The effect of mode of delivery on the perinatal outcome in fetuses with abdominal wall defects.

A descriptive study of 125 infants with abdominal wall defects was undertaken to determine the effect of mode of delivery on outcome. Fifty-six infants had gastroschisis and 69 had omphalocele. Overall, there were no differences between the omphalocele and the gastroschisis groups in either cesarean section rate (22% vs 26%) or prematurity rate (26% vs 30%). However, the omphalocele group had a significantly higher infant death rate (22% vs 7%, p less than 0.001), a significantly higher incidence of associated major congenital anomalies (29% vs 5%, p less than 0.001), and a higher incidence of long-term infant morbidity (14.5% vs 8.9%). Within either group there was no significant difference between vaginal and cesarean delivery regarding either infant mortality, acute or long-term infant outcome, or frequency of associated major anomalies. We conclude that vaginal delivery of infants with abdominal wall defects does not adversely affect infant outcome.