LETTERS

Vaginal breech delivery challenged

The debate over “The term breech: vaginal or cesarean delivery?” [January] should be moot. Although Alex Vidaeff, MD, and Edward Yeomans, MD, argue for vaginal delivery, no one in his or her right mind would opt for this mode of delivery unless forced to because the baby is falling out.

The only physicians willing to consider it either are academicians who practice in tertiary university settings with a cadre of residents or physicians with access to 24-hour, in-house anesthesia and cesarean section capabilities. Most important, they are supported by hefty liability insurance policies and a phalanx of hospital attorneys willing to wage war on their behalf when something goes wrong.