The evil drug pitocin - the bane of any woman's existence who desires natural childbirth.
Not so.
Pitocin gets a bad rap. This has happened due to misuse, overuse, whatever. But pitocin can be our friend at times. It can be the difference between a vaginal delivery and a c-section. When used judiciously, pitocin is good.
Now, I know what many will say...pitocin creates such unnatural contractions and makes it harder for woman to have natural childbirth. Granted yes, it is not possible to mimic the brain's pulsatile release of oxytocin. However, if those natural contractions were strong enough (read painful enough) then we wouldn't even be having this conversation.
Others might say what about more natural ways of encouraging stronger contractions...
My thoughts....
1. If you are walking through the woods and see a mushroom, would you pick it and eat it? Probably not, because it could be poisonous. Not everything 'natural' or herbal is safe. I do think herbs have a place in healthcare (after all I want to get a PhD in Naturopathy) but as withany other type of medicine, careful and considerate use. I'm not opposed to the use of blue and black cohosh - but not necessarily comfortable either. Pitocin has a very well researched history. If I have to choose, at this time I'm likely to choose pitocin. Once cohosh goes in there's nothing I can do to control it if it works too well.
2. Nipple stim - yes, go for it...but unless you wanna be brushing the crumbs off for hours, it doesn't seem to be terribly helpful.
3. Walking/positioning, etc - we do all these things to encourage things. This is typically the first line of defense so to speak.
My point is, that I am willing to try different things prior to resorting to pitocin. Pitocin is last resort for many of my ladies.
5 comments:
I agree!
Ok, so I'm not way out in left field and being totally anti-natural then?
You're not way out in left field at all! You use pitocin when and only if it's needed - when other methods have not worked/helped. You use it judiciously, and carefully. :-)
When I had my daughter they induced me with pitocin. It took, give or take, 16 hours for my water to break and contractions to kick in. I had to have an epidural due to the mind-numbingly powerful contractions and had my daughter around the 24 hour mark. I understand that pitocin is needed at times but it truly was the bane of my existance with my daughter's birth! Crossing my fingers that I will not need pitocin during my second birth next month!
Best of luck! I hope that all goes smoothly and quickly :)
Post a Comment