Three-dimensional magnetic resonance imaging of fetal head molding and brain shape changes during the second stage of labor

To demonstrate and describe fetal head molding and brain shape changes during delivery, we used three-dimensional (3D) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and 3D finite element mesh reconstructions to compare the fetal head between prelabor and the second stage of labor. A total of 27 pregnant women were examined with 3D MRI sequences before going into labor using a 1 Tesla open field MRI. Seven of these patients subsequently had another set of 3D MRI sequences during the second stage of labor. Volumes of 2D images were transformed into finite element 3D reconstructions. Polygonal meshes for each part of the fetal body were used to study fetal head molding and brain shape changes. Varying degrees of fetal head molding were present in the infants of all seven patients studied during the second phase of labor compared with the images acquired before birth. The cranial deformation, however, was no longer observed after birth in five out of the seven newborns, whose post-natal cranial parameters were identical to those measured before delivery. The changing shape of the fetal brain following the molding process and constraints on the brain tissue were observed in all the fetuses. Of the three fetuses presenting the greatest molding of the skull bones and brain shape deformation, two were delivered by cesarean-section (one after a forceps failure and one for engagement default), while the fetus presenting with the greatest skull molding and brain shape deformation was born physiologically. This study demonstrates the value of 3D MRI study with 3D finite element mesh reconstruction during the second stage of labor to reveal how the fetal brain is impacted by the molding of the cranial bones. Fetal head molding was systematically observed when the fetal head was engaged between the superior pelvic strait and the middle brim.