Mechanical dilation by insertion of a foreign body into the cervix is the oldest reported method for induction of labor and is still widely used today. Before the first century AD, Hippocrates described the use of mammary stimulation and manual dilation of the cervical canal to produce uterine contractions. Similar methods, used at various times up until the mid 20th century, included pressurized douches, extra-amniotic aqua picea (a mixture of water and pitch), laminaria tents, balloon-tipped catheters, and bougies. In the early 1900s, a substance extracted from the pituitary gland was noted to cause "powerful contractions in the pregnant, puerperal, and menstruating uterus" when administered through intravenous infusion.
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