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Updated: Apr 19, 2026
A Swine Model of Neonatal Asphyxia
Published on: October 11, 2011
Time from uterine incision to delivery and hypoxic neonatal outcomes
Janine E Spain1, Methodius Tuuli1, Molly J Stout1
1Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri.
Objective:
The objective of this study was to estimate the association between time from uterine incision to delivery and hypoxic neonatal outcomes in nonanomalous term infants.
Methods:
All women undergoing in-labor term cesarean deliveries (CDs) in the first 2 years of an ongoing prospective cohort study were included. The primary exposure was time in seconds from uterine incision to delivery. The primary outcome was a composite of hypoxia-associated neonatal outcomes, defined as at least one of: seizures, hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy, need for hypothermia treatment, and death within 7 days.
Results:
Of 812 patients who underwent in-labor CD, the composite hypoxia outcome occurred in 18 (2.2%) neonates. There was no significant difference in the rate of hypoxic morbidity with increasing increments of 60 seconds from uterine incision to delivery (p = 0.35). There was a significantly increased risk of hypoxic morbidity in those delivered in the highest quintile (>240 seconds) compared with those in the lowest quintile (≤ 60 seconds) in cesareans performed for an indication other than nonreassuring fetal status (relative risk, 5.58; 95% confidence interval, 1.30-23.91).
Conclusion:
Overall, duration from uterine incision to delivery for in-labor cesareans of nonanomalous term infants was not associated with an increase in risk of hypoxia-associated morbidities.
