Is a breech presentation at term more frequent in women with a history of cesarean delivery?

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study was to determine whether breech presentation at term is more common among women with at least 1 previous cesarean delivery.

STUDY

DESIGN

This historic cohort study (n = 84,688) included women with a singleton term pregnancy and at least 1 previous delivery. Results were expressed as crude relative risks and adjusted odds ratios.

RESULTS

While 2.46% of women had a fetus in breech presentation at term, 14.91% of women had had 1 or more previous cesareans. The relative risk of a breech presentation at term for women with a history of cesarean was 2.18 (95%CI: 1.98-2.39). It did not differ according to the number of previous cesareans. The logistic regression analysis took into account confounding factors including gestational age, maternal age, parity, birthweight, and oligohydramnios. The adjusted odds ratio was 2.12 (95%CI: 1.91-2.36).

CONCLUSION

Women with previous cesarean deliveries have a risk of breech presentation at term twice that of women with previous vaginal deliveries.