[Breech childbirth--obstetrical and antepartum ultrasonography findings]

The clinical and sonographic findings in 662 cases with birth from breech presentation were compared with the obstetric and sonographic data of a control group (births from vertex presentation). There were significantly more primiparae aged over 30 (16%) in the breech birth group investigated than in the control group (p less than 0.001). Vaginal bleeding and/or premature labor were found more frequently in gravidae with breech presentation than in those with vertex presentation (p less than 0.001). Also, premature births occurred significantly more frequently (22%) in the former group than in the latter (9%; p less than 0.001). Furthermore, the proportion of newborns weighing less than 2500 g was higher in the breech presentation group (20%) than in the vertex presentation group (only 5%; p less than 0.001). In addition, newborns with growth retardation, with a weight percentile less than 5 were significantly more common in breech (6%) than in vertex presentation (2.8%; p less than 0.001). Uterine anomalies (in 5.5%) were more common in breech presentation cases than in the control group (0.0%; p less than 0.001). Oligohydramnios was diagnosed by sonography in 20% of the cases with breech presentation, but only in 6% of births from a vertex presentation (p less than 0.001). A pathologic placental location (placenta previa) was found more frequently (3.5%) in cases with breech presentation than in the control group (1.1%; p less than 0.01). Pathologic fetal movement was sonographically observed in 7% of the cases with breech presentation, though only in 1.6% of cases with vertex presentation (p less than 0.01).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)