Loading...
Physicians in the U.S. and throughout the world often use membrane “sweeping” (defined as inserting the examining finger as high as possible past the internal cervical os and moving the membranes off the lower pole of the uterus with a complete circular sweep, once clockwise and once counterclockwise) to stimulate labor in women with intact membranes at term. Induction of labor in the U.S. is common when the welfare of the mother or infant is in question as pregnancy progresses and for post-term pregnancies; admittedly, it is sometimes done for patient convenience as well. Physicians in Malaysia conducted a randomized controlled trial of the efficacy of membrane sweeping in 264 women with singleton fetuses in cephalic presentation at term, …