Fetal Outcome after Vacuum Assisted Vaginal Delivery in Arba Minch General Hospital, Southern Ethiopia

Abstract

Background: Vacuum assisted delivery (VAD) is one of the interventions used to reduce life-threatening complications for mothers and their babies. However, the effect of vacuum use on fetal outcomes was not well understood in low resource settings like Ethiopia. Objective: The objective of this study was to assess fetal outcome after vacuum assisted vaginal delivery in Arba Minch general hospital, southern Ethiopia.Method: A facility based cross sectional study was conducted among selected mothers who gave birth by vacuum assisted vaginal delivery from January 2013 to December 2014 at Arba Minch general hospital, southern Ethiopia.  A total of 208 mothers record were traced from labor and delivery ward log book in January 2015.  Data was collected by three intern medical doctors. Then it was entered into Epi data version 3.1 and exported to SPSS 20 statistical software for analysis. Descriptive statistics were done to display variables. Then bivariate and multivariate analysis was employed to determine independent predictors for favorable fetal outcome. Odds ratio with 95% CI were used to declare statistically significant association with outcome variables. Results: The proportion of favorable fetal outcome in the study area was 158(76%). While controlling for confounding variables during multivariate analysis, shortened duration of second stage of labor [AOR = 12.04(95% CI = 5.23, 27.74)] and non- application of episiotomy [AOR = 4.07(95% CI = 1.81, 9.13)] had shown positive association with favorable fetal outcome. Conclusion: The proportion of favorable fetal outcome in the study area was satisfactory. Early and appropriate management of second stage of labor were major predictors for favorable fetal outcome. Thus, government and organizations working on newborns health care should focus on factors enhancing shortened second stage of labor and avoid routine use of episiotomy during labor.

Keywords: Vacuum assisted delivery, fetal outcome, fetal complication, Arba Minch, southern Ethiopia.