Introduction: Despite its physiological process, childbirth is an increasingly medicalised process. Of these, induction of labour is the most common procedure in obstetric practice. This is a procedure where, for medical reasons, labour is induced before the spontaneous onset of labour. Purpose: The aim of the thesis was to determine how the incidence of induction of labour changed between 2013 and 2022 in Slovenia and what are the most common medical reasons for this procedure. Methods: The first part of the study used a descriptive empirical research method, followed by a caval-non-experimental method, which was used to process data obtained through the NIJZ from the Perinatal Information System between 2013 and 2022. The analysis compared the outcomes of parturients with induced labour onset and spontaneous labour onset without stimulation. Basic descriptive statistics have been carried out. Results: The number of births in Slovenia has declined over the last ten years. The number of spontaneous births has decreased and the number of induced births has increased. In 2022, a quarter of all women who gave birth had an induction. The proportion and methods of induction of labour varied according to parity of parturients. The incidence of induction increased during the study period, which could be linked to the increasing number of pregnant women with risk factors such as gestational diabetes, polyhydramnios and oligohydramnios. Discussion and conclusion: In Slovenia and elsewhere in the world, the trend towards induction of labour is increasing, despite a decrease in the number of births. This is linked to the higher incidence of risk factors in pregnancy, such as diabetes, oligohydramnios and polyhydramnios, as these are medical indications for induction of labour. This may also be due to the increasing age of women giving birth. In any case, the growing number of inductions suggests that childbirth is becoming an increasingly medicalised process. It would be worthwhile to further monitor and analyse the causes of induction of labour in Slovenia.
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