Rotunda doctor argues women should have the choice of induced labour at 39 weeks

A consultant at the Rotunda Hospital has argued that women should have the option of having labour induced at 39 weeks.

Professor Fergal Malone, a former master of the Rotunda, stated that the Dublin maternity hospital hopes to give women the choice of having their labour medically induced full term at 39 weeks, before returning home to begin their labour.

Currently, women who have an induced labour will stay in hospital for their entire labour, which can be for up to three days. Induction is typically used if a woman has not gone into labour by 41 weeks, or if her waters break with no contractions. According to the HSE, 31.1% of women who had a baby in 2021 were induced.

In a study conducted by the Rotunda, they concluded that healthy first-time mothers can safely labour at home after induction at 39 weeks, before coming back into hospital to deliver their baby.

The Rotunda report discovered that 25% of women who had an induced labour ended up having a C-section. This compares with a 30-40% C-section rate in Ireland, and almost 40% for first-time mothers.

Speaking about the study’s findings, Prof. Malone explained: “Our goal was informed choice – giving people choice on how to manage the end of pregnancy. We haven’t come out and said, ‘Everybody should have an induction’. But we do believe that everyone should be told the benefits and the risks of both spontaneous labour and induced labour.”

Prof. Malone also hit back against critics arguing that there is no rationale to induce labour in healthy women, as well as accusations that it can cause a longer labour.

“The correct comparison isn’t women who have spontaneous labour at 39 weeks versus women who are induced at 39 weeks; the comparison should be women who had induced labour at 39 weeks versus women who waited, who did nothing,” he detailed.

Prof. Malone concluded that once the Rotunda has the means to offer it, women will be able to go home induced at 39 weeks, as a cheaper alternative to a lengthy stay in a prenatal ward.

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