Rising rates of second stage caesarean section and its impact on maternal outcome

Background: There is an alarming rise in caesarean section leading to increased adverse outcomes for both the mother and fetus when compared with vaginal delivery. With this increasing caesarean section rate, there is a concerning increase in the rate of second stage caesarean section. This study highlights includes the rate of caesarean deliveries in the second stage of labour, the indications for delivery and the associated maternal morbidity in this cohort of women. Methods: This was a prospective cohort review of all women with a singleton, cephalic fetus at term delivered by caesarean section in the second stage of labor between July, 2016 and December 31, 2017 at government medical college hospital Dharmapuri. The main outcome measures were second stage caesarean section, indications and its maternal morbidity.Results: 250 women underwent caesarean delivery in the advanced labor. Among the 250 patient’s majority of them were in the age group of 21-30 yrs. about 76% of the patients were primigravidae and only the remaining 24% were multigravida. The commonest indications for doing caesarean section in the second stage of labor was cephalo pelvic disproportion and non-reassuring fetal heart rate patterns. The difficult task was delivery of the deeply engaged head, the increased likelihood of intraoperative and post-operative complications.Conclusions: Cesarean sections done in second stage of labor are associated with several intra-operative maternal complications and morbidity