MOLI

This MRC funded study (£1.3m) is the first of its kind in the world. It compares the use of oral misoprostol and oxytocin infusion in women who have already undergone cervical ripening with oral misoprostol and need ongoing uterine stimulation in labour.

For those women suffering from pre-eclampsia the best method of reducing risk to both the mother and the baby is the safe delivery of her baby, usually by induction of labour.  The research team has previously shown that oral misoprostol is highly effective at initiating labour (a process referred to as ‘cervical ripening’). This is usually changed to a ‘drip’ of oxytocin once active labour starts. However, it carries risk, is logistically difficult to use, and needs to be stored in a fridge and injected into the patient. Misoprostol is much cheaper and comes in tablet form, with no need for refrigeration or sterile needles.

The trial will recruit 1,000 women across three hospitals in Nagpur, Central India. If safe and effective, it will be a new low-cost, woman-friendly method of induction that doesn’t require an intravenous drip.

The Sanyu team is working in partnership with Gynuity Health Projects in New York, USA, and the Government Medical College in Nagpur. The trial is currently in set-up and due to open to recruitment in November 2019.