ABSTRACT
Meconium stained liquor is considered as a sign of non-reassuring foetal status and is associated with adverse foetal outcome. We wanted to evaluate the correlation of Meconium Stained Liquor (MSL) with cardiotocography (CTG) and observe the mode of delivery and foetal outcome in term pregnancy (37-42 weeks).METHODSThis is an observational study, conducted at A.V.B.R.H., Sawangi, Meghe, Wardha from September 2017 to August 2019 (2 years) among 140 pregnant women with Meconium Stained Amniotic Fluid (MSAF) in labour after artificial or spontaneous rupture of membranes. Continuous cardiotocography was done; foetal outcome and mode of delivery were recorded.RESULTSThe distribution of women according to grades of MSL, shows that 40.7 % had grade 1 MSL, 34.3% had grade 2 MSL, and 25% had grade 3 MSL. The distribution of women according to CTG characteristics, shows that 43.57% had normal CTG, 49.29 % had pathologic CTG, and 7.14% had suspicious CTG. The percentage of normal CTG was maximum in grade 1 MSL (80.70%), percentage of suspicious CTG was maximum in grade 2 MSL (10.42%), and percentage of pathologic CTG was maximum in grade 3 MSL (88.57%). Maximum women with grade 1 MSL had normal vaginal delivery (70.18%), while maximum women with grade 2 (79.17%) and grade 3 MSL (82.86%) had caesarean section. 93 (66.43%) neonates required only routine care at birth and 47 (33.57%) neonates required NICU admission. Out of these 47 neonates who were admitted in NICU, 7 (14.89%) neonates had birth asphyxia, 17 (36.17%) neonates required ventilator support, 15 (31.91%) later on developed meconium aspiration syndrome, 1 (2.13%) neonate developed hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE), 1 (2.13%) neonate developed neonatal sepsis, 1 (2.13%) neonate developed pneumonia, 2 (4.26%) neonates died on their day 2 of life; i.e. neonatal mortality is 1.4% out of total cases.CONCLUSIONSIncreasing grades of meconium stained liquor was associated with cardiotocography abnormalities and with low APGAR score at 1 min and 5 min, increased need for NICU admissions, longer duration of NICU stay, and neonatal morbidity and mortality.