Background: Despite the great advances made in neonatal intensive care, one of the greatest challenges in perinatology today, remains the management of very low-birth-weight infants (VLWB).
Aim: To evaluate the impact of the mode of delivery on very lowbirth- weight infants' survival and their outcome.
Methods: We performed a retrospective comparative study in the department "B" of gynecology-obstetrics in collaboration with the neonatology department of the same centre during a 12-month period. The study population included mothers giving birth to infants weighing between 500 and 1500 grams, at gestational age > 26 weeks and an Apgar score > 3 at one minute. All included cases were classified according to the way of delivery: vaginal delivery ( Group A) giving birth to neonates of group 1 and cesarean section ( group B) giving birth to neonates in group 2 .
Results: The study involved 69 women giving birth to 82 very lowbirth- weight infants. Both groups of parturients were homogeneous and similar in age, parity, prenatal care and gestational age. No statistically significant difference was noticed in terms of morbidity and mortality in the very low-birth-weight infants of the two groups. A higher rate of cesarean sections was noticed in breech presentations (74%).
Conclusion: Systematic cesarean section does not guarantee better outcome for very low-birth-weight infants.