The freedom to birth-the use of cytotec to induce labor: a non-evidence-based intervention.

The off-label use of Cytotec (misoprostol) to induce labor has increased over the past few decades. The increase in medical interventions in childbirth, many of which are not based on scientific evidence, and the rise in maternal and infant morbidity and in maternal and infant mortality cannot continue to go unrecognized. This column serves as a teaching tool for childbirth educators and provides an example of two unnecessary, potentially avoidable deaths that occurred during a birth with questionable medical interventions.