No Pit Please!!

I just read a fascinating article regarding the use of Pitocin in labor and the correlation with emergency cesarean sections! Pitocin is a synthetic form of the hormone oxytocin, which is administered to either induce labor or to augment labor if the physician feels that the contracts aren't strong or organized enough.

A hospital in Chicago did a 3-year study where in they implemented a policy to infuse the Pitocin at a much slower rate (1 by 1 every 30 minutes v. 2 by 2 every 20 minutes, as done previously), and also decreased the use of Pitocin from 93.3% of laboring patients to 78.9% of patients. As a result, they saw the incidence of emergency cesarean delivery drop from 10.9% to 5.7%!!! There was also a significant decline in the number of vacuum and forcep deliveries, and a sharp reduction in neonatal ICU team mobilization for signs of fetal distres, as well! Oddly, the overall cesarean birth rate remained the same.

Hard to argue with the results! If you need Pitocin, ask your doctor about infusing at a slower rate!