DOI: 10.36347/sjams.2020.v08i03.024

Pages: 921-926

Membrane sweeping is the insertion of the digit beyond the internal cervical os followed by circumferential passes of the digit causing separation of the membranes from the lower uterine segment. The study aimed to determine the effect of membrane sweeping in conjunction with induction of labour in a teaching hospital in south western Nigeria. It was a randomized controlled trial among pregnant women with valid indications for labour induction at term in Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH) Teaching Hospital, Osogbo. Seventy-six women were randomised into "sweep" and "no-sweep" groups with 38 in each arm. The women were blinded to the groups and only the doctors who performed the initial vaginal examination knew the allocation. The outcome of induction of labour, induction to delivery interval, usage of Oxytocin for augmentation of labour, the pain scores, usage of analgesia and satisfaction level were determined between the two arms of the study. The collected data was analysed using Statistical package for Social Sciences (SPSS- 20) Software. Level of significance was set at <0.05.Seventy-six women were recruited for the study, 38 women had their membrane swept before commencement of induction while 38 women had only induction without membrane sweeping. No patient dropped out from the study. Swept women had higher spontaneous vaginal delivery rate (100% compared with 84.2%, p=0.011), shorter induction to delivery interval (mean 10hours compared with 14hours, p=0.001), fewer required oxytocin use (39.5%compared with 78.9%, p < 0.001) and less requirement for analgesia (31.6% compared 68.4%, p = 0.001) The study revealed that membrane sweeping at initiation of labour induction had significant effect on the spontaneous vaginal delivery rate, reduced oxytocic drug use, shortened induction to delivery interval and reduced usage of analgesia.