For Hastening Labor Induction, Two Strategies are Better than One

Rates of hospital admission for labor induction are increasing dramatically, thereby representing significant cost to the healthcare system. As such, interventions that shorten the duration of induction are likely to be associated with lower cost and better health outcomes. Investigators conducted a large efficacy trial of the Foley bulb plus vaginal misoprostol versus vaginal misoprostol alone. In all, 123 women with unfavorable cervices undergoing labor induction were randomized to receive 25 µg misoprostol vaginally every 4 hours, either alone or with placement of an intracervical Foley balloon inflated with 60 mL saline.

Mean duration between labor induction and delivery was shorter in the combined group than in the misoprostol-only grou…