Prediction of vaginal birth after cesarean deliveries using machine learning

Michal Lipschuetz, Joshua Guedalia, Amihai Rottenstreich, Michal Novoselsky Persky, Sarah M. Cohen, Doron Kabiri, Gabriel Levin, Simcha Yagel, Ron Unger, Yishai Sompolinsky

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

73 Scopus citations

Abstract

Background: Efforts to reduce cesarean delivery rates to 12–15% have been undertaken worldwide. Special focus has been directed towards parturients who undergo a trial of labor after cesarean delivery to reduce the burden of repeated cesarean deliveries. Complication rates are lowest when a vaginal birth is achieved and highest when an unplanned cesarean delivery is performed, which emphasizes the need to assess, in advance, the likelihood of a successful vaginal birth after cesarean delivery. Vaginal birth after cesarean delivery calculators have been developed in different populations; however, some limitations to their implementation into clinical practice have been described. Machine-learning methods enable investigation of large-scale datasets with input combinations that traditional statistical analysis tools have difficulty processing. Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of using machine-learning methods to predict a successful vaginal birth after cesarean delivery. Study Design: The electronic medical records of singleton, term labors during a 12-year period in a tertiary referral center were analyzed. With the use of gradient boosting, models that incorporated multiple maternal and fetal features were created to predict successful vaginal birth in parturients who undergo a trial of labor after cesarean delivery. One model was created to provide a personalized risk score for vaginal birth after cesarean delivery with the use of features that are available as early as the first antenatal visit; a second model was created that reassesses this score after features are added that are available only in proximity to delivery. Results: A cohort of 9888 parturients with 1 previous cesarean delivery was identified, of which 75.6% of parturients (n=7473) attempted a trial of labor, with a success rate of 88%. A machine-learning–based model to predict when vaginal delivery would be successful was developed. When features that are available at the first antenatal visit are used, the model showed a receiver operating characteristic curve with area under the curve of 0.745 (95% confidence interval, 0.728–0.762) that increased to 0.793 (95% confidence interval, 0.778–0.808) when features that are available in proximity to the delivery process were added. Additionally, for the later model, a risk stratification tool was built to allocate parturients into low-, medium-, and high-risk groups for failed trial of labor after cesarean delivery. The low- and medium-risk groups (42.4% and 25.6% of parturients, respectively) showed a success rate of 97.3% and 90.9%, respectively. The high-risk group (32.1%) had a vaginal delivery success rate of 73.3%. Application of the model to a cohort of parturients who elected a repeat cesarean delivery (n=2145) demonstrated that 31% of these parturients would have been allocated to the low- and medium-risk groups had a trial of labor been attempted. Conclusion: Trial of labor after cesarean delivery is safe for most parturients. Success rates are high, even in a population with high rates of trial of labor after cesarean delivery. Application of a machine-learning algorithm to assign a personalized risk score for a successful vaginal birth after cesarean delivery may help in decision-making and contribute to a reduction in cesarean delivery rates. Parturient allocation to risk groups may help delivery process management.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)613.e1-613.e12
JournalAmerican Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology
Volume222
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 2020

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 Elsevier Inc.

Funding

Supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology, Israel (M.L.).

FundersFunder number
Ministry of science and technology, Israel

    Keywords

    • machine-learning
    • personalized
    • prediction
    • trial of labor
    • vaginal birth after cesarean delivery

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