Objective: To investigate outcomes in spontaneous and induced twin deliveries. Secondary aims were to study impact of delivery interval and breech presentation of the first twin.
Methods: This retrospective cohort study comprised 354 twin deliveries at a tertiary Norwegian hospital. Spontaneous labor onset and induction of labor were compared in women with planned vaginal delivery and gestational age ≥ 34 weeks. The main outcome was intrapartum cesarean section. Secondary outcomes were umbilical arterial pH and five-minute Apgar scores.
Results: Among the induced labors, 63/229 (27.5%) women underwent intrapartum cesarean section, compared to 45/125 (36%) in spontaneous labors (P = 0.10). Odds ratio for intrapartum cesarean section in induced labors was 0.65 (95% CI 0.40-1.04) after adjusting for maternal age and parity. Median umbilical arterial pH was significantly lower in the second twins in both spontaneous and induced labors, 7.28 (6.94-7.43) vs. 7.32 (7.16-7.42), and 7.27 (6.90-7.48) vs. 7.29 (7.08-7.45), respectively. pH < 7.00 rarely occurred. Second twins born after a delivery interval > 30 min had a significantly higher frequency of pH < 7.10 than those with a shorter interval, P < 0.01. No significant difference was found in frequency of pH < 7.10 between breech-presenting and cephalic-presenting first twins (P = 0.65). One unexpected intrapartum fetal death occurred after labor induction.
Conclusion: Our results support spontaneous onset and induction of labor as safe. Intrapartum cesarean section rates did not differ significantly between spontaneous and induced labors. Delivery interval > 30 min was associated with a lower pH in the second twin.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
---|---|
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.srhc.2022.100724 | DOI Listing |
Novel Insights In presence of cardiotocographic features suspected for hypoxic insult, intrapartum ultrasound in the hands of experienced operators can demonstrate cerebral edema as an indirect sign of fetal hypoxia affecting the fetal CNS and exclude non-hypoxic conditions potentially leading to abnormalities of the fetal heart rate. Introduction Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy is a syndrome involving the fetal central nervous system as the result of a perinatal hypoxic-ischemic injury. To date, transfontanellar ultrasound represents the first line exam in neonates with clinical suspicion of HIE as it allows to show features indicating acute hypoxic injury and exclude potential non-hypoxic determinants of HIE, however there is no report concerning the sonographic assessment of the brain during labor.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Matern Fetal Neonatal Med
December 2025
Fetal Medicine Unit, St George's Hospital, London, UK.
Objective: To evaluate whether, in late pregnancy, the cerebral Doppler can identify very small fetuses that are less likely to experience intrapartum compromise (IC).
Material And Methods: This was a retrospective study of 282 singleton pregnancies that underwent an ultrasound scan at 32 + 0- 40 + 6 weeks and were delivered after induction, or spontaneous onset of labor. Very small fetuses were defined as fetuses with estimated weight less than the 3rd centile.
PLoS One
January 2025
Faculty of Health Sciences, Department of Nursing Sciences, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa.
The reliability of cardiotocographs as diagnostic tools for fetal well-being is hampered by interpretational variations among healthcare professionals, contributing to high rates of cesarean sections and instrumental deliveries. While adjunct technologies may be used to confirm cases of fetal distress, those in resource constrained areas continue to rely on visual cardiotocograph interpretation to come up with the diagnosis of fetal hypoxia. This study investigated the factors contributing to variations in the visual interpretation of intrapartum cardiotocograph among healthcare professionals in the absence of adjunctive technologies.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBMC Pregnancy Childbirth
January 2025
Medical Laboratory, Shidong Hospital, Affiliated to University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, 999 Shiguang Road, Yangpu District, Shanghai, 200438, China.
Objective: To investigate the effectiveness of combining intrapartum ultrasound with free maternal positions in managing abnormal labor, specifically focusing on its impact on delivery outcomes.
Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted on 176 cases of abnormal labor progression in women who attempted vaginal delivery at our hospital from June 2021 to May 2022. Among these, 88 cases were diagnosed with abnormal fetal positions using a combination of intrapartum ultrasound and vaginal examination, and these patients were guided to adopt free maternal positions (experimental group).
J Matern Fetal Neonatal Med
December 2025
Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of California (UCLA), Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Objective: Postpartum hypertension accounts for 15 to 20% of postpartum Emergency Department (ED) visits and readmissions in the United States. Postpartum readmission is a quality metric and target of quality improvement as it indicates poor control of hypertension and can portend increased morbidity. We aim to evaluate risk factors for postpartum ED visits and readmissions for hypertension.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!