Frequency of shoulder dystocia and its relationship with maternal factors and fetal parameters in Ali Ebn-e Abitaleb hospital of Zahedan from 2015 to 2019: Cross-Sectional study

Shoulder dystocia is one of the obstetric emergencies which is associated with significant fetal and maternal complications. This study was performed with aim to evaluate the frequency of shoulder dystocia and its relationship with maternal factors and fetal parameters.

This descriptive cross-sectional study was performed on 7148 files of pregnant mothers referring to the maternity ward of Ali Ibn-e Abitaleb Hospital of Zahedan in 2015-2019. Necessary information such as maternal age, gestational age, sex of the newborn, birth weight and height, and having or not having of shoulder dystocia were extracted from the files of women in the hospital archive and were analyzed using SPSS software (version 22).

In this study, the files of 7148 pregnant women who had normal vaginal delivery (NVD) in Ali Ibn-e Abitaleb Hospital during 2015-2019 were evaluated. Among the, 64 newborns had shoulder dystocia and the frequency of shoulder dystocia was 0.89%. Moreover, 44 (66%) of women were over 30 years old and 39 (59%) of newborns were male. Also, 56 (87.5%) of infants weighed more than 4000 g and 15 (23%) of mothers had diabetes.

The frequency of shoulder dystocia was 0.89% and maternal age, fetal weight and gender are risk factors for shoulder dystocia. Considering these risk factors, timely cesarean section can prevent maternal and neonatal complications due to dystocia.