Successful external cephalic version is an independent factor for caesarean section during trial of labor – a matched controlled study

Abstract Introduction To assess the mode of delivery and Caesarean Section (CS) rate after successful External Cephalic Version (ECV). Material and methods A matched case-control study. Data were gathered from a tertiary care university hospital register from 1996–2015. All pregnant women who delivered after successful External Cephalic Version (ECV). Among 643 women who attempted ECV, we identified 198 with successful ECVs and compared them with the next two women who presented for labor management with spontaneous cephalic presentation, matching for delivery date, maternal age, parity, body mass index, and delivery history using univariate and stepwise logistic regression. The main outcome measure was the risk of caesarean. Results The caesarean section rate was higher after successful ECV (respectively 20.7% versus 7.07%, P P  = 0.06). Conclusions Women who have a successful ECV are at increased risk of caesarean section compared with women who experience spontaneous cephalic presentation.