Castor oil as a natural alternative to labor induction: A retrospective descriptive study.

AIM: To describe birthing outcomes among women who consumed castor oil cocktail as part of a freestanding birth center labor induction protocol. METHODS: De-identified data from birth logs and electronic medical records were entered into SPSS Statistics 22.0 for analysis for all women who received the castor oil cocktail (n=323) to induce labor between January 2008 and May 2015 at a birth center in the United States. Descriptive statistics were analyzed for trends in safety and birthing outcomes. RESULTS: Of the women who utilized the castor oil cocktail to stimulate labor, 293 (90.7%) birthed vaginally at the birth center or hospital. The incidence of maternal adverse effects (e.g., nausea, vomiting, extreme diarrhea) was less than 7%, and adverse effects of any kind were reported in less than 15% of births. An independent sample t-test revealed that parous women were more likely to birth vaginally at the birth center after using the castor oil cocktail than their nulliparous counterparts (p<.010), while gestational age (p=.26), woman's age (p=.23), and body mass index (p=.28) were not significantly associated. CONCLUSIONS: Nearly 91% of women in the study who consumed the castor oil cocktail to induce labor were able to give birth vaginally with little to no maternal or fetal complications. Findings indicate further research is needed to compare the safety and effectiveness of natural labor induction methodologies, including castor oil, to commonly used labor induction techniques in a prospective study or clinical trial.

"It Makes You Rethink Your Choice of the Pill": Theory-Based Formative Research to Design a Contraceptive Choice Campaign.

Half of all pregnancies in the United States remain unplanned despite improved access to highly effective long-acting reversible contraception, including the intrauterine device and the implant. This study conducted theory-based formative research to develop a contraceptive choice campaign aimed at increasing long-acting reversible contraception uptake by women ages 18-44 years in Charleston, South Carolina, an urban area in the southeastern United States. Researchers developed and tested message concepts and designs. Six focus groups and 18 interviews were conducted among reproductive-age women (n = 79). Qualitative data analysis revealed messages and designs that resonated with these women. Emphasizing long-acting reversible contraception as the healthy option, highlighting long-acting reversible contraception effectiveness, including relatable and trustworthy characters, and using language of control emerged as themes. Women reported a preference for statistics illustrating effectiveness combined with empowering messages of control over contraceptive decision making. Findings from this study offer practical recommendations for developing contraceptive choice campaigns targeting long-acting reversible contraception use and further the goal of reducing unintended pregnancy among women.