Safety of term vaginal breech delivery

Abstract

Of 247 women who were pregnant of one healthy child in breech presentation at term, 13 (5.3%) were delivered by a primary cesarean section. The other 234 (94.7%) were allowed to attempt vaginal birth. In these women, the only factor to determine the possibility of a vaginal delivery was normal progression of labor during the first stage, without secondary arrest or signs of fetal distress. 109 Women (44.1%) were delivered spontaneously according to Bracht, 87 (35.2%) had an assisted breech delivery, and 38 (15.4%) underwent a secondary cesarean section. There were two perinatal deaths (0.8%). One of them was directly related to the trial of labor. Two children with a birth trauma had an uneventful recovery. The 1 min Apgar score in all breech delivery groups was more often lower than in a control group of children, who were born spontaneously at term in vertex presentation. However, the 5 min Apgar score and the mean umbilical artery pH were within normal limits in all groups. The secondary cesarean section rate was inversely related to vaginal parity of the mother, and directly related to the newborns' birth weight. There was no relation between the secondary cesarean section rate and the type of breech presentation. It is concluded, that a trial of labor in carefully selected patients with a child in breech presentation at term is a safe procedure, that can be successfully completed in almost 80% of cases. In retrospect, low vaginal parity and high birth weight of the newborn have a negative influence on normal progression of labor.