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Incidence of second-stage (fully dilated) cesarean sections and how best to represent it: A multicenter analysis
Asad Rahim1, Gareth Lock2, Christina Cotzias2
1St Mary's Hospital, Imperial College NHS Trust, London, UK.
Objective:
To gather multicenter data on the incidence of second-stage cesarean sections and suggest alternative methods by which the data can be represented.
Methods:
Retrospective, observational study over a 12-month study period. Numbers of term, singleton live births were collated from each of six maternity units. Data were separated by mode of delivery-unassisted vaginal birth, assisted (instrumental) vaginal delivery and elective, first-stage, and second-stage cesarean sections. Second-stage cesarean sections were expressed as a proportion of all deliveries, of all laboring women (i.e. excluding elective cesarean sections), and all women who reach full dilatation (i.e. excluding elective and first-stage cesarean sections).
Results:
Of the 28 867 deliveries included in the analysis, 493 of these were second-stage cesarean sections. This represented an incidence of 1.7% of all deliveries, 2.0% of all women in labor, and 2.5% of all women who reach full dilatation.
Conclusion:
Second-stage cesarean sections continue to be common. Safe delivery of a deeply impacted fetal vertex is essential in modern obstetric practice.
