C-Sections, Wary Docs Push Birth Costs Up

One man's procedure cost $300K, but it could push the field

(NEWSER) - After 43 hours of on-and-off “ex vivo resection”—organs removed, operated on, and replaced—a Wisconsin man is free of the 10-pound tumor strangling his liver. Along with it went parts of his stomach and intestine, and his abdomen contains not only Gore-Tex tubing but parts of his carotid artery. Still, “he’s doing great,” the lead surgeon tells the New York Times . The paper takes a look at such marathon operations, which typically are the patient's only hope—but can involve a dozen surgeons and cost $300,000. More»

He says male presence leads to more stress and more C-sections

(NEWSER) - Men should make themselves scarce when women are giving birth, says a French obstetrician who will argue his case at a midwives summit this week. Michel Odent says men make women so stressed they stop producing the oxytocin hormone, which eases deliveries, reports the BBC . This results in more C-sections. More»

(NEWSER) - For Katie Roiphe, the connection with her newborn child is like an “addiction," she writes on DoubleX. "There is an opium-den quality to maternity leave. The high of a love that obliterates everything.” Why, then, can’t feminists accept that motherhood is more than a “vocation?” Sure, “the act of caring for a baby is demanding, and arduous, of course, but it is wilder and more narcotic than any kind of work I have ever done.” More»

Hospitals profit from unnecessary cesareans

(NEWSER) - American women are risking their health and driving up medical costs by having too many cesarean sections, the Los Angeles Times reports. The most common operation in the US, the C-section is used in 31% of births and accounts for 45% of rising birth costs. It can also lead to infections, blood clots, and premature births. And it often isn't necessary, medical experts say. More»

Readmissions cost US billions a year

(NEWSER) - One-third of all Medicare patients hospitalized each year are readmitted within 90 days of being discharged, costing taxpayers billions of dollars annually, a new study found. Meanwhile, half of patients who went back in the first month after treatment had not seen a doctor in the interim. "Given the current financial situation, this is no longer something we can ignore," one health researcher told the New York Times. More»