Conclusion
The Term Breech Trial offers an opportunity to critically interpret cultural assumptions about birth and about “good” birth outcomes such as long term v. short term outcomes, maternal v. infant outcomes, and the assumed benefits of a “controlled” environment over a naturalistic environment. Although the controlled randomized clinical trial is posited to be an objective measure of reality, clearly it is still subject to personal and cultural biases in design and interpretation. I suggest the major contribution of this study is not validation of superior birth outcomes for the cesarean group as the article concludes, but rather reinforcement of the importance of reading all journal articles with a critical eye.
References
Hannah, Mary E., et al.
- 2000 Planned Caesarean Section Versus Planned Vaginal Birth for Breech Presentation at Term: A Randomised Multicentre Trial. The Lancet 356:1375-1383.
- 2002 Outcomes at 3 Months after Planned Cesarean vs. Planned Vaginal Delivery for Breech Presentation at Term. Journal of American Medical Association 287:1822-1831.
Hewson, Sheila A., Julie Weston, and Mary E. Hannah
2002 Crossing International Boundaries: Implications for the Term Breech Trial Data Coordinating Centre. Controlled Clinical Trials 23:67-73.
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