The ‘worst test in medicine’ is driving America’s high C-section rate

Round-the-clock fetal monitoring leads to unnecessary C-sections. But it’s used in nearly every birth because of business and legal concerns, The Times found.

(Rosem Morton | The New York Times) A remote fetal monitoring center showing real-time heart rates from hospitals across the University of Maryland Medical System, in Linthicum, Md. on June 18, 2025.