{
  "id": "bishop-score",
  "version": "da74e5c01202",
  "status": "published",
  "name": "Bishop Score Calculator",
  "question": "What is the Bishop score?",
  "summary": "Adds up the five parts of the Bishop score (Bishop 1964) from a cervical exam to a total of 0 to 13, and shows whether the cervix counts as favorable or unfavorable for induction of labor.",
  "category": "health",
  "subcategory": "clinical",
  "url": "https://www.acalculator.org/health/bishop-score-calculator",
  "markdown": "https://www.acalculator.org/health/bishop-score-calculator.md",
  "kind": "function",
  "method": "Bishop score = dilation (0 to 3) + effacement (0 to 3) + station (0 to 3) + consistency (0 to 2) + position (0 to 2). Over 8 favorable, 5 or less unfavorable.",
  "assumptions": [
    "Bishop studied women who had given birth before (multiparous) at term, with the baby head down.",
    "The page shows the score and what the sources say it means. It does not decide whether or how to induce labor."
  ],
  "inputs": {
    "$schema": "https://json-schema.org/draft/2020-12/schema",
    "type": "object",
    "properties": {
      "dil": {
        "title": "Dilation",
        "description": "How far the cervix is open.",
        "type": "string",
        "enum": [
          "0",
          "1",
          "2",
          "3"
        ]
      },
      "eff": {
        "title": "Effacement",
        "description": "How thinned the cervix is, in percent.",
        "type": "string",
        "enum": [
          "0",
          "1",
          "2",
          "3"
        ]
      },
      "sta": {
        "title": "Station",
        "description": "Where the baby’s head sits relative to the ischial spines, −3 to +2.",
        "type": "string",
        "enum": [
          "0",
          "1",
          "2",
          "3"
        ]
      },
      "con": {
        "title": "Consistency",
        "description": "How firm the cervix feels.",
        "type": "string",
        "enum": [
          "0",
          "1",
          "2"
        ]
      },
      "pos": {
        "title": "Position",
        "description": "Where the cervix points.",
        "type": "string",
        "enum": [
          "0",
          "1",
          "2"
        ]
      }
    }
  },
  "outputs": {
    "score": {
      "label": "Bishop score",
      "description": "The total of the five parts, 0 to 13.",
      "format": "integer"
    },
    "cervix": {
      "label": "Cervix",
      "description": "Favorable (over 8), unfavorable (5 or less), or between the two (6 to 8).",
      "format": "text"
    }
  },
  "defaultAnswer": {
    "inputs": {
      "dil": "1",
      "eff": "1",
      "sta": "1",
      "con": "1",
      "pos": "1"
    },
    "outputs": {
      "score": 5,
      "cervix": "Unfavorable"
    },
    "text": "The Bishop score is 5 out of 13: Unfavorable."
  },
  "examples": [
    {
      "given": {
        "dil": "1",
        "eff": "1",
        "sta": "1",
        "con": "1",
        "pos": "1"
      },
      "expect": {
        "score": 5,
        "cervix": "Unfavorable"
      },
      "source": "Wheeler 2022 table (from Bishop 1964): 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 = 5, 5 or less is unfavorable (hand calculation)"
    },
    {
      "given": {
        "dil": "3",
        "eff": "3",
        "sta": "3",
        "con": "2",
        "pos": "2"
      },
      "expect": {
        "score": 13,
        "cervix": "Favorable"
      },
      "source": "Bishop 1964: the highest score, 3 + 3 + 3 + 2 + 2 = 13 (hand calculation in content.mdx)"
    },
    {
      "given": {
        "dil": "2",
        "eff": "2",
        "sta": "2",
        "con": "2",
        "pos": "1"
      },
      "expect": {
        "score": 9,
        "cervix": "Favorable"
      },
      "source": "Bishop 1964: 9 or more; Wheeler 2022: over 8 is favorable; 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 1 = 9 (hand calculation)"
    },
    {
      "given": {
        "dil": "2",
        "eff": "2",
        "sta": "2",
        "con": "1",
        "pos": "1"
      },
      "expect": {
        "score": 8,
        "cervix": "Between the cutoffs"
      },
      "source": "Wheeler 2022 cutoffs: 8 is not over 8 and not 5 or less (hand calculation in content.mdx)"
    },
    {
      "given": {
        "dil": "0",
        "eff": "0",
        "sta": "0",
        "con": "0",
        "pos": "0"
      },
      "expect": {
        "score": 0,
        "cervix": "Unfavorable"
      },
      "source": "Bishop 1964: the lowest score is 0 (hand calculation)"
    }
  ],
  "sources": [
    "Bishop EH. Pelvic scoring for elective induction. Obstet Gynecol. 1964;24:266-268. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/14199536/ (retrieved 2026-10-05)",
    "Wheeler V, Hoffman A, Bybel M. Cervical ripening and induction of labor. Am Fam Physician. 2022;105(2):177-186, Table 2 (adapted from Bishop 1964). https://www.aafp.org/pubs/afp/issues/2022/0200/p177.html (retrieved 2026-10-05)",
    "Kuba K, et al. Placenta Reprod Med. 2023;2:8 (quotes Bishop’s cutoff of 9 or more). https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10500565/ (retrieved 2026-10-05)"
  ],
  "related": [],
  "changelog": [
    {
      "date": "2026-10-05",
      "note": "Published after this site's editorial review against the cited sources (no clinician review); the page notices say so."
    }
  ]
}