Impacted fetal head extraction methods at second stage cesarean and subsequent preterm delivery: A multicenter study

OBJECTIVE: Second-stage cesarean delivery (CD) is associated with subsequent preterm birth (PTB). It has been suggested that an increased risk of PTB after second-stage cesarean delivery could be linked to a higher chance of cervical injury due to the extension of the uterine incision. Previous studies have shown that reverse breech extraction is associated with lower rates of uterine incision extensions compared to the "push" method. We aimed to investigate the association between the method of fetal extraction during second-stage CD and the rate of spontaneous PTB (sPTB), as well as other maternal and neonatal outcomes during the subsequent pregnancy. METHODS: This was a multicenter retrospective cohort study. The study population included women in their first subsequent singleton delivery following a second-stage CD between 2004 and 2021. The main exposure of interest was the method of fetal extraction in the index CD ("push" method vs. reverse breech extraction). The primary outcome of this study was sPTB <37 weeks in the subsequent pregnancy. Secondary outcomes were overall PTB, trial of labor, and other adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes. Univariate analysis was followed by multiple logistic regression modeling. RESULTS: During the study period, 2969 index CD during second stage were performed, of those 583 met the inclusion criteria, of whom 234 (40.1%) had fetal extraction using the reverse breech extraction method, while 349 (59.9%) had the "push" method for extraction. In univariate analysis, women in those two groups had statistically similar rates of sPTB (3.7% vs. 3.0%; odds ratio [OR] 1.25, 95% CI: 0.49-3.19) and overall PTB (<37, <34 and <32 weeks), as well as other maternal, neonatal, and trial of labor outcomes. This was confirmed by multivariate analyses with an adjusted OR of 1.27 (95% CI: 0.43-3.71) for sPTB. CONCLUSION: Among women with a previous second-stage CD, no significant difference was observed in PTB rates in the subsequent pregnancies following the "push" method compared to the reverse breech extraction method.