Delivery and long—term outcome of very low birth weight infants

Abstract

The obstetric and the neonatal management of 72 infants weighing less than 1 500 g at birth were evaluated. Sixty per cent of the mothers were delivered by cesarean section. The neonatal mortality (27%) was equal in the cesarean section and the vaginally delivered groups, but intraventricular hemorrhage was a more frequent autopsy finding in the latter group. At follow-up, 88% of all surviving infants are neurologically normal at two years of age. Of the vaginally delivered infants, three suffered from cerebral palsy, but none in the cesarean section group. The present results reveal that an active management including cesarean section in the delivery of very low birth weight infants is justified and leads to a favorable prognosis.

Fetal pH and postnatal adaptation in preterm vaginal deliveries

“…It has been stated that severity of neonatal illness and long term sequelae would worsen by the trauma of vaginal delivery and the immediate postnatal treatment (1,30). In the present study we found that hemoglobine did not increase postnatally in Group B infants with fetal pH < 7.20 in contrast to the non-acidotic groups.…”

“…In earlier studies we have evaluated the impact of the mode of delivery in very low birthweight infants [30]. Data on the FHR monitoring and fetal scalp pH have also been reported previously [31].…”