The Impact of Obesity on Blood Loss during Cesarean Delivery

The goal of a study was to test the hypothesis that increased maternal body mass index (BMI) is associated with longer operative and anesthesia times, greater maternal blood loss, and lower APGAR scores of offspring during a cesarean section delivery.

This retrospective cohort study included 1,718 pregnant women who underwent cesarean delivery between 2014 and 2016. The mothers were categorized based on their BMIs.

The results depicted that higher maternal BMIs correlated to significantly greater operative and spinal anesthesia time. The median total operative time in minutes increased with the increasing maternal BMIs – vis, 90 mins for mothers with BMI <30 kg/cm2; 100 for BMI 30-39.9 kg/cm2; 110 for BMI 40-49.9 kg/cm2; and 126 for BMI ≥50 kg/cm2. Meanwhile, the average blood loss markedly increased by 51 ml for BMI 30-39.9 kg/cm2; 129 for BMI 40-49.9 kg/cm2; and 219 ml for BMI ≥50 kg/cm2. Furthermore, the extent of uterine incision increased in cases with higher BMIs, while the APGAR scores and maternal transfusion remained unchanged.

Therefore, it was inferred that higher maternal BMIs were associated with longer operative and spinal anesthesia times, increased blood loss, and increased classical uterine incisions.

Source: Gynecology and Women’s Health Research. 2017; 1(1). Doi: 10.16966/2689-3096.105