A STUDY OF FIVE YEAR OLD CHILDREN BORN AFTER ELECTIVE INDUCTION OF LABOUR

A controlled retrospective study of some short‐term and long‐term effects of elective induction of labour was conducted. There did not appear to be any increase in the incidence of maternal complications during labour, or of neonatal problems in the induced‐labour group compared with the remainder of the mothers in the hospital. In the follow‐up phase of the study, two treatment groups of children who were delivered after amniotomy and amniotomy plus the administration of oxytocin were compared with each other, and with a control group of children bom after spontaneous labour. The children were assessed at the age of five years on verbal and non‐verbal subtests of a standardized intelligence scale, tests of gross motor and fine motor coordination, and auditory and visual tests. A full physical examination was also performed. No statistically significant differences nor trends of clinical interest were found between the groups on any measure.