Repeat C-Sections From Induced Labor 

The May, 2001 issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology reports that women who have had cesarean sections in the past are subject to increased complications if they have labor induced in subsequent pregnancies.

The complications included having to have c-sections again as well as rupturing old c-section uterine scar tissue. Uterine ruptures can be "catastrophic" according to lead researcher Dr. Emma J. Sims of the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston.

The authors specifically want doctors to rethink labor inductions done for convenience. Doctors "should be wary of social inductions - they're 38 weeks [pregnant] and the father's going out of town or something like that," Sims explained. "We want to be giving it a lot of thought."

The researchers also found no difference in the study results depending on what drug was used to induce labor. Oxytocin, misoprostol and dinoprostone were all examined individually and in combination.