Too Many Babies Being Delivered Early for No Good Reason: Report

By Katherine Hobson

At some U.S. hospitals, upwards of 40% of babies are born via elective early deliveries — that is, inducing labor or doing an early C-section before 39 weeks into the pregnancy for no medical reason.

These stats come courtesy of the Leapfrog Group — a coalition of health-benefit purchasers aiming to improve health-care safety, quality and affordability — which today put out a new report calling on expectant moms to request the rates of early elective delivery from hospitals in their area.

To read the rest of this article click here: http://blogs.wsj.com/health/2011/01/26/too-many-babies-being-delivered-early-for-no-good-reason-report/