Dispelling a common myth, researchers from the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center say vaginal reconstruction should be a matter of preference for most teens or adult women born with a type of inter-sex condition marked by the presence of both female and male genitals. The findings of the research are being presented at the American Academy of Pediatrics Conference Oct. 26 through Oct. 30 in San Francisco.

Vaginal progesterone gel may improve infant outcomes and, reduce the rate of preterm birth in women with a short cervix in mid-pregnancy

Practical and financial constraints on public sector hospitals could be dictating how and when babies are born. Two new studies (1,2) show that as the number of elective, planned caesarean sections rises, more and more babies are born during the week and fewer come into the world at weekends.

At a time when national rates of cesarean delivery have climbed above 30%, a four-year study of patients receiving an alternative method of obstetric care experienced a significantly lower rate of cesarean births, according to a study published in the current issue of the Annals of Family Medicine.

The report, published in the prestigious international journal, the British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, found that the rise could not be explained by increases in clinical reasons for caesareans such as complications in pregnancy or labour/delivery and was more likely due to societal factors.