1. After amniotomy, as in the case of premature rupture, the amniotic fluid is increasingly invaded during birth by bacteria from the vaginal flora.

2. Mechanical methods (balloon catheter, natural or synthetic dilators, amniotomy, sweeping of membranes) are the oldest methods to ripen the cervix or to induce labor.

3. There were 22 patients who went into labor and in 11 patients the cervix was ripened sufficiently to allow successful induction by amniotomy on the next day.

4. Our data revealed that the use of amniotomy (p = 0.02), oxytocin (p = 0.006) and epidural analgesia (p = 0.001) was increased significantly in the induction group compared with the control group of women with spontaneous onset of labor beyond term.

5. The World Health Organization recommends its use either alone or with amniotomy (rupture of the amniotic membrane) but advises that it must be used only after it has been correctly confirmed that labour is not proceeding properly if harm is to be avoided.