BACKGROUND Caesarean sections (CS) rates continue to increase worldwide without a clear understanding of the main drivers and consequences. The lack of a standardized internationally-accepted classification system to monitor and compare CS rates is one of the barriers to a better understanding of this trend. The Robson's 10-group classification is based on simple obstetrical parameters (parity,...

INTRODUCTION The aim of this study was to explore the association between the cerebro-umbilical ratio measured at 35-37 weeks and intrapartum fetal compromise. METHODS This retrospective cross sectional study was conducted at the Mater Mothers' Hospital in Brisbane, Australia. Maternal demographics and fetal Doppler indices at 35-37 weeks gestation for 1381 women were correlated with intrapar...

As the other major European countries, Croatia has also seen a marked increase in the rate of caesarean sections. The aim of this study was to determine the most common reasons for caesarean section, to compare emergency and elective caesarean section in regard to intraoperative and postoperative complications in both mother and child, and to assess the decision-to-delivery interval (DDI) in ou...

A 30-year-old woman developed total spinal anaesthesia during establishment of labour analgesia via an epidural catheter The subsequent respiratory failure was successfully managed with non-invasive ventilation. This report describes the use of non-invasive ventilation in the parturient and the process of managing the parturient safely in an appropriately monitored environment. This case displa...

BACKGROUND Maternal age at delivery and cesarean section rates are increasing. In older women, the decision on delivery mode may be influenced by a reported increased risk of surgical interventions during labor and complications with increasing maternal age. We examined the association between maternal age and adverse outcomes in low-risk primiparous women, and the risk of adverse outcomes by d...

OBJECTIVE To examine the association between decision to delivery interval and maternal and baby outcomes. DESIGN National cross sectional survey. SETTING Maternity units in England and Wales. SUBJECTS REVIEWED: 17 780 singleton births (99% of all births) delivered by emergency caesarean section in England and Wales between 1 May 2000 and 31 July 2000. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Association be...

Corresponding author: Jong-Hwan Lee, M.D., Ph.D., Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, 81, Irwon-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul 135-710, Korea. Tel: 82-2-3410-1928, Fax: 82-2-3410-0361, E-mail: [email protected] This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial...

For subsequent births, women who have experienced previous caesarean section face a choice between elective caesarean section and trial of labour. The study reported in this paper utilises Australian hospital data to compare birth outcome and health system costs of these two options. Although trial of labour is more expensive if the result is an emergency caesarean section, high rates of succes...

Placenta previa is associated with increased maternal and fetal morbidity, caused primarily by hemorrhage, making an accurate diagnosis very important. However, diagnosis and treatment remain difficult, especially in the second trimester. We treated two cases with placenta previa at 18 weeks' gestation. In both patients, the cervical os was still closed when bleeding increased, necessitating em...

OBJECTIVE To identify the current clinical, socio-demographic and obstetric factors associated with the various types of delivery strategies in Mexico. MATERIALS AND METHODS This is a cross-sectional study based on the 2012 National Health and Nutrition Survey (ENSANUT) of 6,736 women aged 12 to 49 years. Delivery types discussed in this paper include vaginal delivery, emergency cesarean sect...