Previous cesarean birth. Trial of labor in women with macrosomic infants.

Patients with previous cesarean births who delivered macrosomic infants (greater than or equal to 4,000 gm) during the study periods January 1 to December 31, 1980, and July 1, 1982, to June 30, 1983, were analyzed to determine the impact of fetal weight on a trial of labor (TOL). Of 140 women with macrosomic infants given a TOL, 94 (67%) delivered vaginally. The most common indication for cesarean delivery was cephalopelvic disproportion (CPD). The dehiscence rates were similar when patients who underwent a TOL were compared with those who did not. Factors associated with a successful TOL were a previous vaginal delivery after the original cesarean section, no oxytocin usage during the TOL and an indication for the previous cesarean section other than CPD. The risk associated with a TOL in a patient with a previous cesarean birth and a macrosomic infant appears to be no greater than that encountered in a similar group of patients without uterine scars.