Peripartum Morbidity after Cesarean Delivery for Arrest of Dilation at 4 to 5 cm Compared with 6 to 10 cm

Abstract

Objective Given that recent consensus guidelines established to decrease cesarean delivery (CD) rates use 6 cm to define the onset of the active phase of labor, our objective was to evaluate maternal and neonatal outcomes after CD for the indication of arrest of dilation at 4 to 5 cm compared with ≥ 6 cm. Study Design We performed a secondary analysis using data from the Maternal Fetal-Medicine Units Network Cesarean Registry. We included nulliparous women with term, singleton, vertex gestations who underwent primary CD for arrest of dilation. We compared those who reached a maximum cervical dilation of 4 to 5 cm with those of ≥6 cm. Our primary outcome was composite maternal morbidity that included chorioamnionitis, endometritis, transfusion, wound complication, operative injury, intensive care unit admission, or death. Results Of the 73,257 women in the dataset, 5,681 met the inclusion criteria. After adjusting for confounders, there was no difference in composite maternal (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]: 1.19; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.94–1.52) or neonatal morbidity (aOR: 0.94; 95% CI: 0.79–1.10) between the groups. Conclusion In this historical cohort, maternal and neonatal outcomes after CD for arrest of dilation ≥ 6 cm were comparable to those performed at 4 to 5 cm and support recent labor management guidelines.