Safety of labor induction with prostaglandin E2 in grandmultiparous women.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to assess the safety of labor induction with vaginal prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) in grandmultiparous women.

METHODS

We conducted a retrospective cohort study of 1376 grandmultiparous women who underwent induction of labor with low dose PGE2. The primary outcome was uterine rupture and secondary outcomes included mode of delivery, postpartum hemorrhage and five minutes Apgar score.

RESULTS

One case was diagnosed with uterine rupture (0.07%). Vaginal delivery was achieved in 1329 (96.6%) patients, whereas 47 (3.4%) patients had emergent cesarean delivery. Five minutes Apgar score ≤7 was recorded in three cases (0.2%). There was no correlation between parity and cesarean delivery rate or low Apgar score. There were no significant differences between the grandmultiparous and great-grandmultiparous patients regarding cesarean delivery rate (3.1 vs. 5%, P = 0.12), operative vaginal delivery rate (2 vs. 2.3%, P = 0.74) or postpartum hemorrhage rate (0.8 vs. 1.1%, P = 0.6).

CONCLUSIONS

Low dose PGE2 is a safe and efficient method for induction of labor in grandmultiparous and great-grandmultiparous women.