Pregnancy outcomes in breech presentation at term: a comparison between
two third level birth centre protocols
Abstract
Background: Medical literature supports planned caesarean delivery (CD)
for breech presentation at term, due to observed reductions in neonatal
morbidity and mortality when compared to normal vaginal delivery (NVD).
Objectives: We want to compare perinatal outcomes of singleton
pregnancies with breech presentation at term in two University
hospitals. One where the option of NVD is routinely offered (Protocol
I), a second where these babies are routinely delivered by CD (Protocol
II). Study design: A retrospective matched cohort-study was conducted
between January 2015 and May 2021. We included singleton pregnancies
with frank or complete breech presentations, delivered from 34+0 weeks
gestation with known outcomes. Primary outcomes were a composite of
adverse obstetrical outcomes (CAOO) and a composite of neonatal adverse
outcomes (CANO). Results: 1079 women were eligible for analysis. After
matching for possible confounding factors, the final analysis was
conducted in 257 patients in each group. CAOO was similar in the two
groups (24.1% versus 24.5%, p-value = 1.000), CANO was significantly
higher in patients of Protocol I (17.9% versus 1.2%, p-value
< 0.001). No neonatal death or birth trauma were reported in
either group. The rates of NICU admission (4.3% vs 0.4%; p=0.004),
respiratory distress at birth (17.5% vs 1.2%; p<0.001) and
APGAR scores <7 after 5 minutes (5.8% vs 0.4%;
p<0.001) were significantly higher for Protocol I. Conclusion:
Short-term, non-severe adverse neonatal outcomes are significantly
increased in the Protocol I group. These must be balanced against the
possible negative impacts of caesarean birth on long-term infant and
maternal health.