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Let’s say a patient is considering a tubal ligation after a planned Caesarean section because she doesn’t want to get pregnant again. Here are some factors that pertain to that decision: her vision of her reproductive future, her doctor’s advice, state regulations, the recommendations of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the latest scientific research. (Kate Cohen, 9/26)

Does gun violence affect the mental health of U.S. children? That question has the same answer as most inquiries about child and adolescent development: it depends. Rarely does a simple cause–effect relationship apply to the same degree to all children, and the same exposures may even have opposite effects on different children. (James Garbarino. Ph.D., 9/24)

Flu season is fast approaching. Flu shots are now available, containing strains recommended by the Food and Drug Administration’s vaccine advisory committee in March. Given the long lead time required to manufacture some 180 million flu shot doses, scientists are forced to make informed guesses, a daunting task under the best of circumstances. (Sheldon Jacobson and Janet Jokela, 9/26)

Mate a dark comedy about government with a bleak horror movie about the American social safety net and you might get something resembling the U.S. baby formula shortage. The saga features a whistleblower’s report lost in a federal mailroom; decrepit conditions at a factory that was supposed to be making life-sustaining food; and worried, exhausted parents struggling to care for sick, hungry babies. (Alyssa Rosenberg, 9/26)

It's a testament to Minnesota's hardworking ambulance crews that the public so often takes for granted the extraordinary service they provide — rapidly responding to medical emergencies with expertise and equipment no matter the time or day. (9/23)