Early Neonatal Outcome Of Babies Delivered By Cesarean Section Because Of Clinical Diagnosis Of Fetal Distress

Objective: To determine the early neonatal outcomes of babies delivered by cesarean section because of clinical diagnosis of fetal distress (using intermittent auscultation) compared to those delivered similarly because of other reasons.Study design: A retrospective case-control study design was used. For each case (cesarean section performed because of clinical diagnosis of fetal distress), the next cesarean delivery done because of other reason matched for age and/or parity was taken as a control. Results: The prevalence of cesarean section because of fetal distress was 10.07%. There was no significant differences between the cases and controls in terms of age, parity, booking status, presence of obstetrics conditions, duration of operation, and birth weight of the babies ( p>0.05). The cases were significantly more likely to have a 5-minute Apgar score of <7 compared with the controls (OR= 4.11, 95%=1.41-12.05)Conclusion: Clinical diagnosis of fetal distress is associated with adverse early neonatal outcome.