J Korean Soc Neonatol.  2011 May;18(1):111-116. 10.5385/jksn.2011.18.1.111.

The Impact of Delayed Interval Delivery on Neonatal Mortality and Morbidity

• Lee EH
• Sohn JA
• Lee JY
• Choi EJ
• Lee JA
• Choi CW
• Kim EK
• Kim HS
• Jun JK
• Kim BI
• Choi JH

• KMID: 2188475
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.5385/jksn.2011.18.1.111

Abstract

PURPOSE
To evaluate the impact of delayed interval delivery on neonatal outcomes.
METHODS
This was a retrospective study of infants who were born at Seoul National University Hospital by delayed interval delivery from June 2005 to July 2010. Outcomes (neonatal mortality and morbidity) of later babies were compared to those of the first babies and the control group whose gestational ages and birth weights were similar to them.
RESULTS
There were 4 twin and 5 triplet pregnancies. The first babies (group 1, n=9) were delivered at 22(+6) to 27(+5) weeks of gestational age, and the later babies (group 2, n=14) were born at 24(+6) to 28(+0) weeks. The mean interval between the first and later deliveries was 10 days, and there was no delay between the second and third deliveries in all triplet pregnancies. There were more small for gestational age (SGA) infants in group 1 than group 2 (66.7% and 21.4% respectively, P=0.03). Two of three babies who died in group 1 were born before 24 weeks of gestational age and expired within a week after birth. The mortality rate of group 2 (7.1%) was lower than group 1 (33.3%), but not significantly (P=0.106). The control group matched to group 2 consisted of 28 infants. There were no significant differences in neonatal mortality and morbidity between the two groups.
CONCLUSION
Although there is a limitation to the number of infants in this study, it suggested that delayed delivery in a multiple pregnancy could decrease the incidence of SGA of the remaining fetuses and that prolonged gestation would not be harmful to those fetuses after birth.

Keyword

Delayed interval delivery; Multiple pregnancy; Newborn infant; Mortality; Morbidity

MeSH Terms

Birth Weight
Female
Fetus
Gestational Age
Humans
Incidence
Infant
Infant Mortality
Infant, Newborn
Parturition
Pregnancy
Pregnancy, Multiple
Pregnancy, Triplet
Retrospective Studies
Twins