Towards a safer motherhood
Mukherjee, S.; Sood, M.
Journal of the Indian Medical Association 93(3): 98
1995
ISSN/ISBN: 0019-5847 PMID: 8522824 Document Number: 295386
In India, clinical researchers compared data on 100 women of gestational age 37-41 weeks who underwent elective induction of labor (cases) with data on 100 women who experienced spontaneous onset of labor and passive labor (controls) to determine whether elective induction of labor or spontaneous labor achieves safe motherhood. The women in the study group received 8 units of oxytocin in 540 ml of 5% dextrose solution. They and their fetuses were monitored closely. Once the study women began active labor, the physician conducted artificial rupture of membranes. The induced labor group had a shorter labor (e.g., among multigravidae, =or 6 hours, 38% vs. 20%), lower exposure to the stress of labor, reduced incidence of cesarean section, lower perinatal mortality (1% vs. 6%), and reduced perinatal morbidity (need for resuscitation, 1% vs. 5%) than the spontaneous labor group. The control group was more likely than the study group to have a fever (i.e., 38 degrees Celsius) (5% vs. 0). Prematurity was more common in the control group than the study group (41% vs. 0). These findings and those of other studies show that active management of labor reduces cesarean section, forceps delivery, duration of labor, and fetal/newborn morbidity and mortality.