Sweeping of membrane for induction of labour at Omdurman Maternity hospital (OMH), Sudan; 2015

Background: Sweeping of membrane is a simple outpatient procedure performed to initiate onset of labour by increasing local prostaglandins production. Objective: To study the effect of sweeping of fetal membranes in initiation of onset of labour and its complications in postdate pregnancy (40-42 weeks) at OMH 2015. Methodology: This is a descriptive, prospective study, conducted at (OMH), during 2015. All low risk pregnant women attending antenatal clinic (ANC), who completed 40 weeks or more (40-42) were included after an informed consent. Ethical approval was obtained from ethical review committee (ERC) at Sudan medical specialization board (SMSB). Sweeping was done by an obstetrician or a senior registrar after initial fetal and maternal assessment and ascertaining of gestational age (GA). Data was collected by trained data collectors and analyzed by computer program SPSS version 21.0 Results: A total of 995 women with uncomplicated postdate pregnancies (40-42) weeks underwent sweeping of fetal membrane for induction of labour. Many of them; 724 (72.7%) started contraction within 48 hours, 310 (31.2%) had one attempt of sweeping and 679 (68.2%) had two-four attempts. Out of them; 828 (83.2%) delivered vaginally, 153(15.4%) delivered by cesarean section and 14 (1.4%) delivered by forceps. After sweeping; 609 (61.2%) developed discomfort, 44 (4.4%) slight vaginal bleeding, 14(01.4%) ruptured their membrane before onset of labour and eleven (1.1%) developed infection. Seven (0.7%) babies were admitted to neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), six of them with transient tachypnea of newborn (TTN) discharged after 24 hours and one delivered by forceps developed severe birth asphyxia and early neonatal death. Conclusion: Sweeping of membranes is a useful simple and safe procedure for initiation of onset of labour with high client satisfaction and success rate which can reduce the need for formal methods of induction.