what r your views on pitocin AFTER birth

[kfillmore]

If I understood her correctly my Dr (who I like!) seems to routinely give pitocin after birth to stop bleeding, tighten uterus or whatever. I am not sure how I feel about this.

[Rylins mama]

I refused it as long as I wasnt bleeding too much. It wasnt much of a hassle and I didnt "need" it.

[mbravebird]

My last midwife wanted to give me pitocin after birth, just as standard procedure. I refused it, and did just fine.

Nursing as soon as possible after birth will really help with bleeding and help contract the uterus. Drinking nettle infusion will really help, and there are several herb tinctures you can take that also have a strong effect, for the same purpose. I don't think pitocin is necessary as standard procedure in place of those other things -- why interfere if you don't need to? And why automatically have an IV hooked up to you when you're trying to get comfortable, recover, and nurse?

[Cherry Alive]

Unless you are in danger of hemorrhaging my birth center doesn't give it after birth.

[Devaskyla]

I think it's standard for all or most doctors. Yet another thing they do that's unnecessary for most people. You can ask them not to, but they probably will anyway, unless you have no iv or hep lock. Pretty sure if you have those, they'll just give it to you that way & you might not even notice, otherwise they have to give you a shot.

[ilovebabies]

I've had it after all of my pregnancies in the form of a shot. And I am someone who refuses everything, but I do accept this because I bleed A LOT. I've never had any ill effects from it whatsoever and will get it this time around, too.

[chandasz]

I am wary of anything administered "routinely". Routinely usually means unecessarily.

If you do have a bleeding issue after the birth- then pit or methergin can be used for cause and not for a routine

For me-- I liken it to having teeth pulled because they MAY get a cavity.

[kohlby]

I had two unplanned c-sections and routine was 2 bags of pitocin after birth for c-sections. However, my OB told them I didn't need both and I had less than one bag both times. I never researched it or requested less but my OB knew about my birth preferences and got me out of a lot of post c-section routines. However, I got that before I was diagnosed with two clotting genes. I hadn't thought about what to do when someone clots too well naturally - who is on blood thinners, but I'll go off them 24 hours before the c-section. This post brought up a good question that I'll have to ask my OB!

[lifeguard]

I agree that routinely doesn't necessarily mean it's needed. I would avoid it myself.

[AnnR33]

I'm sure it's not standard everywhere because I've had 3 kids (2 hospital and 1 midwife) and it's never even been mentioned. I know I didn't have it unknowingly because I didn't have an IV.

I asked 2 friends about this and they never had it either and they both have had 3 kids each in the hosp.

I have heard of using it to help stop bleeding if it's more than normal but never "just as routine."

I would refuse anything that's "routine" unless it's necessary.

[Talula Fairie]

It's fine for the treatment of hemorrhage. Otherwise not needed.

I did get pitocin after having both my babies due to heavy bleeding. However, I think that if I'd had a natural birth either time this may not have been needed.

[ani'smommy]

Originally Posted by AnnR33

I know I didn't have it unknowingly because I didn't have an IV

I'm sure you'd know if you had a shot, too, but I wanted to mention, that the after birth pitocen is usually a shot in the thigh, if I recall correctly, and not necessarily in an IV.

[Talula Fairie]

They gave me a whole bag of pitocin on wide open after my second birth...it wasn't just a shot.

I also got some kind of suppository. I was bleeding pretty bad they said.

After my first birth I also got IV pitocin. It wasn't a shot.

[ani'smommy]

Yikes! Was that "just in case" kind of thing or were you actually heavily bleeding?

[Talula Fairie]

Originally Posted by ani'smommy

Yikes! Was that "just in case" kind of thing or were you actually heavily bleeding?

I wasn't really paying attention to my bleeding, and I was still pretty numb from the epidural so I probably wouldn't have known anyway. They certainly said that it was bad. It was enough to make me test borderline anemic when, afaik, before that I was fine.

[nuwavemomma]

I agree there are legitimate uses for it, but routine use is not the way to go.

I don't have sources for this, it's just what a very educated friend told me. I can ask her where she got this info from:

"Pitocin (synthetic oxytocin) can't cross the blood-brain barrier the way natural oxytocin can. However, if pitocin is in the bloodstream, it down-regulates the body's own production of natural oxytocin via a negative feedback loop. If a woman receives pitocin during or after labor, it can potentially inhibit bonding with her child and increase her chances of PPD, along with missing out on the birth high and all the other nice things natural oxytocin *in the brain* does."

[Talula Fairie]

Originally Posted by nuwavemomma

I agree there are legitimate uses for it, but routine use is not the way to go.

I don't have sources for this, it's just what a very educated friend told me. I can ask her where she got this info from:

"Pitocin (synthetic oxytocin) can't cross the blood-brain barrier the way natural oxytocin can. However, if pitocin is in the bloodstream, it down-regulates the body's own production of natural oxytocin via a negative feedback loop. If a woman receives pitocin during or after labor, it can potentially inhibit bonding with her child and increase her chances of PPD, along with missing out on the birth high and all the other nice things natural oxytocin *in the brain* does."

That's more referring to using pitocin in LABOR, not as much for using it after birth during a real emergency. By the time you get pitocin after labor, you already have the 'birth high' going on if you had a natural birth. I mean I am sure it intereferes somewhat, but given that the other option is bleeding profusely, personally, I'd go with the pitocin in that case.

[Arwyn]

Moving from I'm Pregnant to Birth and Beyond.

[Talula Fairie]

Oh, and fwiw, I am having a midwife attended homebirth this time, and if I do have issues with bleeding after, I will try to eat some of the placenta before going to more drastic measures.

[barefootpoetry]

I am against routine Pitocin. If mom is hemorraging, yes, it can be a valuable tool that might save her life. But otherwise, it's not necessary.

I wanted to add that we had it on hand for my homebirth, but it was to be a last resort. I HATE Pitocin. We agreed to try everything else under the sun, short of transfer, before using the Pitocin.