Recent trends in term trial of labor after cesarean by number of prior cesarean deliveries

BACKGROUND

Cesarean delivery is a major source of maternal morbidity, and repeat cesarean delivery accounts for 40% of cesarean delivery, but recent data on the trial of labor after cesarean and vaginal birth after cesarean are limited.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to report the national rates of trial of labor after cesarean and vaginal birth after cesarean by number of previous cesarean deliveries and examine the effect of demographic and clinical characteristics on these rates.

STUDY DESIGN

This was a population-based cohort study using the US natality data files. The study sample was restricted to 4,135,247 nonanomalous singleton, cephalic deliveries between 37 and 42 weeks of gestation, with a history of previous cesarean delivery and delivered in a hospital between 2010 and 2019. Deliveries were grouped by number of previous cesarean deliveries (1, 2, or ≥3). The trial of labor after cesarean (deliveries with labor among deliveries with previous cesarean delivery) and vaginal birth after cesarean (vaginal deliveries among trial of labor after cesarean) rates were computed for each year. The rates were further subgrouped by history of previous vaginal delivery. Year of delivery, number of previous cesarean deliveries, history of previous cesarean delivery, age, race and ethnicity, maternal education, obesity, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, inadequate prenatal care, Medicaid payer, and gestational age were examined concerning the trial of labor after cesarean and vaginal birth after cesarean using multiple logistic regression. SAS software (version 9.4) was used for all analyses.

RESULTS

The trial of labor after cesarean rates increased from 14.4% in 2010 to 19.6% in 2019 (P<.001). This trend was seen in all categories of number of previous cesarean deliveries. Moreover, vaginal birth after cesarean rates increased from 68.5% in 2010 to 74.3% in 2019. The trial of labor after cesarean and vaginal birth after cesarean rates were the highest for deliveries with a history of both 1 previous cesarean delivery and a vaginal delivery (28.9% and 79.7%, respectively) and the lowest for those with a history of ≥3 previous cesarean deliveries and no history of vaginal delivery (4.5% and 46.9%, respectively). Factors associated with the trial of labor after cesarean and vaginal birth after cesarean rates are similar, but several factors have different directions of effect, such as non-White race and ethnicity, which is associated with a higher likelihood of trial of labor after cesarean but a lower likelihood of successful vaginal birth after cesarean.

CONCLUSION

More than 80% of patients with a history of previous cesarean delivery deliver by repeat scheduled cesarean delivery. With vaginal birth after cesarean rates increasing among those who attempt a trial of labor after cesarean, emphasis should be put on safely increasing the trial of labor after cesarean rates.

Effect of a Multimedia Educational Tool on Contraception Use 1 Year Postpartum

FUNDING SOURCE

Supported in part by a research grant from Investigator-Initiated Studies program of Organon. The opinions expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent Organon.

CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRAION

ClinicalTrials.gov , NCT04291040.

Factors associated with long-acting reversible contraception usage: Results from the National Survey of Family Growth

OBJECTIVE

The authors aimed to identify factors associated with long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) usage.

METHODS

The current cross-sectional study used data from the National Survey of Family Growth from 2011 to 2019. Respondents aged 15 to 44 years were included. Those with previous sterilization, infertility, or pregnant were excluded. The outcome evaluated was use of a LARC.

RESULTS

Of 61 543 814 women, 44 287 911 (72.0%) met inclusion criteria. The rate of LARC use was 13.4%. Factors associated with an increased likelihood of LARC usage were married/living with a partner (adjusted relative risk [aRR], 1.18 [95% CI, 1.02-1.37]), perceived good health (aRR, 1.44 [95% CI, 1.13-1.84]), year of survey 2017 to 2019 (aRR, 1.53, [95% CI, 1.28-1.83]), one or two past pregnancies (aRR, 1.62 [95% CI, 1.24-2.12]) or three or more past pregnancies (aRR, 1.67 [95% CI, 1.22-2.28]), age at first live birth <20 years (aRR, 1.58 [95% CI, 1.20-2.08]) or 20 to 24 years (aRR, 1.45 [95% CI, 1.13-1.87]), age at onset of sexual activity 13-19 years (aRR, 1.50 [95% CI, 1.26-1.78]), and a 0- to 5-month period of nonintercourse in the past year (aRR, 1.63 [95% CI, 1.40-1.90]). Factors associated with decreased LARC usage were age ≥ 35 years (aRR, 0.74 [95% CI, 0.65-0.85]), being non-Hispanic Black (aRR, 0.75 [95% CI, 0.62-0.89]) or non-Hispanic other (aRR, 0.72 [95% CI, 0.59-0.88]), intending to have children (aRR, 0.65 [95% CI, 0.57-0.74]), and never being sexually active (aRR, 0.10 [95% CI, 0.06-0.16]).

CONCLUSIONS

Using a nationally representative sample of women in the United States, the authors identified modifiable factors associated with LARC use. Results may be used to plan interventional trials to increase LARC usage.

Moderate-to-Severe Polyhydramnios: Cutoffs for Deepest Vertical Pocket Corresponding to Amniotic Fluid Index

OBJECTIVE

Society for Maternal-fetal medicine Consult Series (#46) states "antenatal fetal surveillance is not required for mild idiopathic" polyhydramnios defined as amniotic fluid index (AFI) of 24 cm or a deepest vertical pocket (DVP) between 8 and 11 cm. The objective of this study was to determine the cutoff for DVP which correlates with AFI ≥ 30 cm.

METHODS

This retrospective study of singleton third trimester ultrasounds included a study group randomly divided into test and validation. In the test group, DVP cutoffs correlating with AFI ≥ 30 cm which was used to define moderate-severe polyhydramnios were calculated in two ways, rounded to the nearest whole number: 1) a receiver operating curve and Youden's J statistic (DVP-Youden) and 2) calculation of the DVP percentile that corresponded with AFI of 30 cm (DVP-Percentile). Using the validation group, diagnostic characteristics were DVP-Youden and DVP-Percentile for diagnosis of AFI ≥ 30 cm and were compared against SMFM cutoffs (DVP-SMFM).

RESULTS

Seventy one thousand eight hundred and ninety three ultrasound exams in the 3rd trimester had assessment of AFI and DVP. Moderate-severe polyhydramnios occurred in 286 (1.2%) in test group and 571 (1.2%) in validation group. AFI of 30 cm corresponded to the 98.9th percentile, which in turn correlated to a DVP of 10 cm (DVP-Percentile). The calculated cutoff for moderate-severe polyhydramnios was 8 cm for DVP-Youden.

CONCLUSION

Using 8.0 cm rather than 12.0 cm increased the detection of moderate-severe polyhydramnios to 100% with a false positive rate under 5%. For those utilizing DVP for amniotic fluid evaluation, identification of a DVP ≥ 8.0 cm should prompt further evaluation with complete AFI.

Semiquantitative Assessment of Amniotic Fluid Among Individuals With and Without Diabetes Mellitus

OBJECTIVE

To compare the rate and severity of abnormal amniotic fluid volumes (oligohydramnios or polyhydramnios), as well as the distribution of amniotic fluid levels, in pregnancies with and without diabetes.

METHODS

We performed a retrospective cohort study of singleton nonanomalous pregnancies receiving an ultrasound examination (USE) in the third trimester. Pregnancies were categorized into those with and without diabetes and subcategorized by diabetes type. The primary outcomes were oligohydramnios or polyhydramnios. Polyhydramnios was also examined by severity. The association between maternal diabetes status and oligohydramnios or polyhydramnios was assessed using logistic regression. In addition, we computed gestational age-specific amniotic fluid index (AFI) and deepest vertical pocket (DVP) centiles for pregnancies with and without diabetes.

RESULTS

There were 60,226 USEs from 26,651 pregnancies that met inclusion criteria. There were 3992 (15.0%) pregnancies with diabetes and 22,659 (85.0%) without diabetes. Using AFI, the rate of polyhydramnios was 10.5 versus 3.8% (odds ratio [OR] 2.95; 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.62-3.32) for pregnancies with versus without diabetes, respectively; using DVP, the rate of polyhydramnios was 13.9 versus 5.4% (OR 2.84; 95% CI 2.56-3.15). Rates of oligohydramnios were also increased in pregnancies with diabetes (3.3 versus 2.6%; OR 1.26; 95% CI 1.04-1.52). The AFI and DVP were significantly higher in the cohort with diabetes between 28 and 36 weeks.

CONCLUSION

Within our study population, pregnancies with diabetes had increased rates of oligohydramnios and polyhydramnios as well as increased gestational age-specific amniotic fluid volumes between 28 and 36 weeks. A higher prevalence of polyhydramnios was observed using DVP as compared to AFI; nevertheless, associations were similar using either method.

Cesarean delivery at term for non-reassuring fetal heart rate tracing: risk factors and predictability

OBJECTIVE

To delineate risk factors for adverse outcomes among those who underwent cesarean delivery (CD) for non-reassuring fetal heart rate tracing (NRFHT) and ascertain whether neonatal or maternal morbidity can be predicted accurately.

METHODS

The Consortium on Safe Labor Database was utilized for this secondary analysis. Inclusion criteria were non-anomalous, singleton gestations between 37.0 and 41.6 weeks who underwent CD for NRFHT. Composite adverse neonatal outcomes (CANO) included Apgar <5 at 5 min, seizures, mechanical ventilation, sepsis, intraventricular hemorrhage, necrotizing enterocolitis or neonatal death. Composite adverse maternal outcomes (CAMO) included endometritis, blood transfusion, wound complication, admission to intensive care unit, thromboembolism, hysterectomy or death. Bivariable analysis and multivariable Poisson regression were used to identify risk factors independently associated with adverse outcomes. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were created to evaluate the predictive value of the models for adverse outcomes.

RESULTS

Of 228,438 births in the database, 7310 individuals (3.7%) met inclusion criteria. Among this cohort, CANO occurred 3.8% of the time. CANO was less common among people over 35 years (9.8% versus 18.4% p < .01) but was more common among those with at least high-school education (15.3% versus 11.2%; p < .01), varying by ethnicity (p < .01). CAMO occurred in 3.4% and was less common among those undergoing induction of labor (37.3% versus 49.4%; p < .01) and more common among those with clinical chorioamnionitis (8.4% versus 4.3%; p < .01). The area under the curve (AUC) for ROC curve to identify CANO was 0.63 implying a limited ability to predict neonatal adverse outcomes. The AUC for identifying women with maternal adverse outcomes was 0.69 also indicating a moderate prediction ability.

CONCLUSIONS

Among singletons between 37 and 41 weeks who labored, the rate of CD for NRFHT was about 3.7% and among them CANO occurred in 3.8%. While risk factors for adverse neonatal outcomes following CD for NRFHT are identifiable, they do not suffice to predict them.

Comparison of management options for twin pregnancies with cervical shortening

Objective: To compare the effectiveness of expectant management (EM), cervical cerclage (CC) and vaginal progesterone (VP) in decreasing the rate of spontaneous preterm birth in twin gestations with midtrimester cervical shortening.Study design: This is a retrospective cohort study comparing pregnancy outcomes of twin gestations with midtrimester cervical shortening, defined as a cervical length (CL) on routine transvaginal ultrasound between 15 weeks 0 days and 24 weeks 6 days gestation of <2.5 cm, managed with either EM, CC or VP. Women were categorized by final management strategy. Primary outcome was gestational age at delivery. Secondary outcomes included latency period (defined as number of weeks between a diagnosis of cervical shortening and delivery), gestational age at delivery <32 weeks, mode of delivery, perinatal death, neonatal birthweight and rate of chorioamnionitis. Subanalysis of women with a CL < 1.5 cm was also performed. Logistic regression was used to identify predictors of delivery <32 weeks, controlling for potential confounders.Results: Between January 2006 and July 2016, 64 pairs of twins with midtrimester cervical shortening were identified, 18 managed with EM (28.1%), 29 CC (45.3%), and 17 VP (26.6%), 52 of which had information regarding delivery outcomes. 90.4% of women delivered prematurely (<37 weeks). Women in the CC group were diagnosed with cervical shortening at a significantly earlier mean gestational age (CC 20.6 ± 1.7 weeks versus EM 22.2 ± 2.9 weeks and VP 22.2 ± 2.0 weeks, p = .02) and had a shorter mean cervical length at the time of diagnosis (CC 1.18 ± 0.7 cm vs. EM 1.56 ± 0.7 and VP 1.95 ± 0.6, p = .002), as compared to those in the EM and VP groups. There was no difference in gestational age at delivery (EM 30.9 ± 5.2 weeks, CC 30.4 ± 4.9 weeks and VP 32.4 ± 4.1 weeks, respectively) or any of the secondary outcomes listed above. Women with a CL <1.5 cm delivered significantly earlier than those with a cervical length ≥1.5 cm (28.4 ± 4.7 weeks vs. 33.2 ± 3.6 weeks, p = .0001). After adjusting for potential confounders, cervical length <1.5 cm, not the management strategy, was the predictor of PTB before 32 weeks in this twin population [AOR 6.56 (95% CI 1.78, 24.20), p = .005].Conclusion: Twin pregnancies with midtrimester cervical shortening are at high risk for preterm delivery, and outcomes were similar regardless of management strategy. Large prospective trials are needed to evaluate the effect of different management strategies for cervical shortening in twins.