Comparison of Maternal Bleeding During Preterm and Term Cesarean Delivery

Objective: To compare maternal bleeding in pregnant women undergoing term and pre-term Cesarean delivery. Study Design: Comparative cross-sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: Gynecology and Obstetrics Department, Pak Emirates Military Hospital, Rawalpindi, Pakistan Jan to Jun 2021. Methodology: A total of 211 pregnant women undergoing Caesarian section at our tertiary care center were included in the study. They were divided into two groups based on gestational age as term or pre-term, with delivery at 37 completed weeks being labelled full term. Lower segment cesarean section was carried out by consultant gynecologist on all the patients as per standard protocol and blood loss was compared in term and pre-term Caesarian deliveries. Results: Out of 211 study participants, 108(51.1%) had a Caesarian section at term while 103(48.9%) had pre-term Caesarian section. The mean age of participants was 29.35±4.10 years. Mean blood loss during the Caesarian section in term pregnancies was 437.03±129.76 ml while in pre-term pregnancies was 641.26±157.40 ml. Independent t-test showed that bleeding was statistically significantly more in pre-term pregnancies (p-value<0.001). Post-operative hemoglobin was also significantly different in term and preterm pregnancies (p-vale<0.001). Conclusion: Women undergoing Caesarian section pre-term were at risk of having more blood loss and fall in hemoglobin levels as compared to those undergoing Caesarian section at term.