News: Induction with misoprostol increases postpartum blood loss

Induction at term with misoprostol is associated with a significantly faster labor (P<.001), but also with significantly greater postpartum blood loss (P=.02) and with a greater difference between pre-and postdelivery hematocrit (P<.001), when compared with induction using oxytocin.

The findings come from a randomized study involving 150 women who completed 40 weeks of pregnancy with a singleton fetus and who were delivering at a university maternity hospital in Egypt.

The researchers found that after oxytocin induction, blood loss ranged from 190 to 800 mL (mean ± SD = 473 ± 155), while the range for misoprostol was 290 to 1,200 mL (573 ± 208).

Elsedeek MS, Awad EE, Elsebaey SM. Evaluation of postpartum blood loss after misoprostol-induced labour. BJOG. 2009;116:431-435.