[Delivery of pregnant women in Zaire who have previously had cesareans. An analysis of 145 cases].

A retrospective study was carried out to survey 145 women who gave birth who previously had caesarean operations, delivered in the Department of Gynecology and obstetrics of the University Clinic in Kinshasa between 1st January and 31st December 1981. The authors have analysed the obstetric outcome of these pregnant women. Their study gives rise to the following results: The incidence of women who had previously had caesarean operations was 2.4%. 92 women (63.4%) delivered normally and 53 (36.6%) had another Caesarean operation. Favourable factors leading to a normal delivery were previous vaginal delivery, particularly after a caesarean operation, and a vertex cephalic presentation. The growing number of Caesarean operations had led to many repeat operations. Long labour is one of the principal factors leading to ruptured uterus which did not seem to make the prognosis for the mother any worse. On the other hand fetal prognosis was saddled with an increased mortality rate (37.5%). Even this high figure is better than the prognosis in previous series: 50% in 1975 [24], and 46% in 1983 [26].