Oxytocin during labor after previous cesarean section: results of a multicenter study.

The use of oxytocin for labor induction or augmentation in patients with previous cesarean delivery is controversial. This paper presents a series of 1776 patients allowed to labor after a previous cesarean section, of whom 485 (27%) were treated with oxytocin. When the patients who received oxytocin were compared with those who did not, no significant differences were found with respect to uterine rupture, maternal morbidity, fetal morbidity, or fetal mortality. We conclude that the judicious use of oxytocin is safe in the patient with a previous low transverse cesarean section.