2023 Author: Anita Thornton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-05-22 03:30
Interventions can be done to induce labor. These methods may or may not include drugs to induce or speed up labor. And it's not without risks!
They are generally performed when the he alth of the mother or child is at stake or when the expected date of birth has passed. A fetal heart monitor is often used during induced labor to make sure everything is in order. Here are the methods used:
Artificial rupture of membranes
Artificial rupture of membranes means that the doctor breaks the sac of amniotic fluid with a long plastic hook called an amniotic hook in order to induce labor. This method is used, which is not painful when labor has already begun, but the bag of waters is still intact. Breaking it usually speeds up labor.
Cons
Possible uterine infection, increased pain during contractions, possible disturbance of blood circulation to the baby's head, the cord could pass before the baby's head.
Frost
The gel that contains the hormone prostin (prostaglandin) isapplied to soften and ripen the cervix. It's a gentle way to induce labor that works between 3 and 5 hours. Trade name: Prepidil.
Cons
Postpartum hemorrhage, uterus fatigued by artificial contractions.
Oxytocin induction
The other commonly used hormone is oxytocin which is a hormone already produced by the body during childbirth. By artificially increasing the presence of this hormone, the body reacts as if it had produced it and begins the process of childbirth. It can also be used to stimulate natural labor that is considered too slow. It is given intravenously when the woman is in the delivery room.
Trade name: Pitocin.
Cons
Can cause intense contractions and usually produces a rapid birth.
acupuncture, massage, homeopathy, breast stimulation and even sex are also gentle ways to induce labor.
Risks
A large Canadian study conducted in 2006 by, among others, McGill University found that medically stimulated labor increased the risk of amniotic embolism. Amniotic embolism (AE) is a rare but serious and sometimes even fatal complication of childbirth. Although its cause is unknown, it is a leading cause of maternal death in developed countries,accounting for 7 of 44 maternity-related deaths in Canada from 1997 to 2000. Three million births in Canadian hospitals between 1991 and 2002 were examined. Of the 180 cases of AE identified, 24, or 13%, proved fatal. Women in whom labor had been medically induced were found to be at nearly twice the risk of EA than those without; death cases were 3.5 times higher.
Several other factors have also been associated with higher rates of amniotic fluid embolism, including multiple pregnancy, maternal age (35 or older), cesarean or vaginal delivery using instruments, eclampsia (a serious complication of childbirth characterized by convulsions), polyhydramnios (excessive amount of amniotic fluid), abnormal position or separation of the placenta, and laceration of the cervix uterus or uterine rupture.
Autism?
The hypothesis of a link between Pitocin and autism had attracted the attention of the media following the publication, in 1998, of a study reporting an increase in the rate of autistic children born from Pitocin-induced labour. Some researchers then speculated that exposure to high levels of oxytocin at birth may increase the predisposition to develop autism by decreasing the regulation of oxytocin receptors in the developing brain.
The Quebec Federation of Autism and other pervasive developmental disorders (FQATED) reports on its siteInternet the results of a new study that found no difference in children born to Pitocin-induced births and the control group, not just in autism, but in overall IQ of children. They thus reject the hypothesis of an association between exogenous exposure to oxytocin and the development of autism.
