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Updated: Apr 6, 2026
External Cephalic Version: Is it an Effective and Safe Procedure?
Published on: June 6, 2020
Cervical ripening balloon compared with vaginal dinoprostone for cervical ripening in obese women at term: A
Guillaume Ducarme1, Serena Gilman1, Margot Sauvee1
1Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Centre Hospitalier Departemental, La Roche sur Yon, France.
Objective:
To evaluate vaginal delivery in obese women who underwent cervical ripening at term using a dinoprostone vaginal insert or a cervical ripening balloon (CRB), and to assess maternal and neonatal morbidity according to the method.
Methods:
A prospective cohort study including obese women with a live singleton fetus in cephalic presentation who required cervical ripening at term (≥37 weeks) for maternal and/or fetal disease using a dinoprostone vaginal insert or a CRB. The primary outcome was vaginal delivery. Secondary outcomes were a favorable cervix (Bishop score >6) after 24 h, the time from device insertion to delivery, and composite maternal and neonatal morbidity.
Results:
In total, 135 consecutive women were analyzed (107 CRB, 79.3%; 28 dinoprostone vaginal insert, 20.7%). Vaginal delivery (86 [80.4%] after CRB vs 19 [67.9%] after dinoprostone vaginal insert; P = 0.248), favorable cervix within 24 h after device placement (52 [48.6%] vs 17 [60.7%]; P = 0.264), and maternal morbidity (12 [11.2%] vs 4 [14.3%]; P = 0.646) were similar between the groups. The time from device insertion to delivery also did not differ between the groups. Neonatal morbidity was significantly higher after the dinoprostone vaginal insert (11 [39.3%] vs 20 [18.7%]; P = 0.030). Cervical ripening using the dinoprostone vaginal insert, compared with the CRB, was significantly associated with neonatal morbidity (adjusted odds ratio 4.00, 95% confidence interval 1.34-12.5), but not with maternal morbidity (adjusted odds ratio 1.23, 95% confidence interval 0.30-4.38).
Conclusions:
Vaginal delivery, a favorable cervix after 24 h, the time from device insertion to delivery, and maternal morbidity did not significantly differ between the CRB and the dinoprostone vaginal insert for cervical ripening in obese women at term. Nevertheless, neonatal morbidity was significantly associated with the dinoprostone vaginal insert, compared with the CRB, among obese women who required cervical ripening at term.
