Labor induction is the stimulation of regular uterine contractions before the spontaneous onset of labor, using mechanical or pharmacologic methods in order to generate progressive cervical dilation and subsequent delivery. Although the term generally refers to patients who are at term, it is also employed for women who are at least 20 weeks' gestation. It is important to distinguish labor indu...

Background: This study is a randomized controlled trial comparing the efficacy and safety of sublingual vs vaginal misoprostol for induction of labor. Materials and methods: A total of 160 women admitted for induction of labor at the PGIMER, Chandigarh, India were randomized to receive 25 μg of vaginal or sublingual misoprostol for labor induction. The two groups were compared for mode of deliv...

OBJECTIVE To compare efficacy and safety of 50 μgm misoprostol vaginal with oral for labor induction. METHODS 110 women at term gestation, Bishop score ≤4, with various indications for labor induction were randomized and double blinded. After decoding 51 women had received misoprostol orally and 52 vaginally, four hourly (maximum six doses) or till woman went into active labor. RESULTS Stat...

PURPOSE To evaluate the role of quantitative elastography of the cervix in the prediction of successful labor induction compared to the Bishop score (BS) and ultrasound cervical length (CL). MATERIALS AND METHODS A prospective pilot study was conducted between July 2010 and June 2011 in patients without preterm membrane rupture undergoing labor induction with vaginal prostaglandins. Before st...

OBJECTIVES The present study was designed to examine the links between empathy, emotional labor (both surface and deep acting), and emotional exhaustion as well as determine if emotional labor mediates the relationship between empathy and emotional exhaustion in teachers. It was assumed that emotional labor can take two opposite directions (positive mood induction and negative mood induction). ...

Introduction One great challenge in obstetric care is labor inductions. Misoprostol has advantages in being cheap and stable at room temperature and available in resource-poor settings. Material and Methods Retrospective cohort study of 4002 singleton pregnancies with a gestational age ≥34 w at Sodersjukhuset, Stockholm, during 2009-2010 and 2012-2013. Previously used methods of labor inducti...

OBJECTIVE To assess the ability of mifepristone to prime the cervix adequately and induce labor in pregnant women at term; and when mifepristone alone proves insufficient, to determine whether oral misoprostol taken 48 h following mifepristone administration is effective in inducing labor. METHODS In this prospective study 50 pregnant women at term with an unfavorable cervix were given 400 mg...

After nearly 20 years of consecutive increases, induction of labor for singleton births reached a high of 23.8% in 2010, then declined in 2011 (23.7%) and 2012 (23.3%). Trends in induction rates vary by gestational age, with rates for most gestational age groups declining since 2010. Induction rates for births at 36, 37, and 38 weeks have declined since 2006, with the largest decrease at 38 wee...