Programmed Induction of Labor for Primiparous Women to Ensure Daytime Delivery

To have deliveries occur during the daytime on weekdays, programmed induction of labor was attempted. Uncomplicated primiparous pregnant women were randomly divided into induced and non-induced labor groups at the beginning of pregnancy. In the induced group, labor was induced by prostaglandin E2 oral tablet and prostaglandin F2α drip infusion when the prerequisites, (1) 38 weeks or more of pregnancy, (2) 32 cm or more of uterine fundal height, and (3) approximately 9 cm of biparietal diameter of the fetal head on the ultrasonography, were satisfied. Laminaria tents and/or a soft rubber metreurynter were applied to the unripe uterine cervix before induction of labor. In the induced group (n = 588), the rate of daytime delivery (09: 00–17: 00 h) was 80.4% and that of night delivery (00: 00–09: 00 h) was 3.2%. The duration of labor was significantly shorter in the induced group than in the non-induced group. There was no significant difference between the 2 groups in the amount of intrapartum hemorrhage, cesarean section rate, infant birth weight, or one-minute and five-minute Apgar scores.