There is a buzz gong around the tech sites that PrediBirth, a software package, can predict who will need a cesarean section before labor. In a study of 24 women (small study) done by the creators of the program (conflict) they use MRI images of the pelvis and baby to simulate 72 trajectories of the head through the pelvis to provide a score to indicate the likelihood of a vaginal birth. I have a couple of concerns about this program, including the ones above, including doing MRIs on all pregnant women (cost, resources, risks, etc.). I also don't see how this program can predict the movement of the pelvis with relaxin, which is more about labor, particularly as it pertains to movement in labor.
The French researchers presented their program this week at the annual meeting of the Radiologic Society of North America. I'd really like to see the research, but I don't have high hopes for this, because we've been trying to do this for a long time and no one has managed to do it yet for many of the reasons I've already mentioned. I will say that while I find this theory to be problematic, many moms are raving about Spinning Babies and helping your baby find the best position in the womb.
How about you? Do you think that a computer program, this one or a fictitious one, will ever be able to adequately predict with any accuracy who should have a vaginal birth or c-section?
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Can you predict a cesarean with a computer? originally appeared on About.com Pregnancy & Childbirth on Thursday, December 1st, 2011 at 22:14:20.
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