Abstract
Objective The management of breech presentation may improve perinatal outcomes. The aim of
this study was to synthesize and compare published evidence of four national guidelines
on breech presentation.
Study Design A descriptive review of four recently published national guidelines on breech presentation
and external cephalic version (ECV) was conducted: Royal College of Obstetricians
and Gynaecologists guideline on “External Cephalic Version and Reducing the Incidence
of Term Breech Presentation” and “Management of Breech Presentation”, American College
of Obstetricians and Gynecologists guideline on “External Cephalic Version” and “Mode
of Term Singleton Breech Delivery,” Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of
Canada guideline on “Vaginal Delivery of Breech Presentation” and the Royal Australian
and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists guideline on “Management
of breech presentation at term.”
Results Regarding ECV, there is no recommendation by the SOGC, whereas all other national
guidelines recommend this technique. Regarding breech vaginal delivery, there are
limited recommendations by the ACOG, whereas all other guidelines provide similar
recommendations. The RANZCOG makes no special recommendations on the intrapartum period.
Conclusion The differences among national guidelines point out the need for the adoption of
an international consensus on the management of breech presentation.
Keywords
breech delivery - external cephalic version - management - comparison - guidelines
