Cervical ripening.

Induction of labor is indicated when the benefits to either the mother or the fetus outweigh the benefits of continuing the pregnancy. The state of the cervix is clearly related to the success of labor induction and the duration of labor. In cases of unfavorable cervices, physicians usually use a ripening agent before inducing labor. Unfortunately, as reviewed in this article, the ideal ripening agent is not found yet. No method of cervical ripening has shown a consistent and significant reduction in CS rate. In fact, women with the most unfavorable cervices (Bishop score, < or = 2) still face high rates of induction failure and CS.