Pitocin

Okay, let's just dive right in.
I got to admit that as a mathematician I would have hoped this blog was a little more scheduled and organized with some type of pattern, but let's be realistic here - I have two kids!
I decided to do this post about Pitocin (synthetic oxytocin) because getting it when there was no reason to was my first mistake with Cowboy, well except for maybe going to the hospital way too early. Let me summarize what I have learned about Pitocin. A lot of this is taken from the book: Gentle Birth, Gentle Mothering by Sarah J. Buckley, MD. chapter 6. So check it out if you want more info, specific studies and statistics as proof, etc.

First, a word on oxytocin (the real kind that your body makes). Oxytocin is described as the hormone of love. Side note: During the first hour after birth, the highest levels of oxytocin for mother and baby are reached. That first hour after birth is really a rare opportunity for both of you to bond and 'feel the love' - I wouldn't miss it for the world!

Oxytocin is the most powerful contraction-causing hormone. Oxytocin pulsates in a rhythmic pattern during labor for a woman, whereas sythetic oxytocin (most common brand is Pitocin) is given in a steady stream. Pitocin-induced contractions will be longer, stronger, and closer together than natural contractions. This causes stress on their baby because there is little time to recover from each contraction. Here is Doris Haire's description:
"The situation is analogous to holding an infant under the surface of the water, allowing the infant to come to the surface to gasp for air, but not to breathe."
Let's make a list here of the possible risks of using Oxytocin: uterine rupture, deprivation of blood and oxygen to baby, acidosis of baby (deprivation of oxygen during labor), increased need for NICU, and assisted ventilation (breathing) in the newborn period. Right on the label for Pitocin it warns that Pitocin can cause fetal heart abnormalities, low APGAR, jaundice, retinal hemorrhage, brain damage, and fetal death.
Forty-two to fifty-five percent of women using Pitocin experience hyperstimulation and 3% to 6% of those result in caesarean due to fetal distress. There is a three times higher risk of asphyxia for babies born after augmentation with Pitocin. Induced babies are five times more likely to have signs of brain damage at birth.
Okay, that is a lot of risks that all seems crazy, (but the studies are right there in the book!). And my own first-born suffered from fetal stress, had low oxygen levels, had to be transported to NICU and had to have a breathing mask - all of which I feel were directly related to the use of Pitocin.
Late in labor our bodies naturally prodice catecholamines (hormones) that allow our baby to tolerate low levels of oxygen, but not in early labor, so Pitocin used in early labor is especially risky.
Strong contractions (such as those caused by Pitocin) are much more painful and generally lead to the use of pain-killing drugs or an epidural, which leads to less naturally produced oxytocin, which leads to the lack of many of the psycho-emotional benefits of natural oxytocin and the enhanced feelings of calm and connection during labor and after birth.
Pitocin stimulates contractions, but has minimal effects on cervix dilation. So despite the regular, painful contractions, there may be no actual progress in the labor, which will ultimately lead to a necessary cesarean.
A few other risks: Pitocin increases the risk of postpartum hemorrhage, inhibits the natural increase of our bodies' beta-endorphins, reduces the rate of breast-feeding (stress in labor leads to low milk production), affects the autonomic nervous system of baby (that which regulates body temp.) And lastly, Autism, though having many complex causing factors, includes that of exposure to Pitocin at birth.
There is a time and a place for everything - but I am currently having a hard time coming up with a warranted reason to pump Pitocin into a laboring woman's body.

A book you need to read: Gentle Birth, Gentle Mothering - sarah J. Buckley (MD)