Prelabour rupture of membranes: A study of fetal and maternal outcomes with expectant management

Abstract

Background: The management of Prelabour rupture of membranes (PROM) has been traditionally dependent on the gestational age at presentation. This study was undertaken to observe the maternal and perinatal outcomes in PROM patients with emphasis on expectant management of the patients. Methods: A retrospective observational study was done in a tertiary care centre over a period of one year. Patients with PROM after 24 weeks gestational age were included, of these, preterm patients (<37 weeks gestation) were managed expectantly and term patents were managed with a combination of expectant management and active intervention. These patients were observed for the latent period to onset of spontaneous labour, intrapartum complications, NICU admission and neonatal infection. Results: The overall incidence of PROM was 9.5%. The latent period to onset of labour was less than 6 hours in majority of cases, both term (50.8%), as well as preterm (34.61%). The caesarean section section rate was 20.1%. 4 cases had meconium stained liquor and 1 case had abnormal fetal heart rate tracings. Neonatal ICU admissions were 12.7%. No cases of chorioamnionitis or intrapartum fetal demise were observed in the study. Conclusion: Expectant management of preterm PROM patients is a viable course of management with good perinatal outcomes.