Denying Pitocin

vtcnicely

I really want to minimize the amount of interventions (if possible) during delivery.  For any previous moms who delivered at a hospital, were you able to deny pitocin?

Anyone else interested in doing this?

jb2rn

This is my first pregnancy, so I can't comment on delivery, but of course you can refuse Pit. You can refuse an IV if you want.

I absolutley don't want Pit, unless there is a VERY good reason (PIH, etc).

 

CandiceNT

I didn't deny it, although you have every right to. I did have it on the lowest setting possible until I got the epidural 7 hours after being admitted....then I allowed them to crank it up.

amyjoy18

I did.  My doctor suggested it as soon as I was admitted at 10pm because my water had broken and I was only 2cm.  I denied--she tried to talk me into it and I almost caved.  DH looked at me and said, "This is your decision, tell her what you want to do."  I told her I wanted to try without it.  She agreed but said she wasn't coming 100 times throughout the night to check me.

Great decision on my part.  I labored slowly thoughout the night.  at 5am I was 5cm--but I was able to sleep through some of the contractions.  At 7am I was 7cm and at 10:30 I was 10cm and DD was born 3 pushes and 2 minutes later.

CheriCO

I had no reason to get pitocin with DS, so didn't have to decline it. 

So there are two main times when pitocin might be used - to induce/augment labor and to help with post partum bleeding.  I would fight unnecessary induction at all costs.  Before I agreed to medical induction, I would want non stress tests, etc to show that it was in fact necessary.  If I went beyond 42 wks, I'd start considering it, but would still ask for the most natural induction possible, same if it was earlier but baby or I were having complications.  At this point, I would have tried every possible natural induction method and would ask to maybe try a little bit of meds, but back off if/when my body started to take over.

For post partum, it seems some hospitals/OBs now routinely give a shot of pitocin after baby is out.  I would definitely decline this and would only agree to post partum pitocin if there were complications, I was bleeding a lot and it wasn't stopping.  

I trust that the birth center where I'll deliver this LO will only suggest pitocin if it is truly needed.

emilyj77

amyjoy18:

I did.  My doctor suggested it as soon as I was admitted at 10pm because my water had broken and I was only 2cm.  I denied--she tried to talk me into it and I almost caved.  DH looked at me and said, "This is your decision, tell her what you want to do."  I told her I wanted to try without it.  She agreed but said she wasn't coming 100 times throughout the night to check me.

Great decision on my part.  I labored slowly thoughout the night.  at 5am I was 5cm--but I was able to sleep through some of the contractions.  At 7am I was 7cm and at 10:30 I was 10cm and DD was born 3 pushes and 2 minutes later.

Thanks for sharing this! It sounds like your M.D. wanted to get home and didn't want to have to deliver in the middle of the night.

I want to avoid Pitocin at all costs.

Janimal

This is a conversation to have with your OB BEFORE delivery.  Not at the time.

You don't lose the ability to think and reason when in labor, but't not a great time for making decisions.  If you don't trust your Dr to not introduce unnecessary interventions - get a new Dr.  Also, teach your DH or whoever will be in delivery with you to ask these questions when a medical intervention is discussed:  "Is that medically necessary?"  "Why are you recommending that?"  "What are the risks involved?"  and "Is it safe for us to wait a little while and see how things before before making that decision?"

Good luck!

cosmogal7498

I developed something toward the end of my trimester with my first pregnancy and the day I found out my results, my water broke.  The doctor did start me on pitocin right away and I knew I had to do it to get her out.  I was fine and she is healthy and fine as well.  I think its up to you and what you would rather have.  Mine was a different story and I had to do it.  Hope that helps!

giggles9393

I was given pitocin with my first pregnancy.. i was just told they needed to because I had high blood pressure and they needed to speed the pregnancy up..

Is this bad to take? I didn't know you could deny it or would want to deny it? TIA!

jseaton61

i'm in exactly the same boat. i want as few interventions as possible and i don't want to do anything to increase my chances of having a c-section, which pitocin can. i was very concerned with being pressured with pitocin because majority of the babies in my family, myself & brother included, were several days later. (my brother was 16 days late and i was 14 days late.) i'm not opposed to going over my EDD (as long as it doesn't become a risk to baby or myself) and i'm hoping to go into labor naturally rather than have it "jump started" with pitocin..

Lindsaylovesdogs

I am really hoping not to have it; my mom had a horrible and scary allergic reaction to it when she was in labor with me, and she and I have many of the same allergies and sensitivities.  

I will really put my foot down unless it is a situation where the risk of having it is outweighed by a bigger risk. 

MrsG.060708

CheriCO:

I had no reason to get pitocin with DS, so didn't have to decline it. 

So there are two main times when pitocin might be used - to induce/augment labor and to help with post partum bleeding.  I would fight unnecessary induction at all costs.  Before I agreed to medical induction, I would want non stress tests, etc to show that it was in fact necessary.  If I went beyond 42 wks, I'd start considering it, but would still ask for the most natural induction possible, same if it was earlier but baby or I were having complications.  At this point, I would have tried every possible natural induction method and would ask to maybe try a little bit of meds, but back off if/when my body started to take over.

For post partum, it seems some hospitals/OBs now routinely give a shot of pitocin after baby is out.  I would definitely decline this and would only agree to post partum pitocin if there were complications, I was bleeding a lot and it wasn't stopping.  

I trust that the birth center where I'll deliver this LO will only suggest pitocin if it is truly needed.

I agree. I wasn't offered, so I didn't need to decline. I would only accept it if there was absolutely necessary reason to induce labor.

megs68

From my experience, my induction and administering of pitocin led to my c-section.  I absolutely regret allowing this to happen and I would advise everyone to try to avoid this if you don't want to end up with an unwanted c/s.  I wish I had said no, but at the end, you're soo anxious to get the baby out and it was 4 days before Christmas, so I let it happen.  I will now do everything in my power to avoid pitocin and all interventions for #2.  It's great that it works well for some people, but in my mind, it can lead to an avalanche of interventions.

vtcnicely

giggles9393:

I was given pitocin with my first pregnancy.. i was just told they needed to because I had high blood pressure and they needed to speed the pregnancy up..

Is this bad to take? I didn't know you could deny it or would want to deny it? TIA!

I don't think it's "bad to take", but it can lead to an unneccesary domino effect of interventions that I'm hoping to avoid...one of which can be a c-section.

Mrs.Greeko

I declined an induction at 41 weeks with my first and scheduled it instead for 41w6d.  Went into labor on my own at 41w4d so no need for a pitocin induction.

I did have pitocin after both of my deliveries due to excessive bleeding.  I was okay with that.   

It's not like they use pitocin for every single delivery, some hospitals do use it routinely after the birth though.  You have to speak to your doc about their specific uses of it. 

If you are considering a low intervention birth check out the Natural Birth board.  There's lots of information there.  Also consider using a midwife instead of an OB.

CheriCO

vtcnicely:

giggles9393:

I was given pitocin with my first pregnancy.. i was just told they needed to because I had high blood pressure and they needed to speed the pregnancy up..

Is this bad to take? I didn't know you could deny it or would want to deny it? TIA!

I don't think it's "bad to take", but it can lead to an unneccesary domino effect of interventions that I'm hoping to avoid...one of which can be a c-section.

Pitocin generally makes contractions much stronger, closer together and more difficult to deal with than natural contractions.  If you're trying to go pain med free, pitocin induced contractions can make it very difficult (though not impossible) to achieve that goal.  The unnatural contractions can also make labor harder on baby, leading to heart decelerations which is a big reason for c/s. 

Something that is not well studied at this point, but which I've been reading a little about is the fact that pitocin induction can lead to lower levels of natural oxytocin (and/or oxytocin receptor) in baby and mom following delivery.  Oxytocin is critical for that initial bonding.  A controversial topic that I wonder about...is pitocin induction related to increased incidence of autism?  Again, this is not well-studied at all and I have no idea if there is a link or not, but I wonder. As far as I can tell, there are only a handful of very small published studies on this.  I don't understand why this is not being researched more.

RedCamaro

You don't have to accept anything that you don't want to have. I did get PIT, but I was so out of it that I don't even think they asked me if I didn't want it. One benefit to having it (about the only benefit I know of) is that it helps to shrink your uterus faster after delivery. But who knows what your own body will do. I was progressing wonderfully without it. I'm really hoping for a different experience with my second. Also, I'm no longer afraid to get forceful with the nurses to get done what needs to be done.

StefB28

I was induced at 41 weeks- I had no choice. It was Pitocin & having my water manually broken or a csection to get him out. I didn't have any issues with the pitocin, but it made labor really intense really fast. Within 30 min, contractions were 2 minutes apart, lasting 60-90 seconds & measuring 80-90 on an intensity scale of 100...and I was in labor like that for almost 14 hours. Needless to say, I got an epidural.

riagal82

after laboring for 2 days and 11 hours from the time my water broke I begged for the epidural and pitocin and went from 4cm to 10 in an hour. if needed I will definately be taking the pitocin again. when you are in that much pain you dont care how the baby comes out just as long as it comes out asap!!!