Original broadcast date: October 11, 2009

Although there is a belief that an elective or non-emergency induction of labour will lead to increased rates of cesarean sections, research conducted at the University of California, San Francisco and the Stanford University School of Medicine in affiliation with the Stanford-UCSF Evidence-Based Practice Center, has found the opposite result and that there is a misunderstanding between these two factors.

The Stanford-UCSF Evidence-based Practice Center focuses on furthering the practice and translation of evidence-based medicine to improve health outcomes for populations and individuals. The study appears in the August 18 edition of the Annals of Internal Medicine.

• Dr. Aaron Caughey, MD, MPP, MPH, Perinatologist and Medical Director of the Diabetes and Pregnancy Program at the University of California, San Francisco and UCSF Children’s Hospital as well as Director of Clinical and Policy Perinatal Research at UCSF. He is also Associate Professor in Residence, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences UCSF School of Medicine