Abstract
OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine whether meconium-stained amniotic fluid is associated with puerperal infection and whether the quality of the meconium is further associated with this risk. STUDY DESIGN: We designed a retrospective cohort study of all deliveries beyond 37 weeks gestational age from 1992 to 2002 at a single community hospital. Data were collected on rates of chorioamnionitis, endomyometritis, quality of amniotic fluid, and length of labor and analyzed with bivariate and multivariate analyses. RESULTS: We found that, among the 43,200 women who were delivered at term, 18.9% of the women had meconium staining (8.8% thin, 5.5% moderate, 4.6% thick). Compared with deliveries with clear amniotic fluid, those with meconium-stained amniotic fluid had higher rates of chorioamnionitis (2.3% vs 4.1%, P < .001) and endomyometritis (1.0% vs 1.7%, P < .001). Further, the severity of meconium staining was associated with increased rates of infection. CONCLUSION: We found that the presence and severity of meconium-stained amniotic fluid is associated with puerperal infection even when being controlled for confounders.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 746-750 |
Number of pages | 5 |
Journal | American journal of obstetrics and gynecology |
Volume | 189 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Sep 1 2003 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Amniotic fluid
- Chorioanmionitis
- Endomyometritis
- Meconium
- Puerperal infection
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Obstetrics and Gynecology