Gestational age, mode of delivery, and relation to the day and time of birth in two private health care facilities.

Abstract

There is a worldwide growing trend of preterm births and C-sections. Our objective was to describe gestational age (GA), mode of delivery, day and time distribution, and the relation between the mode of delivery and the time of birth in two private facilities. Prospective, crosssectional, analytical study. A total of 1500 live newborn infants were included between September 2017 and August 2018 (1465 pregnant women). Of these, 99.4 % had received antenatal care; 66.8 % of pregnancies ended via C-section. The reason was a previous C-section in 36.4 %, lack of progression and descent in 18.9 %, and maternal choice in 9.2 %. The average birth weight was 3232 g ± 561.1 g and the median GA was 39 weeks (range: 38-40) based on the date of the last menstrual period; 88.2 % were term births and, among preterm births, 76.1 % corresponded to late preterm babies. Early term births showed a higher rate of C-sections (p < 0.001). There were 849/1201 (74.5 %) C-sections on weekdays and 173/299 (57.9 %, p < 0.001) on weekends and holidays. A statistically significant relation was observed between the time of birth and the performance of a C-section. The median GA was 39 weeks. C-sections were the most common mode of delivery. Births occurred predominantly Mondays through Fridays between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m.; 82.9 % of C-sections took place on weekdays.