ABSTRACT
Currenthy different pharmaceutical, mechanical, and surgical, techniques are used for cervical ripening. Castor oil, one of the herbal preparations is also widely used for this purpose but few studies have been reported on its efficacy and safety. Therefore, this study was conducted to evaluate the effect of castor oil on cervical ripening. This research is a randomized control clinical trial and the study population were all term pregnant women admitted to selected health clinics in Mashad, Iran in 2003 [1382]. The study involved 47 pregnant women with gestational age of 40 to 42 weeks, without regular uterine contractions, with Bishop score of 4 or less, and with no clinical or obstetric complications. The subjects were first selected purposively and then assigned into two control and experimental groups by random allocation. The experimental group received 60 cc castor oil while the control group received no intervention. Both groups were followed up for 24 hours for cervical ripening. For data collection, checklists were used for interviews, observation, examination, and fetal movements were recorded. Data analysis was done using chi-quare, Fisher, s test and independent t-test. At the outset, no significant difference was observed in the two groups Bishop score but a significam increase was obserued in the Bishop score of the expenimental group. A significamt increase was seen in the labor initiation ratio of the experimental group but no significant differnces were obserued between the two groups in their mean Apgar scores and delivery method. According to the finding, the application of 60 cc castor oil can assist cervical ripening