Maternal and neonatal outcome related to delivery time following premature rupture of membranes

Objective: To evaluate neonatal and maternal outcomes of PROM deliveries with regard to the time elapsed since preterm rupture of membranes (PROM) to delivery. Method: According to the time elapsed since PROM to delivery we divided all singleton deliveries with PROM after the completed 34th week of gestation ( N = 35419), which occurred in Slovenia between 1988 and 1994, into four groups: within 12 h, within 13–24 h, within 25–48 h, and over 48 h after PROM. The analysis was focused on the management of labor, neonatal and maternal infections and perinatal hypoxia with regard to the elapsed time. The Kruskal-Wallis analysis of variance, the Pearson chi-square test, Spearman rank correlation test, and the logistic regression test were used. Results: With increasing time elapsed since PROM to delivery we found significantly increased incidences of induced labor, operative delivery, fetal distress, poorer fetal condition at birth, neonatal infections, and minor maternal infections. Conclusion: We may conclude that the best neonatal and maternal outcomes are obtained if delivery occurs within 12 h after PROM.