Choosing to induce labour at 39 weeks has been found to reduce the rates of emergency Caesarean deliveries, as well as lowering maternal and fetal complications.
Inducing labour has been thought to increase the rate of C-sections, but a study of over 6,100 women from across the USA suggests that inducing at 39 weeks of pregnancy lowers the rate of emergency C-sections by 3 percentage points, down to 19 per cent of deliveries.
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Women in the study who had inductions also reported experiencing less pain in labour, and a greater sense of control over the labour process.
鈥淪afe avoidance of caesarean birth has both immediate and long-term benefits for a woman: women who deliver vaginally have fewer complications,鈥� says , at Northwestern University in Chicago, who led the study.
The findings are reassuring, says Neena Modi, at Imperial College London. But about half of women start labour at 40 weeks or later. This study doesn鈥檛 shed any light on what to do about pregnancies that reach 41 weeks or more, she says.
There is a danger that this study could lead to more elective inductions, and an increase in unnecessary medical interference in deliveries, says Modi.
