Association of untrained labor companion with operative delivery rate: retrospective study of 2247 women

Support of a pregnant woman during labor by her partner is widely accepted, but the effect of the presence of the partner on delivery outcome is unknown. We conducted a retrospective cohort study to evaluate delivery outcome, defined as spontaneous delivery vs. vaginal-operative delivery or cesarean section, in patients with a singleton pregnancy between 38 weeks and 0 days of gestation (38/0) and 41 weeks and 6 days of gestation (41/6), who planned a vaginal delivery at the Department of Obstetrics, Medical University of Vienna, between January 2007 and December 2009, with respect to the presence of the father in the delivery room compared to the presence of an untrained female supportive companion or no companion. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to assess delivery outcome with respect to clinical variables, such as patient age, parity, body mass index (BMI), induction of labor, fetal birth weight, and years of education of the parturient. The study included 2247 women; 212 (9%, group I) were accompanied by a female supportive companion, 1396 (62%, group II) were accompanied by a male supportive companion, and 639 women (29%, group III) were accompanied by no supportive companion. The vaginal-operative and cesarean delivery rates were not significantly different among the three groups (19% in group I vs. 17% in group II vs. 18% in group III, p=0.5). In a multivariate analysis, operative delivery outcome was significantly associated with higher maternal age (p