Induction Might Reduce Risk Of C-Section For Some Women, Study Finds

Main Category: Pregnancy / Obstetrics
Article Date: 20 Aug 2009 - 4:00 PDT

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Women who undergo elective induction of labor at or beyond 41 weeks' gestation have a lower risk for caesarean section than women who wait for labor to begin without intervention, according to a systematic review published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, Reuters reports (Reuters, 8/17). The findings contradict a long-held belief among many doctors that induction increases the chance of c-section, according to the San Francisco Chronicle (Allday, San Francisco Chronicle, 8/18). For the review, University of California-San Francisco obstetrician Aaron Caughey and colleagues analyzed 11 randomized, controlled studies and 25 observational studies of women who had been induced at or beyond 39 weeks' gestation. Overall, there was a 22% increased risk of c-section when labor was not induced. Further analysis showed that the reduction in c-section risk was only statistically significant in women induced at or beyond 41 weeks' gestation. Women who did not have labor induced also were twice as likely to have meconium present in the amniotic fluid (Reuters, 8/17). The researchers said more research needs to be done on women closer to their due dates.

More than 22% of pregnant women in the U.S. undergo inductions, more than double the rate in 1990, the Chronicle reports. Study investigator Douglas Owens of Stanford University School of Medicine said that if doctors want to avoid c-sections with inductions, they must be prepared to send women home and allow the induction to work. Caughey said, "Instead of thinking globally that induction is bad, or something I'm willing to use even if I know it causes c-sections, we want people to realize that it's not the induction itself, it's how it's managed" (San Francisco Chronicle, 8/18).

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