It can suggest if the baby’s head is bigger than the mother’s pelvis so that C-section can be quickly performed.
It’s just a matter of a few minutes and a simple technique called ultrasound, and any misdiagnosis during labour, complications like cord around the neck of the baby, and unnecessary caesarean, can be avoided.
An ultrasound scan can be a solution to accurate diagnosis during or before labour and can help the obstetricians to act accordingly. This is a simple, yet new technique, introduced for the first time by Bangalore-based Dr Kamini Rao, medical director, Bangalore Assisted Conception Centre (BACC).
“Four deliveries have already been done at our centre using this technique. Having an ultrasound done on a woman in labour can help gynaecologist identify any existing problem and decide quickly on whether a caesarean is required or not. Many a time, by just depending on a hand examination by the doctor, there are chances of inaccurate diagnosis,” said Dr Rao. A simple ultrasound however, can lead to a perfect diagnosis.
Also, an ultrasound at the right time can suggest if the baby in womb is distressed or suffering from lack of oxygen. “A live ultrasound scan during labour can help doctors tackle serious and common complication like cord around the neck situation. And in such conditions, doctors can opt for a C-section immediately,” explained Dr Rao.
Also, a live ultrasound can suggest if the baby’s head is bigger than the size of mother’s pelvis, so that caesarean surgery can be quickly performed.
This technique is in practice in the UK and US. However, Dr Rao is the first to introduce ultrasound during labour in India.
“Ultrasound is a useful tool to make life simpler for obstetricians and hopefully Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act will recommend obstetricians an ultrasound,” added Dr Rao.
As of now, a continuous cardiotocography (CTG) machine is used during labour to monitor foetal heartbeat and any foetal distress. This also helps in avoiding long duration of labour, said Dr Padmini Prasad, director, Institute of Sexual Medicine. “A continuous ultrasound can be a good option, though not routinely practiced in India yet. However, a 3D scan will be more informative than its 2D counterpart for knowing the position of the baby and help in diagnosing issues like narrow pelvis of the mother or obstructed labour,” added Dr Prasad.
However, a number of ultrasounds during labour would mean that at least one gynaecologist will be preoccupied with the scan reports to identify the progress of the labour, said Dr Prasad.
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