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Published on: June 6, 2020
[Impact of a service protocol on the practice of vaginal delivery of breech presentations at term]
A Robin1, J-L Eyraud1, C Catalan1
1Service de gynécologie obstétrique, hôpital Mère-Enfant, CHRU de Limoges, 8, avenue Dominique-Larrey, 87000 Limoges, France.
Objectives:
The delivery of breech presentations remains controversial. Our study analysed the impact of a service protocol on the proportion of planned vaginal delivery and its success. Immediate neonatal morbidity and factors that may influence the success of vaginal delivery were studied.
Methods:
Retrospective study, between 2009 and 2020 at the CHRU of Limoges, type 3 maternity hospital, on patients with a breech foetus at term. The proportion of planned vaginal delivery and the rate of effective vaginal delivery were compared before/after 2015. Neonatal morbidity was compared for planned vaginal delivery and planned cesarean delivery groups.
Results:
We included 923 patients. The rate of planned vaginal delivery was significantly higher after 2015 from 5.2% to 19% (P<0.001), with a success rate increasing from 60% to 82.1% (P=0.06). The rate of vaginal breech deliveries significantly increased from 3.8% to 17% (P<0.001). We found significantly more newborns with moderate acidosis when a vaginal delivery was attempted (P<0.001). The success of vaginal delivery was correlated to the Magnin index (P=0.044), to gestational age (P=0.037), and to multiparity (OR 3.78 95% CI [1.42-10.03] P=0.006).
Conclusion:
Our study demonstrates the benefits of setting up a service protocol for the practice of breech vaginal delivery.
