ORIGINAL ARTICLES   

Minerva Ginecologica 2001 February;53(1):21-8

Copyright © 2001 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: Italian

Observations on vaginal delivery in women with previous cesarian section

Colla F., Colla G., Alba E., Grio R.

Background. The significant increase in cesarian sections both before (52.73%) and during labour (89.82%) observed in the 1990s compared to the period 1970-1980 prompted the authors to review the cases of women admitted to Department B of the Gynecology and Obstetrics Clinic at the University of Turin and to study the number of women with previous cesarian sections undergoing labour. The aim of this study was to throw light on this complex question and to reduce the incidence of surgical births wherever possible.
Methods. Two groups of pregnant women with previous cesarian sections were studied in Department B of the Gynecology and Obstetrics Clinic at the University of Turin: one group included women undergoing cesarian sections between 1990-1998, and the other included women undergoing cesarian sections between 1970-1980. The authors analysed the indications for repeat cesarian section and the percentage of vaginal births.
Results. The results show that during 1970-1980 the percentage of vaginal births was 24.34% (259 vaginal births out of 1593 patients), whereas between 1990-1998 the percentage of vaginal births fell to 10.18% (51 vaginal births out of 1060 patients).
Conclusions. The high percentage of repeat cesarian sections found in the 1990s is not only due to strictly medical reasons, but also to ethical and political motives, and above all the maternal desire not to undergo natural labour.