Management of labour following caesarean section in a developing country

During recent years, the observed rise of the CS rate (17% in 1989) led the medical staff of the Maputo Central Hospital to consider the opportunity of admitting to trial of labour selected pregnant patients following one previous CS. The present study retrospectively evaluates maternal and fetal outcome following the adoption of this policy. 94 (52.51%) of 179 study group patients, having one previous CS, delivered vaginally after trial of labour. No maternal deaths were recorded among these patients. A very low (1.67%) maternal morbidity rate was observed. Five stillbirths and one early neonatal death occurred among the study group, accounting for a perinatal mortality rate of 33.52%, much lower than the overall hospital perinatal mortality recorded figure (68%).