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In March, the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) convened a consensus conference on vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC). Various experts described what is known and not known about the safety of trials of labor after prior cesarean delivery.

A 29-year-old woman from Illinois had a cesarean delivery in 2004. A laparatomy sponge was left behind in her abdomen but was not diagnosed until 7 months later when a surgeon examined her for what was thought to be a stitch abscess.

The patient, a then 34-year-old gravida 1, para 0, was admitted to the defendant hospital on May 8 under the care of defendant ob/gyn "A." Her blood pressure on admission was 150/90 mmHg (up from 140/90 mmHg at the o ce that morning), and she was past her expected delivery date,April 30. Prenatal records were signi cant for an anatomic ultrasound re ecting a partial placenta previa.

Cesarean hysterectomy and postpartum hysterectomy are commonly performed emergently for severe uterine hemorrhage that is unresponsive to conservative therapies. These procedures differ in timing. Cesarean hysterectomy is performed immediately after a cesarean delivery for severe hemorrhage or, less commonly, as a planned procedure to treat preexisting gynecologic disease. Postpartum hysterectomy is performed after a vaginal delivery for delayed hemorrhage or infectious complications.

Data on hormone therapy (HT) for treating menopause-related symptoms and preventing disease in postmenopausal women are evolving rapidly. To guide therapy and to put the risks and benefits of HT, estrogen therapy (ET), or combined estrogen-progestogen therapy (EPT) in perspective for healthcare professionals and the public, the North American Menopause Society (NAMS) has updated its evidence-based 2008 statement in light of subsequently published scientific data.

President Obama has announced a new report to identify and recover past Medicare overpayments by expanding Medicare payment recapture audits.

Brachial plexus injury in newborns is commonly ascribed to the occurrence of head rotation with entrapment of the shoulders and subsequent downward traction by the accoucheur on the fetal head, resulting in avulsion of the brachial plexus nerve roots with permanent paralysis. In brachial plexus injury cases, plaintiff attorneys usually contend that damage to the brachial plexus is always caused by negligence of the birth attendant. However, a review of current literature reveals evidence that additional etiologies may underpin brachial plexus injury and raises questions regarding the level of responsibility of the birth attendant in connection with the injury.

A study involving 77 women with early stage breast cancer who underwent Oncotype DX, a genomic test that provides recurrence risk estimates to help plan adjuvant treatment, found that about one-third of patients did not fully understand subsequent discussions about their test results.

BlueCross BlueShield of North Carolina has launched program to reward primary-care physicians who meet specific quality standards by increasing payment rates by as much as a double-digit percentage.

Nearly one-third (32%) of all births were cesarean deliveries in 2007, which is the highest rate ever reported in the United States.

The healthcare reform bill recently passed by the U.S. House of Representatives virtually outlaws sex discrimination in health insurance, benefitting women.

Researchers from the University of Maryland and Yale University demonstrated that a 2-dimensional ultrasound measurement of the fetal zone of the adrenal gland is as accurate as predicting pre-term birth as the less available 3-dimensional ultrasound measurement of fetal adrenal gland volume.

A symptom complex that includes early satiety, bloating, abdominal and/or pelvic pain, and urinary changes frequently precedes a diagnosis of ovarian cancer.

Hospitals, providers, insurers, consumers, and policymakers should work together to develop integrated services to lower barriers for women attempting to have a vaginal birth after a cesarean delivery with a low transverse uterine incision, a panel recommended.