Only one new paper has entered the top 10 most read papers in June 2021, claiming the top spot for the month. Overall, readership remains high for the papers we highlighted in last month’s top 10 list, with COVID-19 remaining a prominent topic of interest to readers.
Induction of labour for non-medical reasons associated with adverse outcomes
In their new article, Dahlen et al. explored outcomes for mothers and children in a large Australian cohort of over 474,000 births. They compared induction of labour versus spontaneous labour in uncomplicated pregnancies. The authors found that the rate of induced labour with no medical indication tripled at some gestational ages between 2001 and 2016. They also observed higher rates of epidural/spinal analgesia, caesarian section, instrumental birth, episiotomy, and postpartum haemorrhage in induced labour patients than in women with spontaneous births. There were no benefits of labour induction for neonates, at any term gestation of labour onset. The authors conclude that induction of labour is associated with adverse outcomes where women who do not have a medical indication that necessitates induction.
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Here is the full list of most read papers in BMJ Open during June 2021:
*Most read figures are based on pdf downloads and full text views. Abstract views are excluded.
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