Use of abnormalities in the Friedman curve as a predictor of operative delivery in macrosomic babies.
OBJECTIVE
To assess the use of the Friedman labor curve as a predictor of operative delivery in macrosomic pregnancies.


METHODS
Medical records of 1141 patients who had delivered babies > or =4000 gm (group 1) were reviewed and were compared with the results of the next mother who delivered a neonate with birth weight <4000 gm (group 2). The variables studied were progress of labor as denoted on the Friedman curve, oxytocin use, and need for operative delivery.


RESULTS
In the 1141 patients with neonatal birth weights > or =4000 gm, there was a trend toward a longer second stage, arrest disorder, and operative delivery but this did not reach statistical significance.


CONCLUSIONS
Abnormalities in the Friedman curve were not useful as a predictor for operative delivery in pregnancies complicated by fetal macrosomia. There were no statistically significant differences between the two groups in terms of the variables studied.
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, New York University Medical Center, NY 10016, USA.
I A
IA
Hoskins
J L
JL
Gomez
D001724:Birth Weight; D002585:Cesarean Section / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D036861:Delivery, Obstetric / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D005320:Fetal Macrosomia; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007744:Obstetric Labor Complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011247:Pregnancy; D012307:Risk Factors