More inductions necessary for obese women

OBESE women are more likely to be overdue and require induction of labour than women of normal weight but their delivery outcomes are similar, a large UK study shows.

British researchers conducted a retrospective cohort study of nearly 30,000 women, of whom about 3000 had a prolonged pregnancy, defined as more than 41 weeks and three days.

They found obese women were 50% more likely to have a prolonged pregnancy than women of normal weight.

 And more than one-third of obese women had an induced labour that ended in a caesarian section, compared with less than a quarter of  women with normal weight.

However, obese women did not experience more delivery complications than women of normal weight.

Length of labour, post-partum haemorrhage, third-­degree tears, low Apgar scores and shoulder dystocia were all similar across the BMI groups, but obese women did have bigger babies.

Dr Rupert Sherwood, president