Bishop Score Calculator
The Bishop Score is a pre-labor scoring system used to assess cervical favorability and predict the likelihood of successful labor induction. This calculator evaluates five cervical and fetal factors to help guide clinical decisions about labor induction timing and methods.
What is the Bishop Score and why is it used?
The Bishop Score is a pre-labor scoring system used to assess cervical favorability and predict the likelihood of successful labor induction. It evaluates five cervical and fetal factors: dilation, effacement, station, consistency, and position. A higher score indicates a more favorable cervix and greater likelihood of successful vaginal delivery following induction.
What do the different Bishop Score values mean?
A Bishop Score of 8 or greater indicates a favorable cervix with high likelihood of successful induction and vaginal delivery (similar to spontaneous labor). A score of 6-7 is considered intermediate. A score less than 6 suggests an unfavorable cervix, which may benefit from cervical ripening agents before induction or may have higher risk of failed induction and cesarean delivery.
How is cervical effacement measured?
Effacement refers to the thinning and shortening of the cervix. It's measured as a percentage: 0-30% effacement means the cervix is thick (0-1 points), 40-50% is moderate thinning (1 point), 60-70% is significant thinning (2 points), and 80%+ means the cervix is very thin or paper-thin (3 points). Complete effacement is 100%.
What does station mean in the Bishop Score?
Station refers to the position of the baby's head relative to the ischial spines in the mother's pelvis. It's measured in centimeters above (-3 to 0) or below (0 to +3) the spines. Negative station means the head is above the spines (not engaged), 0 station means at the spines (engaged), and positive station means below the spines (descended into the pelvis).