Comparative analysis of perinatal outcomes among different typesof deliveries in term pregnancies in a reference maternity of Southeast Brazil.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the perinatal outcomes of women undergoing an elective cesarean section (CS) with those who had an emergency CS during the labor. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. SETTING: Hospital Estadual Azevedo Lima (HEAL), Niteroi, Brazil. METHODS: We analysed elective CS, emergent CS and vaginal delivery as dependent variables and neonatal data (admission in intensive care unit) as independent variables. Using the Statement of Live Birth during a three-month period, all patients who had their children after 38 complete weeks of pregnancy were selected. χ2 test and Student t-tests were applied to compare the groups. RESULTS: When patients who had vaginal delivery were compared with those who had an elective CS, we observed 219 normal deliveries with 1.8% of hospitalizations in neonatal intensive care units (NICU), and 88 patients of elective CS with 2.3% of admissions in closed units (p = 0.401). We had a sample of 108 newborns delivered by CS during the labor with 8.3% rate of hospitalization in NICU versus 1.8% of 219 newborns delivered vaginally (p = 0.005). CONCLUSION: The worst perinatal outcomes occurred when emergency CS were performed.