Labor and delivery following successful external cephalic version

The objective of this study is to determine if successful external cephalic version is followed by an increased likelihood of prolonged labor or opera tive delivery. Women having a successful external cephalic version of a nor mal singleton fetus greater than or equal to 37 weeks' gestation between Ja nuary 1, 1997 and December 31, 1998 were included. Each case was matched fo r gestational age at delivery (+/- 1 week), labor onset (spontaneous or ind uced), prior vaginal delivery (yes or no), and cervical dilation on admissi on for delivery(+1 cm) to the next three patients delivering a spontaneousl y vertex term singleton. Maternal demographics, intrapartum variables, neon atal outcomes, and route of delivery were examined. Statistical comparisons were performed by the Student's t-test or Fisher's exact test. The 38 case s and 114 controls were similar by maternal age, race, gestational age at d elivery, birth weight, and insurer. There were no differences in the freque ncy of epidural or oxytocin use, maternal genital tract lacerations, or blo od loss at delivery. Neonatal outcomes, assessed by 1- and 5-min Apgar scor e < 7, or neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) admission did not differ betw een cases and controls. The labor length of patients undergoing successful version was similar to that of women laboring with spontaneously vertex fet uses (10.8 +/- 8.9 vs. 10.1 +/- 10.1 hr, p = 0.4). The frequencies of opera tive vaginal and cesarean delivery in cases did not differ from those of co ntrols (3/38 vs. 1/114, p = 0.56 and 4/38 vs. 8/114, p = 0.51, respectively .) Labor duration and delivery route following successful external cephalic version do not differ from women with spontaneously vertex fetuses.