Inducing labor: A way to avoid a cesarean?

This study was not designed to create a far-reaching strategy or method to reduce the already-way-too-high cesarean delivery rate in this country. It was designed to make sure we weren’t causing harm to babies by inducing labor at 39 weeks.
So, the ARRIVE trial has given us something to think about
The results were announced for the very first time at a recent meeting of the Society for Maternal Fetal Medicine and will be published soon in a peer-reviewed journal. The process of peer review, during which the methods, results, and limitations of the study are evaluated by experts, is going to help us to focus on the most powerful messages of the study, as well as propel us on to further research on the questions the study raises.
The ARRIVE trial isn’t changing how babies are born, but it does provide critical information about the safety of inducing labor. ARRIVE tells us that trying to minimize inductions with the hope of preventing cesareans may be misguided, and that we badly need other strategies that lead to fewer decisions to perform cesareans, and more babies coming into the world naturally.
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Source: Harvard Health Blog - March 7, 2018 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Toni Golen, MD Tags: Children's Health Family Planning and Pregnancy Women's Health Source Type: blogs