Maternal Outcomes after Induction of Labor with Dinoprostone in Post-Date pregnancies

Background: Postdate pregnancies are associated with maternal complications and perinatal risks like increased cesarean delivery and still birth. Induction of labor is a commonly performed procedure to reduce these risks. This study aims to evaluate short term maternal outcomes after induction with dinoprostone in a tertiary care setting. Objective: To determine the short-term maternal outcomes (mode of delivery and postpartum hemorrhage) after induction of labor with dinoprostone in postdate pregnancies at a tertiary care hospital. Method: This study was conducted at the department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Watim General Hospital, Rawalpindi from 24th April 2024 - 10th July 2024. This was the descriptive cross-sectional study, in which the sample size was calculated on WHO formula by keeping proportion of postpartum hemorrhage 3.07%, confidence interval 95% and margin of error 2% as 286. All women by using consecutive sampling (non probability) were subjected to detailed clinical history and detailed physical and obstetrical examination (as per hospital protocol) to detect confounders to exclude bias from the study results. Maternal outcomes were stratified with age, parity and gestational age to see effect of modifications, by entering recorded data on statistical software SPSS version 23 and post stratification chi square test was applied to have a 5% level of significance. Results: The present study shows that among 286 patients mean age was 27 years ± 5.57. 174(61%) patients were primipara, 112(39%) patients were multipara. More over 212(74%) had spontaneous vaginal delivery, 57(19.9%) patients had cesarean section, 17(5.9%) patients had instrumental delivery, 9(3%) patients had postpartum hemorrhage. Conclusion: Our study concludes that induction of labor reduced the risk of cesarean section and instrumental vaginal delivery, however it didn’t increase the risk of postpartum hemorrhage in postdate pregnant women presenting at tertiary care hospital.