Can obstetricians prevent neonatal intraventricular haemorrhage?

The possible influence of obstetric and early neonatal factors on the development of neonatal intraventricular haemorrhage (IVH) in very low birth-weight infants have been studied. Caesarean section was associated with a significantly lower incidence of IVH, this reduction being largely confined to infants of 25-28 weeks' gestation. Forceps delivery did not seem to influence the rate of occurrence of IVH if one allowed for differences in gestational age between infants delivered spontaneously and those with forceps. Similarly the use of an episiotomy at the time of delivery did not seem to reduce the incidence of IVH, and a similar lack of correlation was found with the other factors examined.