I love Consumer Reports.  When we purchased our kitchen appliances, washing machine, and computers, I went to them first.  Turns out, you should include them while preparing for your child’s birth as well.

In 2005, Consumer Reports listed cesarean sections as one of the most common unnecessary surgeries.  As a result, they suggested:

Ask what percentage of normal deliveries as well as births following a prior cesarean the physician delivers by C-section. Ideally, look for rates below 15 percent in women who haven’t had the procedure and about 60 percent in those who have. (Those rates can be higher if the physician treats many high-risk patients.) Ask about the doctor’s willingness to try nonsurgical steps first. Alternatively, consider delivery in a hospital by a certified nurse-midwife, if available. Deliveries by those practitioners tend to require C-sections less often than those done by obstetricians, with equally good results overall. And nurse-midwives have access to an obstetrician, who can perform a cesarean if needed.

They also talk about the routine nature with which episiotomies and hysterectomies are performed.  It’s a worth a read: 12 surgeries you may be better off without

Now, Consumer Reports has created a provocative quiz asking questions like:

• An obstetrician will deliver better maternity care, overall, than a midwife or family doctor.
• Induced labor can halt fetal development.
• Due-date estimates can be off by up to two weeks.
• “Breaking the waters” helps hasten labor.
• Induced labor increases the likelihood of Caesarean section in first-time mothers.
• Labor itself can benefit a newborn’s immunity.
• Epidural anesthesia is a low-risk way to make labor easier.
• Epidural anesthesia presents risks to newborns.
• Episiotomies reduce the risk of perineal tearing.

Think you know the answers?  Go take the quiz and then come back and let me know if you are an A student or if you learned something new.