Induction of Labour for Maternal Request: An Observational Study of Maternal and Fetal Outcomes

Objective: Induction of labour for reasons that medical professionals do not consider “medically indicated” is a difficult subject, both for women requesting it, as well as the medical professionals involved in their care. There is often a prejudice that induction will increase risks for mothers and babies, and therefore they try to avoid it. We aimed to look at this group of patients who request induction for a number of “non-medical” or “social” reasons, to see if maternal and fetal outcomes were any different. Materials and Methods: Compare term women requesting induction over an eighteen-month period with women undergoing routine induction for post dates over the same period at a University NHS Foundation Trust. 74 women requesting induction were compared with 124 women undergoing routine induction for post dates. A retrospective review of the notes of the study and control groups was performed. The results were statistically analysed. Main outcomes were mode of delivery and any serious maternal or neonatal morbidity or mortality. Results: Women with a BMI of less than 30 are more to likely to achieve a vaginal birth in the maternal request group when compared to the control group. No significant differences were observed between other maternal and fetal outcomes. Conclusion: The results from this study add to the growing body of evidence that shows there is no increased risk of Caesarean section or other serious complications if women are induced for reasons thought to be not medically justified by medical professionals.