Comparison of the effect of oxytocin and oral misoprostol on induction of pregnancy in term and post-term pregnancies

Abstract   Background: Induction of labor is a common procedure that is performed due to the medical indications of the mother or baby or social and elective causes. There are several methods for induction of labor, including misoprostol and oxytocin. The aim of this study was to compare the effect of oxytocin and misoprostol on induction of full-term and post-term pregnancy in termination patients. Material and methods: A total of 160 patients who were candidates for termination of pregnancy were selected. There were two groups of 80 people, one group with 50 μg misoprostol tablets which were administered orally up to a maximum dose of 200 μg and the other group with induction of oxytocin with an initial dose of 10 units. The success rate in each group was achieved by achieving appropriate contractions (three contractions in ten minutes, each lasting 40 seconds) and finally the rate of successful normal delivery. Result: According to the statistical test, a significant difference was observed between the two groups in the variables of type of delivery and lack of progress of delivery. . The percentage of normal delivery in the misoprostol group was higher than the oxytocin group, which was statistically significant (p-value: 0.005). The mean age of patients in the misoprostol group versus the oxytocin group was 28.21 ± 7.64 and 25.84 ± 5.99, respectively, which was not statistically significant (p-value: 0.1). Also, the lack of progression of labor was higher in the oxytocin group compared to the other group, which was statistically significant (p-value: <0.001). Conclusion: Considering these cases, this study showed a better effect on induction of labor by misoprostol and considering that the two drugs were not different in side effects, it could indicate a better and more appropriate efficacy of misoprostol in induction of labor.