Induced labors may be tied to rise in preterm births

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – The increasing number of preterm births in the U.S. during the early 1990s and 2000s appear linked to the increasing number of medically induced labors, according to a new study. The number of preterm births across the U.S. rose by 30 percent between 1992 and 2004, and that increase may be attributable to the number of medically induced labors, which nearly doubled during the same period, researchers found. Doctors induce labor in women for various reasons, including medical problems with the baby or a woman being past due for delivery. …