Cesarean Section before Labor for Infants with Meningomyelocele

To the Editor: I am disturbed by the leeway taken by Luthy et al. 1 (and allowed them by the accompanying editorial) 2 in their conclusions focusing on the mode of delivery as the determinant of subsequent motor function in infants with meningomyelocele (March 7 issue). The authors had as their study population nearly all the infants with meningomyelocele in the state of Washington over the past 10 years. The mothers fell into two basic groups — those with antenatal diagnoses, who were referred to the study centers, where primary cesarean section without labor was forcefully "offered" (all the women accepted), and . . .