Effectiveness of Castor Oil in Preventing Formal Induction of Labour at a Tertiary Institution: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of castor oil in the prevention of formal induction of labour amongst pregnant mothers with prolonged pregnancy. Design: This was a randomized controlled trial Setting: Antenatal ward, Alex Ekwueme Federal University Teaching Hospital Abakaliki (AEFUTHA), Ebonyi State Nigeria. Participants: Clients aged 20-44 years at gestational ages from 41weeks and 41 weeks and 2 days. Interventions: Group A received 30ml of castor oil and Group B received 30ml of water. These doses were repeated after 24 hours for participants that failed to enter spontaneous labour. Main outcome measure: The proportion of participants who achieved spontaneous onset of labour and the proportion of women who have the need for formal induction of labour Results: In group A (castor oil arm) 52% and 16% in group B (water arm) had spontaneous labour; while 41% in the castor oil group and 77% in the water arm had formal induction of labour. This difference was statistically significant (P value <0.001). The mean duration of drug ingestion –delivery interval was 15.69 hours ±6.94 and 17.92 hours ±6.78 for castor oil and water respectively. This was statistically significant (P value 0.025). There was no significant difference in the newborn side effects. However, there was significant difference in the maternal side effect with a P value <0.001 Conclusion: Castor oil compared to water was more effective in the prevention of formal induction of labour and reduction of duration of labour.