Delivery of the Obese Gravida

Abstract

Obesity in pregnancy confers morbidity to both the mother and neonate. Obese women are at increased risk of cesarean delivery, operative vaginal delivery, and failed trial of labor after cesarean delivery. In addition to impacting the mode of delivery, obesity is associated with hemorrhage, infection, and thromboembolic complications intheperipartumperiod. The risk of these complications increases with increasing maternal body mass index. In this chapter, we discuss evidence-based strategies to mitigate these risks and to manage complications that occur at the time of delivery in obese parturients.

Second Stage of Labor in Obese Patients: Calling for a New Definition

“…The overall success rate of operative vaginal delivery has been reported to be between 86 and 91% [33]. However, lower success rates have been found in cases where maternal BMI exceeds 30 kg/m 2 and ironically, maternal obesity is known to be a risk factor for operative vaginal deliveries [31,34].…”