title: Does induction really reduce the likelihood of caesarean section?
abstract: Two recent systematic reviews have arrived at the same, rather surprising and somewhat counter-intuitive result. That is, contrary to the belief and experience of many people who work on labour wards every day, induction of labour doesn't increase the chance of caesarean section at all. In fact, the reviewers argue, their results demonstrate that induction of labour reduces the likelihood of caesarean section. It might be that our instincts are wrong, and that we need to reconsider what we think we know. But before we rush to recommend induction as the latest tool to promote normal birth, we might want to look a bit more closely at the evidence, as I am not at all certain that this apparently straightforward conclusion is quite as cut-and-dried as it sounds.
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wickham
mesh_terms: D002585:Cesarean Section / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007751:Labor, Induced / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D009321:Natural Childbirth / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D024802:Nurse's Role; D036801:Parturition; D018743:Perinatal Care / Q000379:methods; D011247:Pregnancy