Objective: To determine the incidence of live births following labor induction for pregnancy termination in 16-22-week pregnancies. This information is important in order to be able to adequately counsel a pregnant woman regarding the options for pregnancy termination.
Study design: We con- ducted a retrospective study over a 10-year period of all pregnancies that underwent labor induction for pregnan- cy termination between 16 and 22 gestational weeks. The indications for pregnancy termination included fetal anomalies and pregnancy complications.
Results: Over the 10-year period 94 patients under- went labor induction for pregnancy termination and were included in the study. There were 14 unintended live births. The gestational age at termination was significantly higher in the unintended live births as com- pared to stillbirths, 21.03±0.65 weeks vs. 20.28±1.15 weeks (p<0.05). In fetuses with trisomy 21 the unintended live births were more common.
Conclusion: Unintended live birth following labor induction between 16 and 22 weeks' gestation occurs in about 15% of cases; however, the duration of heart beat is <2 hours in the majority of cases. The incidence of live birth was more common in more advanced pregnancies but did not differ by the method of induction or duration of labor.