use of routine ultrasonography to assess fetal position in late pregnancy would improve diagnostic accuracy, according to Australian researchers.

The position of a baby in the womb in late pregnancy is important because if it is not lying in the normal head-down position vaginal delivery may be difficult or impossible.

Diagnosis of non-cephalic presentation -- breech baby -- after the onset of labor is associated with increased complications and death, according to researchers at a clinic and obstetric hospital in Sydney.

The researchers identified 1,633 women with a single pregnancy at 35-37 weeks' gestation and each woman underwent clinical examination to assess the baby's position, which was confirmed by an ultrasound scan.

Clinical examination detected 70 percent of non-cephalic presentations -- breech position -- but if the findings were applied to a general maternity population, 24 women with non-cephalic presentation would be missed altogether, according to the study in the British Medical Journal.

The study also found that lower rates of accuracy found among overweight or obese women suggest that ultrasonography in late pregnancy for these women is required.

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