Clinical Trial: The Use of Castor Oil as a Labor Initiator in Post-date Pregnancies

Study Status: Completed
Recruit Status: Completed
Study Type: Interventional

Official Title: The Use of Castor Oil as a Labor Initiator in Post-date Pregnancies

Brief Summary: The purpose of the study is to determine whether castor oil is effective in inducing labor.

Detailed Summary:

Castor oil is traditionally given by midwives in order to induce labor. Its efficacy as an initiator of labor was previously tested only in one clinical trial. Unfortunately this study (by Garry et al.) was not sufficiently controlled.

We intent to recruit 84 healthy pregnant women with no contraindication to vaginal delivery that had past their due date. Women will be randomly and blindly divided into equal sized intervention group and control group. Intervention group will be given 60 mL of castor oil in 140 mL of orange juice, while control group will be given a placebo with similar texture. Primary outcome to be tested is the percentage of women entering active labor within 24 hours of administration.


Sponsor: Hadassah Medical Organization

Current Primary Outcome: Delivery within 24 hours of administering castor oil/placebo [ Time Frame: two weeks ]

Actual time of delivery


Original Primary Outcome: Delivery within 24 hours of administering castor oil/placebo

Current Secondary Outcome:

  • Neonatal apgar scores [ Time Frame: 1 minute and 5 minute after delivery ]
    Neonatal APGAR scores
  • Umbilical artery pH and Base Excess [ Time Frame: Immediately at birth ]
    Umbilical artery gases
  • Neonatal complications including hospitalization in NICU [ Time Frame: immediately after birth ]
    Were there any admissions to NICU, what was the reason ?
  • Mode of delivery (ie. Normal delivery Vs. Cesarean delivery) [ Time Frame: Within two weeks of enrollment ]
    Mode of delivery


Original Secondary Outcome:

  • Neonatal apgar scores
  • Umbilical artery pH and Base Excess
  • Neonatal complications including hospitalization in NICU
  • Mode of delivery (ie. Normal delivery Vs. Cesarean delivery)


Information By: Hadassah Medical Organization

Dates:
Date Received: October 26, 2005
Date Started: February 2006
Date Completion:
Last Updated: March 18, 2012
Last Verified: November 2005