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March 2012

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New research on childbirth has the potential to empower women's decision making, but more is needed.

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In their March editorial, the PLoS Medicine Editors discuss two research studies published earlier in the month on the risks associated with mode of childbirth following caesarean section. In the first article, Caroline Crowther and colleagues find that the risks of very severe outcomes—such as fetal or infant death—were lower among women who planned a repeat caesarean section than among women who planned a vaginal birth. In the second paper, Kathryn Fitzpatrick and colleagues show that the risk of uterine rupture is higher among women who have had two or more previous caesarean sections, and if the time period since the last caesarean section is less than 12 months. In a Perspective paper published alongside the research, Catherine Spong considers the risks associated with attempting a vaginal delivery after a previous caesarean section.

The Editors comment: “The bigger issue raised by these findings relates to how clinicians and women can work together to make the best possible decision when so many questions remain unanswered…Together, these findings highlight the importance of pragmatic research studies, with the overall goal of improving care for future generations of mothers and babies.”

Image Credit: Petteri Sulonen (Petteri Sulonen at flickr.com)

Editorial

New Research on Childbirth Has the Potential to Empower Women's Decision Making, but More Is Needed

The PLoS Medicine Editors

PLOS Medicine: published March 27, 2012 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1001197

Related Articles

  1. To VBAC or Not to VBAC
  2. Planned Vaginal Birth or Elective Repeat Caesarean: Patient Preference Restricted Cohort with Nested Randomised Trial
  3. Uterine Rupture by Intended Mode of Delivery in the UK: A National Case-Control Study

Essay

A Comparison of DSM-IV and DSM-5 Panel Members' Financial Associations with Industry: A Pernicious Problem Persists

Lisa Cosgrove, Sheldon Krimsky

PLOS Medicine: published March 13, 2012 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1001190

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  1. Does Conflict of Interest Disclosure Worsen Bias?

Perspectives

Better Guidance Is Welcome, but without Blinders

David H. Peters, Sara Bennett

PLOS Medicine: published March 20, 2012 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1001188

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  1. Guidance for Evidence-Informed Policies about Health Systems: Rationale for and Challenges of Guidance Development
  2. Guidance for Evidence-Informed Policies about Health Systems: Linking Guidance Development to Policy Development
  3. Guidance for Evidence-Informed Policies about Health Systems: Assessing How Much Confidence to Place in the Research Evidence

To VBAC or Not to VBAC

Catherine Y. Spong

PLOS Medicine: published March 13, 2012 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1001191

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  1. Uterine Rupture by Intended Mode of Delivery in the UK: A National Case-Control Study
  2. Planned Vaginal Birth or Elective Repeat Caesarean: Patient Preference Restricted Cohort with Nested Randomised Trial
  3. New Research on Childbirth Has the Potential to Empower Women's Decision Making, but More Is Needed

Policy Forums

Guidance for Evidence-Informed Policies about Health Systems: Rationale for and Challenges of Guidance Development

Xavier Bosch-Capblanch, John N. Lavis, Simon Lewin, Rifat Atun, John-Arne Røttingen, Daniel Dröschel, Lise Beck, Edgardo Abalos, Fadi El-Jardali, Lucy Gilson, Sandy Oliver, Kaspar Wyss, Peter Tugwell, Regina Kulier, Tikki Pang, Andy Haines

PLOS Medicine: published March 6, 2012 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1001185

Related Articles

  1. Guidance for Evidence-Informed Policies about Health Systems: Linking Guidance Development to Policy Development
  2. Guidance for Evidence-Informed Policies about Health Systems: Assessing How Much Confidence to Place in the Research Evidence
  3. Better Guidance Is Welcome, but without Blinders

Guidance for Evidence-Informed Policies about Health Systems: Linking Guidance Development to Policy Development

John N. Lavis, John-Arne Røttingen, Xavier Bosch-Capblanch, Rifat Atun, Fadi El-Jardali, Lucy Gilson, Simon Lewin, Sandy Oliver, Pierre Ongolo-Zogo, Andy Haines

PLOS Medicine: published March 13, 2012 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1001186

Related Articles

  1. Guidance for Evidence-Informed Policies about Health Systems: Rationale for and Challenges of Guidance Development
  2. Guidance for Evidence-Informed Policies about Health Systems: Assessing How Much Confidence to Place in the Research Evidence
  3. Better Guidance Is Welcome, but without Blinders

Guidance for Evidence-Informed Policies about Health Systems: Assessing How Much Confidence to Place in the Research Evidence

Simon Lewin, Xavier Bosch-Capblanch, Sandy Oliver, Elie A. Akl, Gunn E. Vist, John N. Lavis, Davina Ghersi, John-Arne Røttingen, Peter Steinmann, Metin Gulmezoglu, Peter Tugwell, Fadi El-Jardali, Andy Haines

PLOS Medicine: published March 20, 2012 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1001187

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Improving Ethical Review of Research Involving Incentives for Health Promotion

Alex John London, David A. Borasky Jr, Anant Bhan, for the Ethics Working Group of the HIV Prevention Trials Network

PLOS Medicine: published March 27, 2012 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1001193

Research Articles

Publication Bias in Antipsychotic Trials: An Analysis of Efficacy Comparing the Published Literature to the US Food and Drug Administration Database

Erick H. Turner, Daniel Knoepflmacher, Lee Shapley

PLOS Medicine: published March 20, 2012 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1001189

Care Seeking for Neonatal Illness in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Systematic Review

Hadley K. Herbert, Anne CC Lee, Aruna Chandran, Igor Rudan, Abdullah H. Baqui

PLOS Medicine: published March 6, 2012 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1001183

Impact of Scotland's Smoke-Free Legislation on Pregnancy Complications: Retrospective Cohort Study

Daniel F. Mackay, Scott M. Nelson, Sally J. Haw, Jill P. Pell

PLOS Medicine: published March 6, 2012 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1001175

Injectable and Oral Contraceptive Use and Cancers of the Breast, Cervix, Ovary, and Endometrium in Black South African Women: Case–Control Study

Margaret Urban, Emily Banks, Sam Egger, Karen Canfell, Dianne O'Connell, Valerie Beral, Freddy Sitas

PLOS Medicine: published March 6, 2012 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1001182

Intermittent Preventive Treatment for Malaria in Papua New Guinean Infants Exposed to Plasmodium falciparum and P. vivax: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Nicolas Senn, Patricia Rarau, Danielle I. Stanisic, Leanne Robinson, Céline Barnadas, Doris Manong, Mary Salib, Jonah Iga, Nandao Tarongka, Serej Ley, Anna Rosanas-Urgell, John J. Aponte, Peter A. Zimmerman, James G. Beeson, Louis Schofield, Peter Siba, Stephen J. Rogerson, John C. Reeder, Ivo Mueller

PLOS Medicine: published March 27, 2012 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1001195

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  1. Correction: Intermittent Preventive Treatment for Malaria in Papua New Guinean Infants Exposed to Plasmodium falciparum and P. vivax: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Planned Vaginal Birth or Elective Repeat Caesarean: Patient Preference Restricted Cohort with Nested Randomised Trial

Caroline A. Crowther, Jodie M. Dodd, Janet E. Hiller, Ross R. Haslam, Jeffrey S. Robinson, on behalf of the Birth After Caesarean Study Group

PLOS Medicine: published March 13, 2012 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1001192

Related Articles

  1. Uterine Rupture by Intended Mode of Delivery in the UK: A National Case-Control Study
  2. To VBAC or Not to VBAC
  3. New Research on Childbirth Has the Potential to Empower Women's Decision Making, but More Is Needed

CD4 Cell Count and the Risk of AIDS or Death in HIV-Infected Adults on Combination Antiretroviral Therapy with a Suppressed Viral Load: A Longitudinal Cohort Study from COHERE

The Opportunistic Infections Project Team of the Collaboration of Observational HIV Epidemiological Research in Europe (COHERE) in EuroCoord

PLOS Medicine: published March 20, 2012 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1001194

Uterine Rupture by Intended Mode of Delivery in the UK: A National Case-Control Study

Kathryn E. Fitzpatrick, Jennifer J. Kurinczuk, Zarko Alfirevic, Patsy Spark, Peter Brocklehurst, Marian Knight

PLOS Medicine: published March 13, 2012 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1001184

Related Articles

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  2. Planned Vaginal Birth or Elective Repeat Caesarean: Patient Preference Restricted Cohort with Nested Randomised Trial
  3. New Research on Childbirth Has the Potential to Empower Women's Decision Making, but More Is Needed

No Treatment versus 24 or 60 Weeks of Antiretroviral Treatment during Primary HIV Infection: The Randomized Primo-SHM Trial

Marlous L. Grijsen, Radjin Steingrover, Ferdinand W. N. M. Wit, Suzanne Jurriaans, Annelies Verbon, Kees Brinkman, Marchina E. van der Ende, Robin Soetekouw, Frank de Wolf, Joep M. A. Lange, Hanneke Schuitemaker, Jan M. Prins, on behalf of the Primo-SHM Study Group

PLOS Medicine: published March 27, 2012 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1001196