Vacuum Extractor Versus Manual Head Extraction During Cesarean Section

Abstract

Background: For multifactorial reasons, the rate of cesarean deliveries increased clearly over a decade; decreased in vaginal births after cesarean (VBAC), multiple gestation, maternal obesity, pre-term labor, gestational diabetes or hypertension, increased number of high-risk expectant mothers and the obstetrical medico-legal environment. Delivering the fetal head at cesarean section can also be a lengthy operation and can result in maternal or fetal Complications. The vacuum extractor allows for the application of traction on the fetal head. In this study we aim to compare the safety (for mother and infant) and efficacy of delivery of the fetal head in cesarean section using vacuum extractor with the manual extraction.
 Methods: This study was conducted on 60 pregnant women undergoing cesarean section. All patients were between 37 and 42 weeks of pregnancy with signs of healthy fetus and were divided into 2 groups; Group I- 30 patients subjected to vacuum extraction at the cesarean section, Group II- 30 patients subjected to the conventional cesarean method.
 The result: The BMI of women in group I was 27.90 ± 0.96 and in group II was 28.0 ± 0.98. The gestational age of the babies in Group I and II were 39.0 ± 1.02 and 39.0 ± 0.98 weeks. U-D interval for Group I and Group II were 48.40 ± 17.63 and 73.87 ± 16.76 days respectively. The estimated blood loss in group I and group II were 478.0 ± 59.62 and 464.7 ± 52.57 respectively. The birth weight of the babies delivered in Group I and Group II were 4253.33 ± 118.72 and 4246.67 ± 135.58 KG respectively. The five minutes Apgar score for Group I and Group II were 8.50 ± 0.68 and 8.57 ± 0.57. 
 Conclusion: The use of the vacuum extractor at cesarean section may be a safe and effective method to facilitate delivery of the large fetal head and cesarean section delivery can be simplified by this technique.