Sonographical predictive markers of failure of induction of labour in term pregnancy.

Predictive markers of failure of induction of labour in term pregnancy were evaluated. A prospective study including 245 women attending induction of labour was performed. The inclusion criteria were singleton pregnancies, gestational age 37-42 weeks and the main outcomes were failure of induction, induction to delivery interval and mode of delivery. Women with a longer cervical length prior to induction (CLpi) had a higher rate of failure of induction (30.9 ± 6.8 vs. 23.9 ± 9.3, p < .001). BMI was higher and maternal height was lower in the group of caesarean section compared to vaginal delivery (33.1 ± 8 vs. 29.3 ± 4.6, 160 ± 5 vs. 164 ± 5, p < .001, respectively). A shorter CLpi correlated with a shorter induction to delivery interval (R Pearson .237, p < .001). In the regression analysis, for failure of induction the only independent predictor was the CL prior to induction. Therefore, the CLpi is an independent factor for prediction of failure of induction of labour.