Intrapartum Ultrasound Guidance to Make Safer Any Obstetric Intervention: Fetal Head Rotation, Assisted Vaginal Birth, Breech Delivery of the Second Twin

Abstract

Intrapartum ultrasound (US) is more reliable than clinical assessment in determining parameters of crucial importance to optimize the management of labor including the position and station of the presenting part. Evidence from the literature supports the role of intrapartum US in predicting the outcome of labor in women diagnosed with slow progress during the first and second stage of labor, and randomized data have demonstrated that transabdominal US is far more accurate than digital examination in assessing fetal position before performing an instrumental delivery. Intrapartum US has also been shown to outperform the clinical skills in predicting the outcome and improving the technique of instrumental vaginal delivery. On this basis, some guidelines recommend intrapartum US to ascertain occiput position before performing an instrumental delivery. Manual rotation of occiput posterior position (MROP) and assisted breech delivery of the second twin are other obstetric interventions that can be performed during the second stage of labor with the support of intrapartum US. In this review article we summarize the existing evidence on the role of intrapartum US in assisting different types of obstetric intervention with the aim to improve their safety.