[Maternal complications associated with type of delivery in a university hospital]

To analyze maternal complications associated to type of delivery, comparing cesarean (c-) section with vaginal delivery.

Retrospective study of 1,748 deliveries carried out at a university hospital in the city of S o Paulo, Southeastern Brazil, in which the newborn weighed more than 500 g. Maternal complications occurred during delivery as well as those diagnosed during puerperium that required further hospital admission were analyzed. Statistical analyses included Student's t test and Fisher's Exact test. Significance level was set at 0.05.

C-sections were performed on 988 patients (56.5%). Hemorrhagic complications occurred in 1.2% of c-sections and in 0.8% of normal deliveries, with no statistically significant difference between both groups. Endometritis was observed in 0.4% of c-sections and in 0.1% of vaginal deliveries, without statistically significant difference. Two cases of puerperal infection evolved to hysterectomies, in the c-section group. There were no maternal deaths related to c-section.

No associations were found between maternal complications and type of delivery in the period analyzed.