Research trial aims to improve women’s experience of induction | News
Research trial aims to improve women’s experience of induction
A research trial, taking place at Royal Surrey, is looking at increasing the options for women facing induction of labour.
Labour is induced in one in three pregnancies in the UK, and can be slow and uncomfortable and may not always be successful. The Mifepristone Outpatient Labour Induction (MOLI) trial looks at the effectiveness of using a medicine called Mifepristone to induce women’s labour while they are at home before they are admitted for a hospital induction.
Led by Chelsea and Westminster NHS Foundation Trust, the trial of 400 pregnant women is being carried out in trusts across the UK.
The study so far has only been offered to women via the direct research team, however at Royal Surrey, Ellie Randall, a Research Midwife, and Jodie Wall, an Advanced Clinical Practitioner (pictured above), have been branching out and meeting with the Community Midwives to educate them on the MOLI trial. The aim is to support them to discuss MOLI with patients who may be eligible to take part.
This will allow more women the choice of taking part in this exciting research project as a part of their care. Midwife Abigail Charnock (above) has just recently become the first community midwife to refer and recruit a patient to the trial, which is a really exciting step. Ellie is now receiving direct referrals from community midwives, which is having a really positive impact on the study.
Ellie said: “Mifepristone works by blocking progesterone to encourage labour to start, so a patient’s chances of going into labour before their hospital induction date is higher. It also helps soften the cervix, making the induction more likely to be successful, meaning a shorter hospital stay for the patient.
“We’ve had some great support from our community midwives in recruiting patients to this trial but we’re keen to increase its visibility further and celebrate the success we’ve had so far.”
Royal Surrey has currently recruited nine women to take part in the MOLI trial but is looking for 21 more women to take part.
MOLI is a placebo-controlled, double-blind trial so patients have a 50 per cent chance of receiving Mifepristone or the placebo, which is decided randomly.