Until recent years the operation was usually delayed until after the patient had been vaginally examined, had been in labor long enough to be exhausted and the only other courses open were high forceps or a destructive operation upon the child. The results of the operation undertaken under such circumstances were not good, and the maternal deaths from infection were so frequent that the operation on the whole was very hazardous. But improved surgical technique and extended knowledge of the pelvis have so revolutionized Cæsarean section that it is now successful in the majority of cases. There are three main types of Cæsarean section: conservative, radical and extraperitoneal. The =conservative= operation consists of opening the abdomen in the mid-line; incising the uterus; extracting the child and placenta, and suturing both uterine and abdominal walls. This is the usual operation when there is a choice, but because of the danger of infection, it is ordinarily performed only before the onset of labor or in the early part of the first stage, and many obstetricians are loath to undertake it then if the patient has been examined vaginally, particularly if the technique of the examination was open to question. In the =radical= operation the abdomen and uterus are incised; the child and placenta extracted and the uterus is amputated just above the cervix. This operation is usually performed when labor is well advanced and there is fear of infection. In the =extraperitoneal= operation the incision in the abdomen is made low down on one side, the peritoneum is not incised but is peeled back from the bladder and lower part of the uterus. The uterus may thus be opened and the child and placenta extracted, without entering the peritoneal cavity, thereby greatly reducing the risk of infection, and also without necessitating the removal of the uterus as a safeguard against infection. This operation, also, is performed late in labor when infection is feared, but is considered very difficult and therefore is not common. The nurse’s duties in connection with a Cæsarean section are the same as those in any abdominal operation plus preparations for receiving and reviving the baby. =A Ruptured Uterus= is a splitting of the uterine wall at some point, usually in the lower uterine segment, that has become thinned or weakened and unable to stand the strain of further stretching incident to uterine contractions, and is accompanied by an extrusion of all or a part of the uterine contents into the abdominal cavity. The rupture of a uterus during labor is a very rare accident, occurring but once in from 500 to 1,000 cases and usually only in prolonged labors, obstructed labors or certain faulty presentations. It is also a very grave accident, since the baby nearly always dies and sometimes the mother as well.