Term breech delivery. Early and late complications.

Three hundred and sixty-six consecutive singleton breech presentations were analyzed for clinical factors associated with fetal complications related to vaginal delivery, and for the impact of different cesarean section rates on the incidence of fetal complications. The condition at birth of the vaginally delivered (243 cases) infants was found to correlate with maternal pre-pregnancy weight, and size of the fetal head. During the period of study the cesarean section rate changed from approximately 20 per cent of term breech presentations at the beginning to almost 50 per cent at its end. This was accompanied by a decrease in the traumatic morbidity. However, at follow-up only a small minority of those registered were found to be significantly affected. The fetal asphyxia rate was not influenced by the increased cesarean section rate. At follow-up one of 33 infants born asphyxiated showed late psychomotor development.