Impact of obesity on rates of successful vaginal delivery after term induction of labor

Objective: Determine success of term inductions of labor among an obese patient population. Methods: A retrospective chart review of all women greater than 37 weeks gestation who underwent induction of labor at University of Iowa Hospital and Clinics (12-2012 to 03-2013). Chart abstraction included data from the patient’s prenatal care, medical history, labor history, delivery and postpartum course. Subjects were stratified by pre-pregnancy BMI. Results: 74 inductions occurred at greater than 37 weeks gestation during the study period. Successful vaginal delivery (operative and spontaneous) occurred for 80.4% of normal weight women versus 82.6% for women who were obese pre-pregnancy (p=0.85). Induction of obese women was associated with significantly longer infant admission (2.82 days vs 6.09 days, p=0.03) and a higher likelihood to be admitted to neonatal intensive care (5.88% vs 26.09%, p=.021). Conclusions: While rates of successful vaginal delivery following induction were similar between normal weight and obese women, infants of obese women were more likely to require admission to neonatal intensive care and require longer hospital stays