Abstract: Objectives: Caesarean section has many implications for maternal and neonatal morbidity as well as in subsequent pregnancy outcomes. Our study compared neonatal and maternal outcomes of the caesarean sections performed in the first stage versus the second stage of labor.
Methods: This is a 6-month prospective observational study conducted at a tertiary care hospital. 200 patients drawn in 2 groups – A & B with 100 patients in each group. Group A consisted of patients who underwent caesarean at full dilatation and group B comprised of 100 patients who underwent caesarean during stage 1 (active phase) of labour.
Results: 85% cases were primigravidae in Group A vs 91% in group B. Both the groups were comparable in terms of parity. In Group A, stitch line soakage was seen in 4% of cases vs 1% in Group B patients, statistically comparable (p<174), distension was seen in 18% of cases in Group A vs 10% in Group B patients, again statistically comparable (p=.103).
For neonates in group A, out of 54, 42 (78%) admissions were because of RDS and rest 12 (22%) were because of early neonatal sepsis. In Group B, 11 (87%) admissions were because of RDS while the rest 2 (13%) were because of early neonatal sepsis. There was no significant difference in age between cases and controls.
Conclusion: Cesarean delivery performed in the second stage was associated with increased maternal morbidity such as difficulty in head delivery, haemorrhage, uterine angle extension, and the results were statistically significant between cases and controls.