Labor after prior cesarean section. 1992

G Pridjian
Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, University of Michigan Medical School, Women's Hospital, Ann Arbor 48109-0264.

1. All women with PCS should be considered candidates for vaginal delivery. Certain high-risk factors then should be used to recommend elective repeat cesarean section. Currently, a scar in the active segment of the uterus is considered an absolute contraindication to labor. 2. Women should be informed of the chances of success (which in most instances are excellent), course of action in labor, and the rare risk of uterine rupture. 3. Women in a very low risk category (one low-transverse PCS) should be managed like any laboring patient but including fetal monitoring. 4. The remaining laboring patients may benefit from more intensive intrapartum surveillance, including continuous electronic fetal monitoring, early rupture of the fetal membranes, and placement of an intrauterine pressure catheter. 5. The labor course in women with PCS will depend on the number of vaginal deliveries achieved previously and the stage of labor reached before the cesarean section was done. 6. Labor disorders in patients with PCS, as in all patients, should be diagnosed and managed promptly. 7. Neither oxytocin nor epidural use is contraindicated in these patients. As in any patient, care should be taken to avoid iatrogenic uterine hyperstimulation. 8. Uterine rupture may have many different presentations. However, the most common is abnormal fetal heart rate patterns that are especially variable or prolonged decelerations. 9. Most uterine ruptures can be repaired and do not require hysterectomy. Hysterectomy may be the appropriate choice in some situations. 10. A history of a prior uterine rupture is not a contraindication to future childbearing, but it may place the woman at greater risk for a repeat event.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D007744 Obstetric Labor Complications Medical problems associated with OBSTETRIC LABOR, such as BREECH PRESENTATION; PREMATURE OBSTETRIC LABOR; HEMORRHAGE; or others. These complications can affect the well-being of the mother, the FETUS, or both. Complications, Labor,Labor Complications,Complication, Labor,Complication, Obstetric Labor,Complications, Obstetric Labor,Labor Complication,Labor Complication, Obstetric,Labor Complications, Obstetric,Obstetric Labor Complication
D011247 Pregnancy The status during which female mammals carry their developing young (EMBRYOS or FETUSES) in utero before birth, beginning from FERTILIZATION to BIRTH. Gestation,Pregnancies
D005260 Female Females
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D016064 Vaginal Birth after Cesarean Delivery of an infant through the vagina in a female who has had a prior cesarean section. Vaginal Birth after Cesareans,Vaginal Births after Cesarean

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