Ripening of the cervix and risk for later preterm birth | American ...
The rate of induction of labor during pregnancy has continued to increase in the United States over the past few years. Preinduction cervical ripening has been shown in some studies to improve the success rate of labor induction. Various pharmacologic and mechanical methods are available for cervical ripening. The pharmacologic methods, which include dinoprostone and misoprostol preparations, are the most commonly used methods. The early mechanical ripening method used a natural material placed in the endocervical canal that absorbed water, expanded, and dilated the cervix. Inserting a Foley catheter in the endocervical canal and inflating the bulb is a newer, mechanical method that appears to offer significant advantages over the pharmacologic preparations. However, concerns about cervical trauma caused by the Foley catheter method have been raised. Sciscione and associates assessed the rate of preterm birth in subsequent pregnancies in women who received preinduction cervical ripening with a mechanical method or a pharmacologic method.