3rd Trimester
MidwestSeashell
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Study: Adverse effects of Pitocin in Newborns
MidwestSeashell
member
It's a short read. I wonder why this is just now coming to light. I recognize that there are times when the benefits may outweigh the risks regarding augmentation but I cannot fathom that we need it as much as we're using it these days.
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Re: Study: Adverse effects of Pitocin in Newborns
LFAF Summer 2016 Awards:
This came out a few weeks ago.
I know it's something they're looking into further, specifically the difference between natural and artificial oxytocin and why it affects the baby the way it does.
But it follows/backs up the ACOG's recommendation against elective u/s until 41 weeks.
DD2 8.22.13
MMC 1.4.17 at 16w
Expecting #3, EDD 1.29.18
OP-- I can appreciate wanting to share the findings because some folks may not know, but are you aiming to make folks that need to be induced feel bad? What exactly is the point of posting this? Those that are concerned about the effects can look this information up themselves or ask their doctors to explain it to them.
I ask again, what exactly are you meaning to say with this?
LFAF Summer 2016 Awards:
The article itself say that they aren't discouraging doctors from using pitocin, just to be aware of the reasons they are using it. Very few people get induced for no reason. You absolutely have to weigh the benefits with the risks. There are major risks involved with pregnancies lasting more than 41 weeks.
Edit:This is the first study to come up with these results. Maybe there will be more in the future, but at this point I would choose to go with the majority.
I don't think she's doing the bolded. She indicates that there are times when the benefits of induction most definitely outweigh the risks. I think its more of -hey, just because you're sick of being pregnant and want to get induced, think again.
Few people may be getting strictly elective inductions at this point (although there are still some doctors out there that will induce you at 39 or 40 weeks because you are sick of being pregnant), but many many many women get a bag of pit slapped up when they're progressing "too slow".
Encouraging women to ask the questions "what happens if we wait" is hardly a terrible idea. Encouraging doctors to ask themselves that (as the ACOG is doing with this) is even better.
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Thank you, Mabenner. My intention was not to make anyone feel bad. Sharing information as it becomes available is important. I am never for shaming a mother for the choices she makes but we can't let political correctness get in the way of making sure new studies are available.
I posted it to this board because I believe there are many women who are going to be facing these decisions soon and deserve to have all the information available.
That's cool. I just wanted to make sure because sometimes that is what those that smell of troll do. Not saying you are a troll, Seashell. Just that it does happen occasionally.
I like information sharing. Thank you!
LFAF Summer 2016 Awards:
This is a good point. I wonder how many new OBs have even seen a naturally progressing labor. My labor definitely stalled when I had to get in the car, drive to the birth center and get comfortable there. Once I knew I was safe it started back up again full force and baby came quickly. Luckily my midwife was patient and well-versed in the meandering ways of labor but I wonder how things would've been if we would've had someone who rarely saw a naturally progressing birth.
I was going to say the same thing. She's sharing information. The more you know, and all.
When the study was released and this was originally posted it was met with positive responses. It's a legit article to share on this board.
DD2 8.22.13
MMC 1.4.17 at 16w
Expecting #3, EDD 1.29.18
People put too much blind faith in doctors nowadays. Birth practices would not be as atrocious as they are now if more women educated themselves.
Thumbs up. I couldn't agree more.
I am truly shocked at the lack of knowledge some women have about their own bodies and the birth process.
Thanks for posting this. I believe that many inductions aren't necessary and we put too much faith in our OBs and the medical system in general. There is no reason to feel ashamed if you've had or will have an induction - but doesn't it help to be a little informed? We have this mentality of 'oh the doc says its ok, so it must be' and then i hear from labor and delivery nurses how many bad choices docs make. Not saying that i am smarter than an OB or that i should disregard what they say, i just think that we should know what is going in our bodies and how it will affect us and our babies. At the end of the day, it is our choice, not theirs.
That is a single labor horror story and hardly a reason for anyone to blindly say, "sure, give me pit!"
I refused pit with my son after the doc came in, saw my chart and determined I was progressing slowly. He argued with me that it would not put me at risk for a c/s and was not harmful to the baby at all....I refused and had to "bargain" with him that we would use pit in an hour if I had not progressed more (And I would have very likely refused after one more hour) needless to say I suddenly progressed and was pushing about 1.5 hours later...I pushed for less than 5 minutes....less than 5 pushes...no pit. I bet my labor would have been very different had I given into the pit.
I had a friend who delivered in 2011 who could say the same about her birth experience. She's still firmly considering being one and done because of it.
Today's medical practices are hardly perfect and despite all of the knowledge out there the US has maternal death rates, especially for being an industrialized nation.
DD2 8.22.13
MMC 1.4.17 at 16w
Expecting #3, EDD 1.29.18
We are far from perfect as a country from a healthcare standpoint. We spend the most on healthcare by far and rank somewhere around 37th in quality globally. Once you work in healthcare you see how little many practitioners really know and once they are comfortable with a drug, procedure or technique they continue using it despite new science or clinical practice guidelines. It's good for us to understand, to read mainstream medical information from peer reviewed sources and to ask questions. Other countries are doing much better than we are in infant mortality as well. The old mantra of treat em and street em in healthcare should not be tolerated. In some cases pitocin is used to move you along to free up the bed to generate revenue.
There's a podcast called "Pregtastic" and their last episode was titled routine Hospital Procedures (I think it's actually a 2 parter). The guest is an OB in San Diego that I actually had the opportunity to meet and chat with and he's AWESOME. Definitely very aware of all of the changes happening now and misinformation from several years ago. He flat out says that when he was in school they were being taught things that aren't true and many doctors are resistant to change their education to match what is now known to be more accurate when it comes to birth. It is a GREAT listen for any and all moms-to-be who plan to deliver at a hospital. He's very blunt and honest and explains the real reasons why some doctors do certain things and some of it is really alarming!
B born 7/15/13, C born 3/2/15, #3 on the way May '17
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Mama you are absolutely right...infant mortality is likely to tie back to the health of the mother...again pointing back to the overall quality of our healthcare system relying on treatment rather than prevention of illness.
No, they're atrocious. We have a way higher maternal death rate than we ought to, higher than some third world countries, and I can't believe its due to anything other than our societys obsession with inducing on the perfect date, not birthing "large" babies vaginally, etc.
None of that has anything to do with the doctors choice to ignore how labor natural progresses, putting an unrealistic time frame on going into labor naturally, pushing Pitocin for no reason, advocating epidurals too much, inducing for no real reason, giving C-sections for no real reason, I could go on and on.
It was almost 24 hours after my water broke and my labor was not progressing on it's own. I tried everything to get it started naturally and it just wasn't happening. I cried and cried and kept saying no to pitocin. I ended up getting pitocin without an epidural and had my baby a few hours later. Her apgar scores were 8's & 9's and she was very healthy. Obviously I did not want any interventions but in the end I knew I needed pitocin and it all worked out.
Beach babe, I'm so glad that you and your little girl were healthy. I would call your situation, based on the extended labor after your waters had broken, a time when the benefits of pit outweighed the risks. I don't think that augmentation is inherently evil, only often misused and overused.