Induction

The International Childbirth Education Association (ICEA) finds that spontaneous, physiologic labor provides benefits to babies and mothers. Induction of labor is a process utilizing various chemical and mechanical methods to initiate uterine contractions before the onset of spontaneous labor with the goal of accomplishing a successful birth. Augmentation of labor is initiated when spontaneous labor has either slowed, contractions are hypotonic, or labor progress has stopped. This position paper will focus solely on induction of labor.