Clinical Guideline Updates: Groups Call for Fewer Cesarean Deliveries; Immunization Schedules; More

The rapid increase in cesarean birth rates from 1996 to 2011 “raises significant concern that cesarean delivery is overused,” states a March 2014 opinion jointly released by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine. In their statement, the organizations explain what is known about the benefits and risks of cesarean deliveries. They note that the standards many physicians have used to define a slow or stalled labor come from research from the 1950’s.