Maternal height and age: risk factors for cephalopelvic disproportion in Zimbabwe.

ABSTRACT

PIP: In the Greater Harare area of Zimbabwe, a researcher compared data on 203 women who suffered from cephalopelvic disproportion (CPD) and underwent a cesarean section with data on 299 facility matched controls to determine the effects of maternal height and age and their significance for CPD. All the women delivered either at the municipal hospital or its clinics. When the researcher controlled for parity, young age (20 years) was not a risk factor. There were few 20-year old women, however. 35-year old mothers were at 2.1 times the risk for CPD than were 20.34 year olds after controlling for parity and at 2.7 times the risk after controlling for demographic and other obstetric factors. Women at a height of 160 cm had a relative risk for CPD of twice that of women at a height of 160 cm. Potential biases in this study included the possibility that women with prior cesarean section were underrepresented especially if they were selected for cesarean section for their short stature and questionable quality of the data in the medical records. This study was the 1st to document advanced maternal age as a risk factor for CPD but did not verify maternal youth as a risk factor. These results suggested that, even though short stature is a risk factor for CPD, there is a need to determine local cutoff points for screening purposes. Screening for CPD risk factors can reduce the likelihood of mothers having to endure prolonged labor.