Foley Catheter Application for Cervical Ripening and Induction of Labor

    Accelerating cervical maturation with a Foley catheter prior to induction of labor is a

common obstetric intervention when the risk of continuing the pregnancy outweighs the risk of delivery. The balloon catheter was first used to induce labor in 1967 (Embrey, 1967) and was the first method developed to promote cervical maturation and induction of labor.

    Scholars represented by Anne Berndl (2014) searched randomized controlled trials published from the beginning of the Medline and Embase databases (1946 and 1974, respectively) to October 22, 2013, using a systematic literature review and Meta-analysis to assess the relationship between high- or low-volume Foley catheters used to accelerate cervical maturation and cervical. The trial concluded that high-volume Foley catheters are effective in increasing cervical maturation and the probability of delivery within 24 hours.

    The more widespread clinical applications are the cervical dilatation double balloon and the Foley catheter, which dilate the cervix by injecting sterile saline into the balloon to mature the cervix, and the pressure of the balloon located in the extra-amniotic cavity separates the. endometrium from the meconium, causing the release of endogenous prostaglandins from the adjacent meconium and cervix, thus enhancing interstitial catabolism and enhancing the uterine response to contractins and prostaglandins (Levine, 2020). Several studies have demonstrated that mechanical methods have a better safety profile compared to pharmacological methods, but may come at the cost of a longer labor, but fewer side effects such as uterine hyperstimulation, which may be safer for the infant, who may not receive enough oxygen if contractions are too frequent and prolonged (De Vaan, 2019).