Hitherto expectant mothers have been going through hours of grueling labor just to know that a vaginal delivery is probably impossible and ending up with an emergency C-section.
Researchers from the Liverpool University and Liverpool Women's Hospital have established that the likelihood of C-section is higher among women who have higher levels of lactic acid in the amniotic fluid.
Conversely, women who have considerably low levels of lactic acid more likely to have a spontaneous vaginal birth, researchers found.
The test, developed by the Swedish company Obstecare, measures the acid levels. On basis of results, gynaecologists can now decide whether an expectant mother should have a caesarean even before entering labor.
High levels of lactic acid
The timely and strong uterine contractions are required to complete a vaginal delivery.
Women who fail to “push” effectively and rather end up with an emergency C-section have higher levels of lactic acid in their amniotic fluid, researchers have found.
The high levels inhibit contractions, researchers explain.
In slow laborers, oxytocin, hormone that stimulates the uterus into contracting, is infused. But not all laboring women respond to it.
“A high level of lactic acid in the amniotic fluid indicates the uterus is exhausted. To stimulate this kind of labor with an oxytocin infusion would be like asking a marathon runner to run an extra 10,000 metres after he or she has passed the finish line,” John Ubby of Obstecare said.
Test already in use
The test is already being rolled out in hospitals in Sweden, Norway and Belgium.
While the test seems promising at the first stage, it still requires larger research that studies the impact of its use, clinicians say.
“I can definitely see the logic…I would be interested in seeing a large prospective study where you could see the impact it had on the management of labor and whether overall outcomes were improved,” Professor Donald Peebles, a spokesman for the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, said.
The debate
The researchers are still to put the high levels of lactic acids in absolute terms. Critics argue that the test can unnecessarily raise the rates of C-sections.
But researchers feel that a long and painful labor, concluding with an emergency C-section, puts the health of both mother and baby at risk. It’s like ‘worst of all worlds’.
They hope that the test may make childbirth a more pleasant experience.
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