In the U.S. today, roughly a third of infants come into the world by way of a cesarean delivery. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists estimates that a small number of these cesarean deliveries, around 2.5%, are performed without a medical reason, simply at the request of the mother who preferred not to have a vaginal delivery.

In an opinion published this month, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) urges both expectant mothers and their obstetricians to use caution when considering a cesarean delivery that is not for medical reasons…

Consider a common situation. After a long and uncomfortable pregnancy, an expectant mother asks her doctor if she can choose a date for her delivery.  She has considered her family’s complicated schedule including childcare issues, her work situation, her husband’s work schedule, and the availability of grandparents to visit and provide support. She might mention holidays or competing birthdays of other family members. (Not unusual—my wife and I did not want our daughter’s birthday to be Halloween). For discussion, let’s say she tells her doctor that “Friday” would be the ideal day for her baby…

Perhaps you have heard about a new medical technology commonly called robotic surgery.  Maybe you saw the strange machine with its mechanical arms on Good Morning America or elsewhere in the media. Did you wonder whether robotic surgery is really a surgical breakthrough or just the latest expensive gadget driving up healthcare cost? Let me say that in over three decades of providing surgery for gynecologic problems, I have not witnessed such an improvement in what we can offer our patients…