BACKGROUND: The authors performed a long term outcome analysis of minimal brain damage in children delivered in breech presentation, and related the results to the mode of delivery (vaginal or by cesarean section).

MATERIAL AND METHODS: In the Department of Obstetrics at the Medical University of Gdansk (Poland), 917 breech deliveries took place between 1981 and 1990. Excluding stillbirths and multiple pregnancies, 874 deliveries were analyzed. We received positive responses from 232 mothers, who provided us with considerable information about the children’s further development and problems that had arisen during their school years. All the respondents were contacted by telephone, and 83 of them agreed to visit our Department with their children to undergo a psychological examination – the following tests were performed: 1) the Bender-Kopitz Test (BKT), and 2) the Benton Visual Retention Test (BVRT).

RESULTS: The mode of delivery for all groups and subgroups had no influence on the incidence of organic brain disorders in later childhood, assessed by the Benton Visual Retention test and by the Bender-Kopitz test.

CONCLUSIONS: Vaginal breech deliveries are safe in both primiparous and multiparous mothers.

Keywords: Pregnancy, Neuropsychological Tests, Follow-Up Studies, Parity, Delivery, Obstetric - adverse effects, Breech Presentation - pathology, Brain - physiopathology, Time Factors