Operative vaginal delivery and third grade educational outcomes.

Background: Operative vaginal delivery rates continue to drop nationally with many citing neonatal safety concerns as a primary driver of this decrease. Previous evidence on short-term neonatal outcomes does not support this concern.

Objective: This study aimed to better understand the impact of delivery mode on childhood educational outcomes.

Study Design: A statewide retrospective cohort was created in which third grade Rhode Island Department of Education data for 2014 to 2017 were linked to Rhode Island Department of Health birth certificate data. Children's third grade reading and math proficiencies were compared by the mode of delivery listed in their birth certificates. The study population was limited to children who were term, singleton births without congenital anomalies. The mode of delivery was classified as operative vaginal (forceps or vacuum), primary cesarean, or spontaneous vaginal delivery. Children born via repeat cesarean delivery were excluded. Bivariate analyses were conducted to assess differences in demographic variables between mothers and children by mode of delivery and between reading and math proficiencies and mode of delivery. Bivariable and multivariable log-binomial regression was used to examine the association between subject proficiency and predictors including mode of delivery, gestational age, sex, race/ethnicity, and lunch subsidy.

Results: Of the 18,247 children who met the inclusion criteria, 6% were delivered by operative vaginal delivery, 19% by primary cesarean delivery, and the remaining 75% by spontaneous vaginal delivery. After adjustment for confounders including gestational age at delivery, child's race/ethnicity, sex, and socioeconomic factors, there was no difference in reading proficiency (adjusted risk ratio, 1.03; 95% confidence interval, 0.96-1.10) or math proficiency (adjusted risk ratio, 1.01; 95% confidence interval, 0.95-1.08) in those born by operative vaginal delivery compared with primary cesarean delivery, and no difference was found in either proficiency when spontaneous vaginal delivery was compared with primary cesarean delivery (reading, adjusted risk ratio, 0.97; 95% confidence interval, 0.93-1.01; math, adjusted risk ratio, 0.98; 95% confidence interval, 0.94-1.01).

Conclusion: Operative vaginal delivery was not associated with differences in later childhood educational outcomes after adjusting for baseline differences. This should assuage previous concerns about long-term safety outcomes after operative vaginal delivery and may assist in shared decision making when operative vaginal or primary cesarean delivery is being considered.