IMR Press / CEOG / Volume 26 / Issue 3-4 / pii/1999036

Clinical and Experimental Obstetrics & Gynecology (CEOG) is published by IMR Press from Volume 47 Issue 1 (2020). Previous articles were published by another publisher on a subscription basis, and they are hosted by IMR Press on imrpress.com as a courtesy and upon agreement with S.O.G.

Original Research

The management of breech presentation in the last three decades

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1 1st Deparrment of Obstetrics and Gynecology of the University of Athens in Alexandra Hospital, Athens (Greece)
Clin. Exp. Obstet. Gynecol. 1999, 26(3-4), 178–180;
Published: 10 September 1999
Abstract

In order to evaluate the changes in management of breech presentation during the last three decades, a retrospective analysis of the "Alexandra" Hospital records was undertaken. The years, 1965, 1975, 1985, 1995 and finally 1997 were used as pilot years for this purpose. The cesarean section, breech presentation and breech cesarean section rates were calculated for each year. Specific breech cesarean section rates in respect to birth weight and parity as well as perinatal mortality rates were also recorded for each pilot year. The overall cesarean section rate rose from 8.0% in I 965 to 25.2% in 1995 and 25.1% in 1997 while the breech cesa­rean rate climbed from 16.9% in 1965 to 74.1% in 1995 and 72.3% in 1997, irrespective of birth weight. A trend towards vaginal delivery of breeches in multiparous women till 1985 became less apparent in later years. During the same period, a marked decrease of the perinatal mortality rate was observed from 70.1%0 in 1965 to 36.6%0 in 1997. In conclusion, a more than four-fold increase of the breech cesarean section rate was apparently rewarded by a two-fold decrease in perinatal mortality.

Keywords
Breech presentation
Cesarean delivery
Perinatal mortality
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