[Cesarean section preceding the 34th week of amenorrhea: maternal and fetal repercussions at the western university hospitals. Regional survey or 383 cesarean sections and 436 newborn infants out of 86,116 births in 5 years].

This statistical enquiry carried out in a region of France by the University Hospital Services in Obstetrics and voluntarily devoid of bibliographical references, deals with a group that are particularly pathological and thus probably explains the seriousness of the prognosis for the newborn and the frequency of maternal morbidity following these early operations. 15% of serious maternal complications with severe neonatal pathology which was often heavy and responsible for the death of the fetus in 22.4% of the cases and the late sequelae in the newborn in more than 10% of cases, mad it important to seek for the inevitable link between the pathology and the length of gestation at the time of the operation. Only one in three children were alive without any sequelae after Caesarean carried out between 28 and 31 weeks, but more than 80% were alive when the operation was performed at 34 weeks. In view of these findings the authors suggest that each case should be considered very carefully before early Caesarean section is carried out, both from the advantages and disadvantages of this means of delivery for the baby as well as for the mother. Caesarean section before 30 weeks of amenorrhoea on an infant with an estimated weight of less than 1 000 grams is seldom to be recommended in view of the poor results for the newborn and in the absence of severe maternal pathology which requires immediate evacuation of the uterus. In view of the poor statistical results that have been analysed, early Caesarean section for fetal pathology and particularly for fetal distress when there is no adequate sophisticated means of resuscitating the baby should be lowered to the minimum possible figure. The comparative study of the notes shows that pathological conditions apparently similar to one another lead to occasions for carrying out very early Caesarean section, and also show that the outlook is different from the point of view of the immediate prognosis and a late prognosis for the newborn infant in view of the delay that has occurred before extracting the baby and of the facilities available to resuscitate the baby.