Obstetric practice in the Oxford Record Linkage Study Area 1965-72.

The secular trends in induction in 111 818 births over eight years in the largely rural areas of Oxfordshire and west Berkshire were analysed. Although the induction rate started to rise only in 1969, the forceps and episiotomy rates had been increasing throughout, but both procedures were always twice as prevalent in induced as in non-induced cases. The proportion of women given an anaesthetic was also consistently higher in induced cases, but that of women with long labours fell considerably over the period. The reduction in stillbirth rate was more apparent in induced than in non-induced births.