Cardiac output measurements during and after triplet gestation.

In a gravida with a triplet gestation complicated by fainting attacks and transient episodes of apparently positional hypotension, cardiac output was measured noninvasively to determine the optimal posture during cesarean section. Before delivery, cardiac output and mean arterial pressure were highest in the left semilateral position and lowest in the right semilateral posture. Shortly after delivery of the infants, cardiac output was still highest in the left semilateral position but lowest in the supine posture. Twenty-four and 48 hours later, the values were almost identical in all three positions. Noninvasive cardiac output monitoring provided a simple method of detecting the occurrence and severity of caval compression and of determining the optimal position of the gravida during cesarean section.