Induction of labour and the mode of delivery at term

Summary

This is a retrospective cohort study to establish the effect of induction of labour (IOL) on the mode of delivery for term pregnancy. Studied population included 11,660 deliveries and out of these, 8,314 were normal vaginal deliveries; 1,775 instrumental deliveries and 1,571 emergency caesarean sections. The frequency of IOL was 23.6%. A univariate analysis was carried out to establish a relationship between IOL and mode of delivery. The multivariable regression analysis was carried out to adjust this relationship for parity, age, gestational age, epidural analgesia and birth weight. IOL at term lowered the risk of instrumental delivery (p=0.009) and had no influence on the rate of caesarean section (p=0.861). Hence, the study demonstrates that women in whom induction is decided upon, the instrumental delivery and caesarean section rate is not any higher than in the group where a spontaneous labour is awaited.

Keywords:

• Induction of labour
• logistic regression analysis
• mode of delivery

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.