Birth tears after spontaneous and vacuum-assisted births with different vacuum cup systems – a retrospective cohort study
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Abstract
Objectives
Birth tears are a common complication of vaginal childbirth. We aimed to evaluate the outcomes of birth tears first by comparing the mode of vaginal birth (VB) and then comparing different vacuum cups in instrumental VBs in order to better advise childbearing women and obstetrical professionals.
Methods
In a retrospective cohort study, we analyzed nulliparous and multiparous women with a singleton pregnancy in vertex presentation at ≥37 + 0 gestational weeks who gave birth vaginally at our tertiary care center between 06/2012 and 12/2016. We compared the distribution of tear types in spontaneous births (SBs) vs. vacuum-assisted VBs. We then compared the tear distribution in the vacuum group when using the Kiwi Omnicup or Bird’s anterior metal cup. Outcome parameters were the incidence and distribution of the different tear types dependent on the mode of delivery and type of vacuum cup.
Results
A total of 4549 SBs and 907 VBs were analyzed. Birth tear distribution differed significantly between the birth modes. In 15.2% of women with an SB an episiotomy was performed vs. 58.5% in women with a VB. Any kind of perineal tear was seen in 45.7% after SB and in 32.7% after VB. High-grade obstetric anal sphincter injuries (OASIS) appeared in 1.1% after SB and in 3.1% after VB. No significant changes in tear distribution were found between the two different VB modes.
Conclusions
There were more episiotomies, vaginal tears and OASIS after VB than after SB. In contrast, there were more low-grade perineal and labial tears after SB. No significant differences were found between different vacuum cup systems, just a slight trend toward different tear patterns.
Author contributions: All authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this manuscript and approved its submission.
Research funding: None declared.
Competing interests: Authors state no conflict of interest.
Informed consent: Informed consent was obtained from all individuals included in this study.
Ethical approval: The study has been complied with all relevant national regulations and in accordance to the Declaration of Helsinki regarding ethical conduct of research involving human subjects, and has been approved by the Ethical Board of the district (KEK-ZH-Nr.2016-02079).
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©2020 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Review
- Exercise during pregnancy: a comparative review of guidelines
- Corner of Academy
- Women’s decisional conflict in the pathway of prenatal screening and testing: an explorative study within Finnish public maternity care
- Vascular anastomoses in intrauterine growth in monochorionic twins
- Effects of coronavirus 19 pandemic on maternal anxiety during pregnancy: a prospectic observational study
- Letter to the Editor
- Giving birth and dying alone in hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic – a time for shifting paradigm toward continuity of care
- Original Articles – Obstetrics
- The yield of chromosomal microarray testing for cases of abnormal fetal head circumference
- Expert advice about therapeutic exercise during pregnancy reduces the symptoms of sacroiliac dysfunction
- Trends of changes in the specific contribution of selected risk factors for shoulder dystocia over a period of more than two decades
- Birth tears after spontaneous and vacuum-assisted births with different vacuum cup systems – a retrospective cohort study
- Prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in Egyptian patients with pregnancy-induced hypertension
- Antenatal survey of women’s birthing choices in Qatar
- Original Article – Fetus
- Reference ranges for the fetal mitral, tricuspid, and interventricular septum annular plane systolic excursions (mitral annular plane systolic excursion, tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion, and septum annular plane systolic excursion) between 20 and 36 + 6 weeks of gestation
- Original Articles – Newborns
- Prediction of extubation success using the diaphragmatic electromyograph results in ventilated neonates
- Use of birth weight- vs. ultrasound-derived fetal weight classification methods: implications for detection of abnormal umbilical artery Doppler
- Investigating the preventive effect of vitamins C and E on preeclampsia in nulliparous pregnant women
- Monitoring the incidence, duration and distribution of hyperglycaemia in very-low-birth-weight newborns and identifying associated factors
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Review
- Exercise during pregnancy: a comparative review of guidelines
- Corner of Academy
- Women’s decisional conflict in the pathway of prenatal screening and testing: an explorative study within Finnish public maternity care
- Vascular anastomoses in intrauterine growth in monochorionic twins
- Effects of coronavirus 19 pandemic on maternal anxiety during pregnancy: a prospectic observational study
- Letter to the Editor
- Giving birth and dying alone in hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic – a time for shifting paradigm toward continuity of care
- Original Articles – Obstetrics
- The yield of chromosomal microarray testing for cases of abnormal fetal head circumference
- Expert advice about therapeutic exercise during pregnancy reduces the symptoms of sacroiliac dysfunction
- Trends of changes in the specific contribution of selected risk factors for shoulder dystocia over a period of more than two decades
- Birth tears after spontaneous and vacuum-assisted births with different vacuum cup systems – a retrospective cohort study
- Prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in Egyptian patients with pregnancy-induced hypertension
- Antenatal survey of women’s birthing choices in Qatar
- Original Article – Fetus
- Reference ranges for the fetal mitral, tricuspid, and interventricular septum annular plane systolic excursions (mitral annular plane systolic excursion, tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion, and septum annular plane systolic excursion) between 20 and 36 + 6 weeks of gestation
- Original Articles – Newborns
- Prediction of extubation success using the diaphragmatic electromyograph results in ventilated neonates
- Use of birth weight- vs. ultrasound-derived fetal weight classification methods: implications for detection of abnormal umbilical artery Doppler
- Investigating the preventive effect of vitamins C and E on preeclampsia in nulliparous pregnant women
- Monitoring the incidence, duration and distribution of hyperglycaemia in very-low-birth-weight newborns and identifying associated factors
