What is Oxytocin? Precautions for using Oxytocin

Childbirth is a relatively dangerous process for pregnant women. For some pregnant women, the childbirth process is more difficult. At this time, the doctor may give the pregnant woman an injection to induce labor, or take oxytocin, which can effectively help quick delivery.

Oxytocin, also known as "oxytocin", is a hormone that has the functions of "prenatal induction of labor, labor induction, postpartum lactation, and hemostasis". Oxytocin can also reduce the level of stress hormones such as adrenaline in the human body, which plays a role in lowering blood pressure. In addition, studies have shown that when a person is in a cheerful mood or has a strong sense of belonging, the heart will also produce oxytocin, and the oxygen supply to the body's tissues will increase significantly, which has the effect of relieving stress. Oxytocin is generally naturally secreted by the "paraventricular nucleus" and "supraoptic nucleus" neurons of the human brain's hypothalamus, that is, expectant mothers can produce oxytocin by themselves. However, many expectant mothers experience panic and anxiety during childbirth, or their own disease factors affect the secretion of oxytocin. At this time, oxytocin should be used according to the actual situation. The main function of oxytocin is to make the uterine smooth muscle excited, thereby forming a uterine contraction phenomenon. The results of the study show that if a reasonable dose of oxytocin is injected during the delivery of expectant mothers, it can play a good role in inducing labor. So, is it good for expectant mothers to take oxytocin? The use of oxytocin is not "immediate". It usually starts to work before delivery a few hours after the use of oxytocin, and the use of oxytocin should be combined with the endocrine, mental, and drug use of expectant mothers. Therefore, whether oxytocin is needed should be examined in detail. Some expectant mothers do not have natural delivery after using oxytocin. If the fetal position is normal and the health of the expectant mother is normal, a second injection of oxytocin can be given to achieve normal delivery. If it still doesn't work, a cesarean section will be performed. In addition, the use of oxytocin must be performed by a full-time doctor in a regular hospital, and the doctor must supervise the whole process to avoid uterine hypoxia caused by improper oxytocin, aggravated fetal distress, and affecting the life and health of the expectant mother and the fetus.

The use of oxytocin is a very professional and flexible process that should be performed by a professional doctor. However, it is best for expectant mothers and their families to understand the use of oxytocin and be aware of it so that they will not be worried or afraid to ask when they see the doctor injecting the expectant mother. The following situations should be noted when using oxytocin.

1. Improper use of oxytocin can lead to serious consequences such as uterine rupture, so a full-time doctor is needed to master the dosage and timing of oxytocin;

2. Before using oxytocin, you must conduct a comprehensive medical history inquiry and examination, strictly grasp the applicable indications, and check for contraindications;

3. Pay attention to the correct timing when using oxytocin. Avoid using it too early or too late. If the cervix is ​​not fully opened, you can use prostaglandin together to open the cervix to the appropriate size. In addition, using oxytocin too late will cause the expectant mother to lose strength and be overburdened, making it impossible to give birth safely. Therefore, you must grasp the timing well;

4. If chest tightness, chills, urticaria or even shock occur during use, stop using the device and perform emergency treatment to prevent over-rapid use.

5. For expectant mothers who fail to induce labor using oxytocin on the same day, the procedure can be repeated or other methods of induction can be used.

The effect of oxytocin injection on the fetus is not obvious for expectant mothers, but if the drip rate is too fast during the injection process and the amount of drug inhaled is too much, it will cause tonic or spasmodic uterine contractions in expectant mothers. In such cases, if the birth canal is narrow or the fetus is too large or the fetal position is abnormal, the descent of the fetus will be affected, and the lower segment of the uterus will become thinner, the expectant mother will bleed heavily, the supply will be insufficient, and the fetus will be hypoxic. In the above situation, if the uterine contraction intensity is too large and the labor resistance is not large, the fetus can be delivered quickly, and the labor process is less than three hours, that is, emergency delivery. Finally, due to the untimely disinfection of the perineum, postpartum infection, birth canal rupture, infant fall injury and other serious consequences will occur. If the uterus continues to contract for too long, or even without intermittent contractions, the blood circulation of the placenta will be affected, and the fetus will suffer from acute hypoxia in the uterus, and stillbirth or fetal asphyxia will occur.

The pain of natural childbirth is caused by the contraction of uterine muscles. Different mothers have different feelings about how painful natural childbirth is. Some mothers feel that the pain of natural childbirth is similar to the feeling of defecation, while others say that they can hardly feel any pain, and some even feel that the pain is like the "skin-piercing pain" of being cut by a sharp weapon. The different understandings of labor pain among mothers are related to the knowledge they have about childbirth. First, there is a lack of scientific understanding of the process of childbirth. In the late pregnancy, the level of estrogen in the body increases, the level of progesterone decreases, and the sensitivity of the uterine muscles increases under the action of hormones. Coupled with the effect of local pressure in the uterus, the uterus produces strong contractions. When the contraction starts, the mother will feel the pain of the contraction, but this pain is intermittent. Secondly, it is caused by fear and pain sensitivity. This phenomenon is common in primiparas. Before childbirth, they have a fear of childbirth due to a lack of knowledge about childbirth, and fear can increase the pain. Some mothers are already very sensitive to pain, and they are under great psychological pressure during childbirth. A bad mentality can aggravate the pain during childbirth. How painful natural childbirth is depends on how the mother feels. In general, childbirth is a physiological process. During childbirth, the number of nerve sensory fibers that control the uterus is very small, and generally there is no strong pain. Objectively speaking, there is pain in natural childbirth, because during the process of natural childbirth, certain tissues and organs near the uterus will be pulled, causing local pain. For women who are manual laborers and have a lot of activity, natural childbirth is smoother and the pain is reduced accordingly. Mental laborers or pregnant women who are less active often experience increased pain due to extreme tension and fear. From this point of view, how painful natural childbirth is varies from person to person.