<qa>  What is the risk of prelabor rupture of membranes?The question of routine membrane sweeping and prelabor rupture of membranes has not been specifically addressed in a randomized control trial. A meta analysis of membrane sweeping found ten publications which analyzed this question as a secondary outcome, though none of these studies sought to analyze PROM in their objectives. This meta analysis found the relative risk of prelabor rupture of membranes to be 1.14 with membrane sweeping, however the confidence interval was 0.89 to 1.45 making the finding not significant. Despite this, we feel that a study to specifically address this issue is warranted. The largest study in the meta analysis and the only one with a statistically significant difference on its own did find a significant risk of PROM. The studies in the meta analysis vary greatly in their incidence of PROM, ranging from 2-39 in the membranes sweeping group and 2-26 in the control groups. This wide variation, the fact these studies were not primarily designed to compare PROM rates, and the reported 8-10 PROM in other texts and studies gives question to the ability of this meta analysis to detect a difference in PROM rates between the two groups. As the effect of membrane sweeping on PROM may influence clinicians attitudes toward this intervention, further specific research is warranted. 