said senior doctors often disagreed with younger colleagues about the need for an emergency Caesarean, the London Telegraph reported.

The Caesarean rate stood at 22.9 per cent in 2004-05, almost 14 percent of which were emergencies.

Copyright 2006 by United Press International