Morbidity among breech infants according to method of delivery

To determine whether vaginally born breech infants are at increased risk for morbid events as compared with breech infants delivered by cesarean, we studied 1240 singleton breech infants without congenital anomalies delivered in Northern California Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program hospitals during 1976-1977. Medical record review provided information on indications for method of delivery, delivery complications and injuries, neonatal complications, and neurologic sequelae up to 4 years of age. The relative risk estimates for asphyxia (1.0; 95% confidence interval 0.7, 1.4), head trauma (1.6; 95% confidence interval 0.2, 17.0), neonatal seizures (0.8; 95% confidence interval 0.1, 7.1), cerebral palsy (1.6; 95% confidence interval 0.2, 17.4), and developmental delay (2.0; 95% confidence interval 0.9, 4.4) for vaginally born compared with cesarean-delivered infants indicated that vaginally born infants were not at increased risk for these outcomes. We used multiple logistic regression to control for confounding variables. The adjusted relative risk estimate for the combined-outcome category of head trauma, neonatal seizures, cerebral palsy, mental retardation, or spasticity was 0.5 in vaginally delivered infants (95% confidence interval 0.1, 3.2). When all morbid outcomes were considered in combination, the adjusted relative risk estimate was 0.9 for vaginally delivered infants (95% confidence interval 0.6, 1.4).