Body Mass Index Trends in Women Who Undergo External Cephalic Version in a Tertiary Hospital in Spain

Abstract

The global epidemic of obesity also affects pregnant women. External cephalic version is a procedure for achieving a cephalic presentation. Obesity has been associated with lower rates of ECV success. The main objective of this article is to analyze the trends in BMI in pregnant women who underwent ECV. A descriptive retrospective analysis of ECV performed in Hospital Clinico Universitario Virgen de la Arrixaca in Murcia (Spain) between 1st of January of 2014 and 31st of December 2018 has been carried out. 417 patients were recruited. The mean maternal BMI was 25.5 kg/m2 at 36 week’s gestation. If BMI is categorized, 2.6% (N=11) of the patients had a BMI below 18.5 kg/m2, 51.1% (N=213) had a BMI between 18.5-24.9 kg/m2, 30.9% (N=129) of the patients had a BMI between 25-29.9 kg/m2 and 14.0% (N=64) had a BMI above 30 kg/ m2. Mean maternal BMI had statistically significant changes between 2014 and 2018 (p<0.001). Maternal BMI has increased over the years in patients who undergo ECV. In patients who undergo ECV, maternal BMI should be related to socio-economic inequalities and social behavior in future researches. It should be also associated with maternal BMI of pregnant women who undergo ECV with ECV success rate and with the type of delivery of those pregnancies. Keywords: External Cephalic Version; Body Mass Index; Pregnant; Obstetrics; Obesity; Overweight. Abbreviations ECV: External Cephalic Version; BMI: Body Mass Index.