Preterm singleton breech in North Jordan: vaginal versus abdominal delivery

The safety of vaginal birth for singleton preterm breech has not often been addressed before. We retrospectively compared the perinatal outcome of two groups of preterm breech delivery. Sixty-six patients delivered vaginally and 32 delivered abdominally between 26 and 36 completed weeks. Vaginal delivery was allowed under the same protocol for singleton breech delivery at term. Both groups had similar maternal characteristics. Intergroup differences in early neonatal outcome, as measured by Apgar score, were not significant. Intrapartum and early neonatal deaths in vaginal and cesarean delivery were compared. There was no significant difference in intrapartum death and early neonatal mortality between those who delivered vaginally and those who delivered by cesarean section (16.6 vs. 15.6%). So even with optimum neonatal care facilities, cesarean section does not offer any advantage over vaginal delivery in a developing country. This study does not advocate the routine use of cesarean section for delivering preterm breech fetuses.