Elective Induction of Labor May Have Negative Effects at the Hospital Level

Labor induction increased in the United States after the publication of A Randomized Trial of Induction Versus Expectant Management (ARRIVE) in 2018. During this trial, investigators found that elective induction at 39 weeks in low-risk nulliparous women led to similar perinatal outcomes when compared to expectant management. However, other researchers have since linked rising labor induction rates to worse hospital- and population-level outcomes. It is possible that elective induction of labor has a neutral effect on patients who are induced while at the same time lessening hospital capacity to care for other maternity patients, which leads to a negative effect on patient outcomes overall. During a trial, this represents a form of negative spillover, in which an intervention indirectly harms the comparison group and leads to overestimation of intervention benefit. Although further research is needed, evidence the ARRIVE and subsequent studies provides preliminary support for this possibility.