WHO recommendations: induction of labour at or beyond term
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World Health Organization
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39 p.
This guideline updates the WHO recommendations on induction of labour at or beyond term to reflect new evidence while revalidating the recommendations issued in 2011. It aims to support evidence-based clinical practice and policy for improving the quality of maternal and perinatal care and reducing morbidity and mortality associated with pregnancy and childbirth. The document is intended for health professionals, programme managers, policy-makers and others involved in developing national guidelines and providing care to pregnant women. It was developed in accordance with the WHO handbook for guideline development, using systematic evidence retrieval, the GRADE approach and an Evidence-to-Decision framework that considered benefits and harms, certainty of evidence, values and preferences, resource use, feasibility, acceptability and equity. The guideline recommends induction of labour for women with a reliably confirmed gestational age of 41 weeks or more and advises against routine induction before 41 weeks in uncomplicated pregnancies because of insufficient supporting evidence. It emphasizes informed decision-making through discussion of the potential benefits and risks with pregnant women, highlights key implementation considerations for adapting the recommendations to different health systems, identifies research priorities to address remaining evidence gaps, and outlines mechanisms for dissemination, monitoring and future updating of the recommendations.
This guideline updates the WHO recommendations on induction of labour at or beyond term to reflect new evidence while revalidating the recommendations issued in 2011. It aims to support evidence-based clinical practice and policy for improving the quality of maternal and perinatal care and reducing morbidity and mortality associated with pregnancy and childbirth. The document is intended for health professionals, programme managers, policy-makers and others involved in developing national guidelines and providing care to pregnant women. It was developed in accordance with the WHO handbook for guideline development, using systematic evidence retrieval, the GRADE approach and an Evidence-to-Decision framework that considered benefits and harms, certainty of evidence, values and preferences, resource use, feasibility, acceptability and equity. The guideline recommends induction of labour for women with a reliably confirmed gestational age of 41 weeks or more and advises against routine induction before 41 weeks in uncomplicated pregnancies because of insufficient supporting evidence. It emphasizes informed decision-making through discussion of the potential benefits and risks with pregnant women, highlights key implementation considerations for adapting the recommendations to different health systems, identifies research priorities to address remaining evidence gaps, and outlines mechanisms for dissemination, monitoring and future updating of the recommendations.