Presented at the District IV Meeting of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, Orlando, FL, Sept. 5-7, 2008.
Received 9 June 2009; received in revised form 12 September 2009; accepted 14 November 2009. published online 15 January 2010. Corrected Proof
Objective
We sought to examine rates of birth trauma in 2 groupings (all International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision codes for birth trauma, and as defined by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Patient Safety Indicator [PSI]) among infants born by vaginal and cesarean delivery.
Study design
Data on singleton infants were obtained from the 2004-2005 Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project Nationwide Inpatient Sample.
Results
The rates of Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality PSI and all birth trauma were 2.45 and 25.85 per 1000 births, respectively. Compared with vaginal, cesarean delivery was associated with increased odds of PSI birth trauma (odds ratio [OR], 1.71), primarily due to an increased risk for “other specified birth trauma” (OR, 2.61). Conversely, cesarean delivery was associated with decreased odds of all birth trauma (OR, 0.55), due to decreased odds of clavicle fractures (OR, 0.07), brachial plexus (OR, 0.10), and scalp injuries (OR, 0.55).
Conclusion
Infants delivered by cesarean are at risk for different types of birth trauma from infants delivered vaginally.
1Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Emory University, Atlanta, GA
2Division of Reproductive Health, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA
4Contraceptive Research And Development Program, Arlington, VA , Bethesda, MD
5Contraceptive and Reproductive Health Branch/National Institutes of Health (the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development), Bethesda, MD
Reprints: Charmaine K. Moczygemba, MD, Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Emory School of Medicine, 69 Jesse Hill Jr Dr., Fourth Floor, Atlanta, GA 30303
Cite this article as: Moczygemba CK, Paramsothy P, Meikle S, et al. Route of delivery and neonatal birth trauma. Am J Obstet Gynecol 2010;202:x.ex-x.ex.
ABSTRACT