Outpatient Cervical Preparation to Reduce Induction Duration in NTSV Women

This study is to compare 2 groups in nulliparous women undergoing cervical ripening for induction of labor. The study hypothesis is that outpatient cervical preparation with a foley catheter can reduce the induction of labor (IOL) time interval from admission to delivery by 50%. A 30 ml transcervical foley catheter is a safe mode of cervical preparation in the outpatient setting, as concluded in Diederen et al, Sciscinoe et al, and Kelly et al. Findings from studies on nulliparous, term, singleton vertex (NTSV) showed patients can be applied to a wide variety of maternity unit sizes as discussed by Main et al. No previous study has evaluated the effectiveness of outpatient cervical preparation in the NTSV population by PUBMED search. Further, no previous study has assessed patient satisfaction cervical preparation in the outpatient setting and no previous study has evaluated whether outpatient cervical preparation has an impact on the length of stay and cost of hospitalization. This study will explore these important questions with the goal of improving current practices in labor induction to be more patient-centered, pragmatic, and cost-effective.