Maternal and Neonatal Morbidity After Attempted Operative Vaginal Delivery

To assess severe short-term maternal and neonatal morbidity and pelvic floor disorders at 6 months postpartum after attempted operative vaginal delivery according to the instrument used.

We conducted a prospective study of women with live, singleton, term fetuses in vertex presentation. Patients attempted operative vaginal delivery in a French tertiary care university hospital from December 2008 through October 2013. We used multivariable logistic regression and propensity score methods to control for indication bias and compare outcomes associated with vacuum-assisted or forceps- or spatula-assisted delivery. Severe maternal and neonatal morbidity were composite primary endpoints. Symptoms of urinary incontinence (UI) and anal incontinence (AI) were assessed 6 months after delivery by validated self-administered questionnaires.

Among 2,128 attempted operative vaginal deliveries, 30.7% (n=654) used vacuum and 69.3% (n=1,474) used forceps or spatulas. Severe maternal morbidity occurred in 5.4% (n=35; 95% CI 3.8-7.4) of vacuum attempts and 10.5% (n=154; 95% CI 8.3-12.1) of forceps or spatula attempts (P<.001); severe neonatal morbidity occurred in 8.4% (n=55; 95% CI 6.4-10.8) and 10.2% (n=155; 95% CI 8.7-11.8), respectively (P=.2). Although attempted operative vaginal deliveries with forceps or spatula were significantly associated with more frequent severe maternal morbidity (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1.99 95% CI 1.27-3.10) in the multivariable logistic regression analysis, this association was no longer significant after propensity score matching (aOR 1.46 95% CI 0.72-2.95). Attempted operative vaginal deliveries with forceps or spatula were not significantly associated with more frequent severe neonatal morbidity after multivariable logistic regression or propensity score matching. Among the 934 women (43.9%) who responded to questionnaires at 6 months, the prevalence of symptoms of UI and AI were 22.7% and 22.0%, respectively, with no significant differences between the groups.

In singleton term pregnancies, neither severe short-term maternal or neonatal morbidity nor UI or AI were more frequent after attempted operative vaginal delivery by forceps or spatulas than by vacuum after controlling for indication bias with a propensity score analysis.