"Addressing the urgent need for external cephalic version training and promotion: a survey on theoretical course and...

External cephalic version (ECV) is a valuable technique for reducing the incidence of planned cesarean deliveries due to fetal malpresentation. The objective of the study was to evaluate the impact of a course conducted by specialists from a top-tier reference hospital on participants and their willingness to incorporate the acquired knowledge of performing external cephalic version (ECV) into their daily medical practice.

A survey-based study was conducted among 20 participants, including gynecology and obstetrics residents and specialists, who attended an ECV training course. The course combined theoretical instruction with hands-on practice. Knowledge and confidence levels were assessed before and after the course using standardized questionnaires and a 14-question test. The survey consists of a substantive part, testing the participant's knowledge before and after the course, and a survey part, asking about the expectations, level of satisfaction, and sense of confidence in performing the procedure after the course. The normality of the data was assessed by Shapiro-Wilk test, Student's t-test was applied for variables with normal distribution whereas the Mann-Whitney U test was used for variables with non-normal distribution.

Out of the 20 respondents, only 15 successfully completed the surveys, as some responses were incomplete or unclear, some participants completed only the pre-course survey, and others provided multiple selections. In the initial knowledge test, participants achieved an average score of 7.8 out of 14 points (± 1.86), which increased to 12.33 points (± 1.84) in the post-course test. This reflects an average improvement of 4.53 points (± 2.55) out of 14, corresponding to a group average 68.15% (± 49%) increase in knowledge (p < 0,001).

The study demonstrates that structured ECV training significantly enhances both knowledge and hopefully confidence among gynecologists and obstetricians. Participants showed a notable improvement in theoretical understanding and readiness to perform ECV. These findings highlight the need to integrate ECV training into specialist education to promote its wider adoption and potentially reduce cesarean section rates.