Dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate and induction of labor.

Dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHAS) has been shown to promote cervical ripening. We have investigated the effect of DHAS administration on the onset of spontaneous labor and delivery in 92 normal primiparous patients. We also investigated the effect of DHAS administration on the induction of labor with oxytocin at term in 47 normal primiparous patients. Twice weekly administration of 200 mg-DHAS intravenously to primiparous patients beginning at the 37th week of gestation resulted in earlier onset of spontaneous labor than once weekly administration. In patients in whom labor was induced at term with intravenous oxytocin, pretreatment with DHAS (200 mg intravenously) resulted in a shorter induction interval than in patients not given such pretreatment. We conclude that DHAS given systemically accelerates the onset of labor and endogenous DHAS may play a role in the mechanism of labor.