Does allocation of low risk parturient women to a separate maternity unit decrease the risk of emergency cesarean section?

Objective: To study whether the selection of low risk parturient women into a separate maternity unit leads to a lower risk of emergency cesarean section, compared to giving birth in a unit with mixed cases.

Design: Hospital based registry study.

Setting: Maternity units in two university hospitals in Oslo, Norway.

Can ultrasound measurements replace digitally assessed elements of the Bishop score?

Objective: To compare elements of the Bishop score and corresponding sonographic measurements before induction of labor, and assess how predictive factors can be used in a clinical setting.

Design: Prospective comparative clinical study.

Setting: Secondary referral center, university hospital.

Anal sphincter tears at spontaneous delivery: a comparison of five hospitals in Norway.

Objective: To analyze circumstances relating to severe anal sphincter tears occurring at spontaneous delivery, in view of reported differences in practice regarding manual perineal protection during delivery.

Design: Cohort study of midwife-conducted non-operative vaginal deliveries.

Setting: Five Norwegian hospitals with 12,438 consecutive deliveries during a 12-month period.

Ultrasound assessment of fetal head-perineum distance before induction of labor.

Objectives: To evaluate fetal head-perineum distance measured by ultrasound imaging as a predictive factor for induction of labor, and to compare this distance with maternal factors, the Bishop score and ultrasound measurements of cervical length, cervical angle and occiput position.

Methods: The study included 275 women admitted for induction of labor. The fetal head-perineum distance was measured by transperineal ultrasound imaging as the shortest distance from the outer bony limit of the fetal skull to the skin surface of the perineum.

Prediction of labour and delivery by ascertaining the fetal head position with transabdominal ultrasound in pregnancies with prelabour rupture of membranes after 37 weeks.

Purpose: To evaluate the proportion of fetal head rotation from occiput posterior (OP) to occiput anterior (OA) during labour after term prelabour rupture of membranes (PROM), and to study if OP before labour are associated with a higher risk of operative deliveries and a longer duration of labour.

Materials And Methods: A transabdominal ultrasound examination was performed in 152 women with PROM after 37 weeks with a single live fetus in cephalic position. The course of labour was compared in women with the fetal head in occiput posterior position or other positions before the start of labour.