ACOG’s Labor Induction Handouts: Helpful, but Missing the Hard Parts

These patient-facing documents explain the basics, but they largely avoid the specifics patients need for real informed consent.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists patient-facing informations sheets are essential readings. Their public education on induction matters because induction is not a single “procedure.” It is a pathway that can involve multiple steps, multiple drugs, prolonged monitoring, and sometimes a cesarean. If a document is meant to support patient decision-making, it must be explicit about the tradeoffs that drive the decision at the bedside.

Below is what ACOG’s three patient documents do and do not say about serious complications, cesarean risk, misoprostol’s regulatory status, and informed consent.

What follows are the exact numbers, questions, and steps that turn you from a passive patient into an informed advocate for your own health. This is the information your provider should be sharing with you. Subscribe to ObGyn Intelligence and get the evidence that matters.

What ACOG clearly states

1) Major complications: mentioned, but in a limited and uneven way