Impact of Body Mass Index on the Progress of Labor in Egyptian Women

Objective : To estimate the effect of the maternal BMI on the progress of labour and Neonatal outcome in the Egyptian population. Methods : It is a cross-sectional descriptive study including 620 primiparas, with singleton pregnancy, cephalic presentation attending labour ward in Kasr Al Aini Hospitals in the first stage of labour. Patients were divided into 2 groups, group1: Patients with BMI <30, and group 2: Patients with BMI >30. History taking and complete examination were done to all patients; data were collected and analyzed using computer programs SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Science; SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA) version 15 for Microsoft Windows. Results : There was a statistical significant difference between group 1 (BMI <30) and group 2 (BMI >30) regarding the mode of delivery, Cesarean Section delivery rate was 21.9% in group 1, and 38.0% in group 2 (p-value <0.001). While there was no statistical significant difference regarding the cervical dilatation, cervical effacement, duration of the first and second stages, fetal outcome (neonatal body weight, Apgar score at 1 and 5minutes) between group1 and group 2. Conclusion : Increased maternal BMI is acssociated with increased incidence of Cesarean delivery, however it doesn’t affect the duration of the progress of labour, neither the fetal outcome as regard the fetal weight, and the Apgar score at 1 and 5min.