ARKANSAS: Clinical study suggests measuring uterine muscle activity could inform strategies for safer and faster childbirth (feat. UAMS)
Artificially causing – or inducing – labor is becoming increasingly common, yet this practice comes with risks and its level of success is difficult to foresee. But now, new research may offer a way to help predict outcomes and improve the process.
Researchers at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) have devised a non-invasive method of accurately measuring the electrical activity of uterine muscles. The results of a recent clinical study, published in the journal Current Research in Physiology, show that signals measured in pregnant patients prior to induction are strongly tied to whether their labor lasted less or more than 24 hours. The authors indicate that physicians could use the method to learn how patients might respond to induction and use the information to develop more effective strategies for labor and delivery.
“Sometimes women will sit there for 36 hours after being induced and nothing’s happening,” said Hari Eswaran, Ph.D., professor of obstetrics and gynecology at UAMS. “We wanted to know when the uterus is prepared for labor. If we capture a physiological signature beforehand that indicates the chances of successful induction, that information can be used to personalize the approach.”
Equipped with a tool that could help predict responsiveness to induction, physicians would be better informed in devising strategies tailored to individual patients. With further research, SARA could become such a tool, potentially providing guidance on when to administer induction medication and in what doses, which would lead to safer and more efficient labor and delivery.