ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Med.
Sec. Obstetrics and Gynecology
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmed.2025.1612947
Fetal head station during artificial rupture of membranes: A large retrospective cohort study
Provisionally accepted
Yishai Sompolinsky
Joshua Guedalia
Naama Vilk-Ayalon
Sarah M Cohen
Shirley Greenbaum
Doron Kabiri
Simcha Yagel*
Michal Lipschuetz*- Hadassah Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel
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Abstract Introduction: Artificial rupture of membranes (AROM) is a common intervention during delivery, usually done in order to expedite delivery. Studies to determine optimal timing of AROM according to cervical dilation were inconclusive. However, other important factors, which are known to be associated with timing of delivery were ignored. One of these factors is fetal head station (FHS). We sought to investigate the association between FHS during AROM and time to delivery and other obstetrical outcomes. Material and methods: A retrospective cohort study encompassing data from labors during a 12-year period were analyzed. All cases of singleton, term pregnancy with documented AROM time were included. The study population was stratified by parity. Results: This study cohort included 45,898 singleton, term vaginal delivery parturients with time stamp at time of AROM and delivery. Stratification by parity yielded 11,947 primiparas (26%) and 33,951 multiparas (74%). Across all sub-cohorts, as fetal head station decreased at AROM the duration from ROM to delivery was shorter. This trend seems to be stronger for multiparas than primiparas. Rates of cesarean delivery, postpartum hemorrhage, neonatal intensive care unit admission, and low 5-minute Apgar scores were also negatively associated with decrease in fetal head station at AROM across all cervical dilations. Conclusion: Lower fetal head station at AROM is associated with shorter time to delivery as well as lower rates of cesarean delivery, postpartum hemorrhage,
Keywords: Obstetrics, personalized medicine, prediction, Artificial rupture of membranes, fetal head station, vaginal delivery
Received: 10 Jul 2025; Accepted: 08 Sep 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Sompolinsky, Guedalia, Vilk-Ayalon, Cohen, Greenbaum, Kabiri, Yagel and Lipschuetz. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Simcha Yagel, Hadassah Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel
Michal Lipschuetz, Hadassah Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel
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