Chonnam Med J CMJ Chonnam Medical Journal 0377-9564 Chonnam National University Medical School 10.4068/cmj.2009.45.2.111 Original Article Maternal Height and the Risk of Cesarean Delivery Due to Cephalopelvic Disproportion in Nulliparous Women Song Tae-Bok Cho Hye-Yeun Kim Jong-Woon Kee Min-Jee Oh Min-Jeong Kim Cheol-Hong Cho Moon-Kyoung Kang Woo-Dae Kim Yoon-Ha Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Chonnam National University Medical School, Gwangju, Korea. Corresponding author (tbsong@chonnam.ac.kr) 08 2009 12 08 2009 45 2 111 115 25 06 2005 Copyright © 2009 Chonnam National University Medical School 2009

This study was performed to identify the relationship between maternal height of ≤155 cm and the risk of cesarean delivery and cesarean delivery due to cephalopelvic disproportion (CPD) among women who had delivered in Chonnam National University Hospital from January 1997 to December 2007. A total of 1214 term, uncomplicated, singleton nulliparous pregnant women were selected among 10,434 deliveries, and the patients were divided into two groups based on maternal height: ≤155 cm (173 cases) as the study group and >155 cm (512 cases) as the control group. Various baseline clinical characteristics, intrapartum characteristics, and maternal and neonatal outcomes were analyzed. The cesarean delivery rate was 34.7% (60/173) in the study group and 21.7% (111/512) in the control group, which was statistically significant (p=0.001). The cesarean delivery rate due to CPD was 19.7% (34/173) in the study group and 10.7% (55/512) in the control group, which was statistically significant (p=0.003). Birth weight was significantly lower in the study group than in the control group (3193.2±336.8 g and 3293.0±384.1 g respectively, p<0.003). In conclusion, the overall cesarean delivery rate and cesarean delivery rate due to CPD were higher and the birth weight was lower in the term nulliparous women with short stature.

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Baseline characteristics of pregnant women

Data are expressed as mean±SD.

Intrapartum characteristics of pregnant women

PROM, Premature rupture of membranes; Hb, Hemoglobin.

Route of delivery in study and control groups

CPD, Cephalopelvic disproportion.

Neonatal outcomes in study and control groups

*Intrauterine fetal death excluded; †Mean±SD.

The rate of cesarean section according to different maternal height

The rate of cesarean section due to CPD according to different maternal height

CPD, Cephalopelvic disproportion; *%, (No. of cesarean delivery due to dystocia/No. of total delivery)×100.