Prenatal predictors of cesarean section due to labor arrest.

Cesarean section due to labor arrest occurs because the fetus is too large for the maternal outlet tract. If these women could be identified prior to labor, patient management could be optimized for both the clinician and the woman. A case-control study was designed to identify predictors of Cesarean section due to labor arrest. A five year retrospective review identified 32 cases and 329 controls with complete data for the prenatal maternal variables. Both cases and controls were considered for the stepwise logistic regression model. The prenatal variables predicting Cesarean section due to labor arrest are parity, history of past macrosomia, maternal age, term fundal height and maternal height. This model can be considered a pilot model that can be tested in a large international/inter-ethnic population.