ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To compare the rate of obstetric interventions, length of labor, and maternal morbidity in pregnancies with prelabor rupture of membranes at term after either early or late induction of labor in both primiparous and pluriparous women. DESIGN: Prospective, randomized study. SUBJECTS: 362 women with singleton pregnancies, cephalic presentations, gestational age of 36 completed weeks or more were allocated at random to induction with oxytocin either 6 hours after PROM (n = 62) (early) or 24 hours (n = 62) (late). Those eligible, but not participating in the study, totalled 238 women. MAIN OBSTETRIC MEASURES: Time of spontaneous labor in the late induction group, length of labor, obstetric intervention rate, maternal morbidity, and the degree of histologic chorioamnionitis. RESULTS: The length of labor was longer in the late induction group than in the early induction group in both primiparous and pluriparous (p < 0.05). There were no overall differences in the rate of obstetric interventions or maternal morbidity, but there were marked differences between primiparous and pluriparous women. Increasing time span between the period from rupture of membranes to delivery increased the degree of histologic chorioamnionitis. CONCLUSION: If a woman wants a short labor, she will benefit from early induction. We did not find statistical differences in the rate of obstetric intervention or in the maternal morbidity, but there was a tendency towards adverse effects of late induction.
