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It's one of the most common medical procedures involving childbirth, but apparently it doesn't work. Using a long-handled hook, a doctor or midwife will puncture the amniotic membranes - the bag of water - surrounding the fetus in the hopes of hastening delivery.

The procedure, called amniotomy, is also known as "breaking the waters." Medical experts have long assumed the hormones released in the sudden gush of amniotic fluid can help trigger stronger labour contractions and quicken cervical dilation.

But British researchers examined the existing scientific evidence and concluded that amniotomy doesn't ease delivery - and could slightly increase the chances that the woman will need a cesarean section.

They looked at 14 separate studies involving almost 5,000 women in Britain, the United States and Canada.

"In a normally progressing labour where there are no concerns about the baby's wellbeing, there is little current evidence to justify breaking the woman's waters," researcher Rebecca Smyth of the University of Liverpool said in an e-mail.

Over all, "it doesn't shorten the first or second stage of labour, it doesn't affect the woman's satisfaction with her childbirth experience and doesn't result in the child being in better condition immediately after birth," according to the findings published in the Cochrane Library, the publication of an international organization that evaluates medical research.

Yet many medical centres perform amniotomy for routine deliveries. One Toronto hospital does it for 80 per cent of the births under its roof.

Ms. Smyth noted that the research team didn't examine complicated labours. So in certain high-risk cases, there may still be a need to break the membranes for fetal monitoring or assisting the labour. But in typical deliveries, "the membranes should be allowed to rupture naturally," she said.

That annoying cough

If you're an otherwise healthy woman but plagued by a nagging cough, you may want to get your iron levels checked.

Italian researchers examined 16 women with unexplained chronic coughs and swelling at the back of their throats. None of them were smokers, had asthma or other respiratory illnesses. Tests revealed the women suffered from mild anemia - essentially low iron stores. They were all given iron supplements and, within two months, their bothersome coughing lessened or stopped completely, according to a study presented at a meeting of the American College of Chest Physicians in Chicago.

"Iron is important for the health of cells that cover the airway mucosa, and its deficiency produces thinning of the mucosa," lead research Caterina Bucca of the University of Turin said in an e-mail.

"Moreover, iron deficiency impairs immunologic defences and increases the inflammatory responses to irritants."

Based on her small study, Dr. Bucca can't say how many nagging coughs may be linked to low iron levels. But anemia is relatively common among women who lose blood - and the iron it contains - through monthly menstruation.

"Nutritional status should always be assessed in subjects with unexplained cough," she said, adding that other nutritional disorders, such as vitamin B12 deficiency, can also cause a persistent cough.

Boosting cancer survival

Cholesterol-lowering drugs may slightly improve the chances of survival for men undergoing radiation therapy for prostate cancer, a new study suggests.

Men who were on these drugs - which include Lipitor, Zocor, and Crestor - had a 10 per cent higher chance of being free of cancer 10 years after their diagnosis (with a total of 76 per cent cancer-free), compared with those who didn't take the medications (66 per cent cancer-free), according to the study presented in Los Angeles at a meeting of the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology.

"We are not sure exactly how it is working," said one of the researchers, Matthew Katz of Saints Medical Center in Lowell, Mass. "We don't know if it is an interaction with the radiation therapy, or if it is an independent anti-cancer effect of these drugs."

Even so, he pointed out that cholesterol is a key building block for cells - including cancerous ones.

"If you lower someone's cholesterol, in essence, you might deprive the tumour of an essential nutrient to be able to continue to grow," he speculated.

One thing is certain - a lot more research is needed before these drugs could be recommended for cancer patients.

Support for breastfeeding

Breastfeeding is certainly good for infants. But is it bad for a mother's figure?

Apparently not, according to a new study that dispels the old myth that breastfeeding contributes to sagging breasts.

In the study, led by Brian Rinker of the University of Kentucky, the researchers assessed 132 women who had come to the university's medical centre for a breast lift or implants. The average age was 39, and 93 per cent of the women had had at least one pregnancy.

The study showed no difference in the degree of breast ptosis (the medical term for sagging breast) for women who breastfed, compared with those who didn't.

But the researchers found several other factors that did contribute to sagging, including age, the number of pregnancies and smoking.

"Smoking breaks down a protein in the skin called elastin which gives youthful skin its elastic appearance and supports the breasts ... so it would make sense that it would have an adverse effect on the breasts," Dr. Rinker said in a statement released with the study at a conference of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons in Baltimore.

ptaylor@globeandmail.com