An assessment of cervical ripening with evening primrose oil: An obstetrical review

Objective: To compare cervical ripening in women having evening primrose oil with those not taking it. Study Design: Retrospective Cohort study. Setting: Department of Obs & Gynae, Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, Karachi. Period: July 2018 to April 2021. Material Method: Patients were divided into 2 groups, one (EPO) 1gm twice daily from 37 weeks till labor, given by her previous birth attendant. Another group was without using oil. Both examined for bishop score, length labour and then need cesarean section. Statistical plan: SPSS 20. Results: BISHOP score EPO (6.1) vs non-EPO (4.3) statistically significant (p-value < 0.001). have soft consistency (73.5%), followed medium (10.2%) firm (16.3%) while non (41.2%) (37.3%) (21.6%). The differences (p-value=0.001). average labor 7.7 hours (±2.5 SD) Non-EPO 8.4 (±2.4 SD), insignificant. mode delivery wasn’t significantly different between two groups. Conclusion: tend consistency. However did any difference.