title: An audit of caesarean sections for very low birth weight babies.
abstract: This study reviewed caesarean sections for very low birth weight babies in a tertiary referral maternity hospital. Maternal and neonatal complications were recorded and classified according to uterine incision type. We reviewed medical records of 89 women over a period of 2 years. The indication for the caesarean section influenced the type of uterine incision made (p = 0.004). Women who had antepartum haemorrhage were more likely to need a vertical incision. There was also a higher incidence of vertical incisions for gestations <28 weeks (p = 0.029). Surprisingly, when the computerised discharge summaries were reviewed retrospectively, all the vertical uterine incisions were recorded as lower segment caesarean sections. This would have a clinical impact on those women in future pregnancies, especially in a highly mobile population.
authors.affiliation: UCD School of Medicine and Medical Science, Coombe Women and Infants University Hospital, Dublin, Ireland.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Khalifeh
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Farah
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Turner
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002585:Cesarean Section / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D019102:Infant, Very Low Birth Weight; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000601:surgery; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome; D012189:Retrospective Studies