Cervical Ripening Balloon in Induction of Labour at Term
Status:
Completed
Trial end date:
2017-12-07
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
About 1 in 6 deliveries in KKH are induced with prostaglandins. Inpatient induction can be a
lengthy process especially when cervical priming is required. Although mechanical method of
induction of labour (IOL) is established, its use in Singapore is uncommon. Systematic
reviews comparing mechanical method against pharmacological and surgical IOL showed that
mechanical method has similar efficacy with lower risk profile. As IOL is a common obstetric
procedure, a revisit on the techniques is warranted. A multi-centre randomised controlled
trial concluded that both cervical ripening balloon and prostaglandin are effective and
complementary methods for IOL in uncomplicated singleton pregnancies, but did not examined
the effects of pain.
The investigators propose to evaluate the adverse events in the 12 hours after CRB or 1st
prostaglandin insertion, its efficiency in term singleton IOL in Singapore context and test
the acceptability of women in Singapore in using the CRB as an alternative method of
induction of labour while using a non-incremental balloon filling regime. Currently, there is
no efficient method of induction that can be used safely in an outpatient setting. Through
this study, the investigators hope to show that there are no major adverse events in the 12h
after patients are induced with CRB, this potentially supports outpatient IOL with CRB which
can reduce hospitalisation and medical costs. A non-incremental balloon filling regime will
decrease time delays and may increase patient satisfaction during its use in induction of
labour.