Use of the Foley catheter as a cervical ripening agent prior to induction of labor.
OBJECTIVE
To study the effect of the extraamniotic Foley catheter as a cervical ripening agent prior to induction of labor.


METHODS
A descriptive study was carried out on 187 patients who had labor induced following cervical ripening with the extraamniotic Foley catheter. There were 99 nulliparas and 88 multiparas whose labor outcomes were analyzed separately.


RESULTS
The mean change in the modified Bishop score was 3.7 for nulliparas and 3.3 for multiparas. The induction-delivery interval was 8.7 h for nulliparas and 5.5 h for multiparas.


CONCLUSIONS
The Foley catheter was found to be an effective agent for cervical ripening in both primiparas and multiparas and its use was not associated with any complications.
James
C
C
Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Christian Medical College and Hospital, Vellore, India.
Peedicayil
A
A
Seshadri
L
L
D000328:Adult; D002404:Catheterization; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007751:Labor, Induced / Q000379:methods*; D010298:Parity; D011247:Pregnancy; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome; D011446:Prospective Studies