Neurological follow-up of 281 children born in breech presentation: a controlled study.

A study was conducted of all children delivered in breech presentation from 1969 to 1977 in the university's department of obstetrics. One-fifth of the deliveries were by caesarean section. Perinatal mortality was high (13.2%) but was due almost exclusively to causes other than the birth itself. The 256 surviving children and their matched controls were neurologically examined at 18 months or at ages varying between 3 and 10 years. The attrition rate was 5.7%, but in most cases data on development were available. Significant differences between the study and control groups existed for only minor neurological dysfunctions. It is concluded that the main danger of breech presentation is in the associated complications of pregnancy and that there is no reason to advocate a higher frequency of abdominal delivery than the 20% found in this study.