This paper, using data for the United States and Canada on number of births by day of the week, presents indirect evidence for the widespread incidence of the practice of elective induction. For both the United States and Canada, it is found that substantially fewer births occur on Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays than on weekdays. Controlling for such factors as prenatal care, race, education, legitimacy, birth weight, and time trend strongly suggests that the induction of labor is responsible for the patterns found. The paper concludes by discussing the framework within which the practice of elective induction of labor should be evaluated and justified.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
DunnP. M.Obstetric delivery today. For better or for worse?Lancet1(7963): 790–793, April 1976.
2.
Editorial. A time to be born. Lancet2(7890): 1183–1184, November 1974.
3.
MacVicarJ.Acceleration and augmentation of labour. Scott Med. J.18: 201–214, November 1973.
4.
RichardsM. P.Innovation in medical practice: Obstetricians and the induction of labour in Britain. Soc. Sci. Med.9(11–12): 595–602, 1975.
5.
TheobaldG. W.Letter: Dangers of oxytocin-induced labour to fetuses. Br. Med. J.4(5936): 102, October 1974.
6.
KeettelW. C.Elective induction of labor. In Controversy in Obstetrics and Gynecology, edited by ReidD. E. and BartonT. C., pp. 109–114. W. B. Saunders Company, Philadelphia, 1969.
7.
MacDonaldD.Surgical induction of labor. Am. J. Obstet. Gynecol. 107: 908–911, July 1970.
8.
PinkertonJ. H.Induction of labour on behalf of the fetus. Journal of the Irish Medical Association66: 592–596, November 1973.
9.
ZuspanF. P., coordinator. Induction of labor—Part II, an invitational symposium. J. Reprod. Med.6(2): 17–32, February 1971.
10.
ColeR. A.HowieP. W., and MacNaughtonM. C.Elective induction of labour. A randomised prospective trial. Lancet1(7910): 767–770, April 1975.
11.
HallR. E.Standard practices at Sloane Hospital. The management of the induction of labor. Bulletin of the Sloane Hospital of Women7: 55–58, summer 1961.
12.
PinkertonJ. H. M.MartinD. H., and ThompsonW.Selective planned induction in conditions of civil strife. Lancet1(7900): 197–198, January 1975.
13.
BlacowM.Letter: Induction of labor. Lancet1(7900): 217, January 1975.
14.
CampbellN.HarveyD., and NormanA. P.Increased frequency of neonatal jaundice in a maternity hospital. Br. Med. J.2(5970): 548–552, June 1975.
15.
FieldsH.GreeneJ., and SmithK.Induction of Labor. Macmillan Company, New York, 1965.
16.
FrostA. C.Death following intrauterine injection of hypertonic saline solution with hydatidiform mole. Am. J. Obstet. Gynecol. 101: 343–344, June 1968.
17.
KeettelW. C.RandallJ. H., and DonnellyM. M.The hazards of elective induction of labor. Am. J. Obstet. Gynecol. 75(3): 496–510, 1968.
18.
ListonW. A., and CampbellA. J.Dangers of oxytocin-induced labour to fetuses. Br. Med. J.3(5931): 606–607, September 1974.
19.
NiswanderK. R., and PattersonR. J.Hazards of elective induction of labor. Obstet. Gynecol. 22: 228–233, August 1963.
20.
RubinL., and BaskettT. F.“Silent” uterine rupture during labour. Can. Med. Assoc. J.104: 612, April 1971.
21.
SchwarczR. L.Fetal and maternal monitoring in spontaneous labors and in elective inductions. A comparative study. Am. J. Obstet. Gynecol. 120(3): 356–362, October 1974.
22.
SmithA. M.Letter: Rupture of uterus during prostaglandin-induced abortion. Br. Med. J.1(5951): 205, January 1975.
23.
SchafferB., and KaernT.Risks of induction of labor by intravenous oxytocin. Acta Obstet. Gynecol. Scand. [Suppl] 9: 69, 1971.
24.
RindfussR. R.GortmakerS. L., and LadinskyJ. L.Elective induction of labor and the health of the infant: Evidence from New York City. Am. J. Public Health68(9): 872, 1978.
25.
HawkinsD. F., editor. Obstetric Therapeutics: Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics in Obstetric Practice. Williams and Wilkins Company, Baltimore, 1974.
26.
WilsonJ. R.BeechamC. T., and CarringtonE. R.Obstetrics and Gynecology, 5th edition. C. V. Mosby Company, St. Louis, 1975.
27.
RomneyS. L.Gynecology and Obsetetrics: The Health Care of Women. McGraw-Hill, New York, 1975.
28.
BensonR. C.Handbook of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 5th edition. Lange Medical Publications, Los Altos, Cal., 1974.
29.
GreenhillJ. P., and FriedmanE. A.Biological Principles and Modern Practice of Obstetrics. W. B. Saunders Company, Philadelphia, 1974.
30.
HellmanL. M., and PritchardJ. A.Williams Obstetrics, 14th edition. Appleton-Century-Crofts, New York, 1971.
31.
PageE. W.VilleeC. A., and VilleeD. B.Human Reproduction. W. B. Saunders Company, Philadelphia, 1972.
AlvarezH.Editorial. In Induction of labor—Part II, an invitational symposium, coordinated by F. P. Zuspan. J. Reprod. Med.6(2): 18, February 1971.
34.
BarberH. R.GraberE. A., and OrlandoA.Augmented labor. Obstet. Gynecol. 39: 933–941, June 1972.
35.
RindfussR. R., and LadinskyJ. L.Patterns of births: Implications for the incidence of elective induction. Med. Care14(8): 685–693, August 1976.
36.
FieldsH.Induction of labor: Its past, its present and its place. Postgrad. Med.44: 226–231, September 1968.
37.
National Center for Health Statistics. Vital Statistics of the United States, 1971. 1 (Natality). Public Health Service, Rockville, Md., 1975.
38.
KessnerD. M.Infant Death: An Analysis by Maternal Risk and Health Care. National Academy of Sciences, Washington, D.C., 1973.
39.
WatkinsE. L.Low-income Negro mothers—Their decision to seek prenatal care. Am. J. Public Health58: 655–667, April 1968.
40.
WolfeS.Primary health care for the poor in the United States and Canada. Int. J. Health Serv.2(2): 217–228, 1972.
41.
AlpertJ. J.KosaJ., and HaggertyR. J.A month of illness and health care among low-income families. Public Health Rep.82: 705–713, August 1967.
42.
BrooksC. H.The changing relationship between socioeconomic status and infant mortality: An analysis of state characteristics. J. Health Soc. Behav.16(3): 291–303, September 1975.
43.
HermanM. W.The poor: Their medical needs and the health services available to them. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science399: 12–21, January 1972.
44.
LernerM.Social differences in physical health. In Poverty and Health, edited by KosaJ. and ZolaI. K., Harvard University Press, Cambridge, 1969.
45.
WeinermanE. R.Yale studies in ambulatory medical care. V. Determinants of use of hospital emergency services. Am. J. Public Health56: 1037–1056, July 1966.
46.
RothJ. A.The treatment of the sick. In Poverty and Health, edited by KosaJ. and ZolaI. K.. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, 1969.
47.
TaylorD. G.AdayL. A., and AndersenR.A social indicator of access to medical care. J. Health Soc. Behav.16(1): 39–49, March 1975.
48.
BulloughB.Poverty, ethnic identity and preventive health care. J. Health Soc. Behav.13: 347–359, December 1972.
49.
CartwrightA.Human Relations and Hospital Care. Routledge and Kegan Paul, London, 1973.
50.
PrattL.SeligmannA., and ReaderG.Physicians' views on the level of medical information among patients. Am. J. Public Health47(10): 1277–1283, October 1957.
51.
WaitzkinH., and StoeckleJ. D.The communication of information about illness; clinical, sociological and methodological considerations. Adv. Psychosom. Med.8: 180–215, 1972.
52.
MechanicD.Public Expectations and Health Care. Wiley-Interscience, New York, 1972.
53.
MonteiroL. A.Expense is no object: Income and physician visits reconsidered. J. Health Soc. Behav.14: 99–115, June 1973.
54.
WardR. A.The Economics of Health Resources. Addison-Wesley, Reading, Mass., 1975.
55.
BarterR. H.Induction of labor: Helpful or harmful?Postgrad. Med.43: 141–144, June 1968.
DuVigneaudV.ResslerC., and TrippettS.The sequence of amino acids in oxytocin, with a proposal for the structure of oxytocin. J. Biol. Chem.205(2): 949–957, December 1953.
58.
DuVigneaudV.The synthesis of an octapeptide amide with the hormonal acitivity of oxytocin. J. Am. Chem. Soc.75: 4879–4880, 1953.
