what r your views on pitocin AFTER birth - Page 2

[ilovebabies]

Originally Posted by Talula Fairie

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.

I agree with this because I've had it after all my births due to my heavy bleeding and the birth high and bonding were not inhibited whatsoever. I never had issues with the pit. being given to me after the birth. I've never experienced it during a birth so I don't know about that.

[bobandjess99]

pretty much agreeign with the chorus here. When indicated for heavy bleeding, it is useful, as a "routine" intervention, it is often not needed. More importantly, I think it is telling about your doctors overall philosophy on birth..he clearly seems to think birth on it's own isn't "good enough" and that all births need "help" . this would concern me MUCH more than the possibility of simply getting an unecesary shot of pitocin. I woudl suggest a THOUROUGH discussion about your birth plan, focusing on the "what-ifs" because even the most intervention=prone doctor will tell you "as long as no complications arise, you can have..X, Y, Z..." the ptoblems arise when things don't go 100% textbook....what does the doctor think THEN??

[Talula Fairie]

Originally Posted by 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.

I totally agree with this and plan to do the same thing.

[MegBoz]

Originally Posted by bobandjess99

More importantly, I think it is telling about your doctors overall philosophy on birth..he clearly seems to think birth on it's own isn't "good enough" and that all births need "help" . this would concern me MUCH more than the possibility of simply getting an unecesary shot of pitocin.

:
I couldn't agree more. That is a HUGE RED FLAG, IMO! I would not trust a doc who thought pitocin was always needed after birth in every case.

For me, my MW was concerned that I had some membrane retained. She massaged my uterus & more came out, but she was still concerned about some remaining.

She actually made a point to wait & see if DS would BF - of course knowing that that naturally releases more oxytocin to help the uterus clamp down (and... therefore... I might not need the synthetic oxytocin (pitocin.) But he wouldn't latch on, just wasn't interested. I'm on video saying, "C'mon, help me out!" But he wouldn't open his mouth. I already had a hep-lock (nothign in it though, just the tube), so she gave me a choice of pit "IM" ("Intra-muscular", a shot) or IV. I chose the shot so I wouldn't have to deal with the IV tube in the way. It was no problem at all.

Originally Posted by chandasz

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

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

Again, I agree, well said. I use that exact same analogy oftne about the routine administration of birth interventions (like "nothing by mouth").

[crittersmom]

I was given Pitocin at my 3 hospital births in three different states.The first one I barely noticed, the nurse gave me a shot in my thigh while they were handing me the baby.The second was a pitocin induction and it took forever to get them to stop it after the birth.My third was given in my thigh as I was protesting it.My last birth was a UC and I had no problems with my placenta or bleeding, it was also my shortest PP flow time.
Pitocin seems to be the wonderful routine thing, right up there with Vit K shot and eye gunk.

[Talula Fairie]

I am so glad to be doing a homebirth this time and not having to deal with the vitamin k and eye gunk bs.

[crittersmom]

Originally Posted by Talula Fairie

I am so glad to be doing a homebirth this time and not having to deal with the vitamin k and eye gunk bs.

Oh yes, it gave me a giggle when we took our 4th in at 3 days old and the Dr was obviously resisting the urge to suggest the Vit K shot just in case.He finally got out, "that since the baby was 3 days old he guessed that it was fine without getting the shot but thats what they usually do right after birth."

[Veritaserum]

In a normal situation, no thanks. I had one birth where I consented to some, but it was because I was still bleeding heavily after we tried other options. That was birth #2. I didn't need or have any afterward with the three following births.

[mamakaya]

what do you all think about delaying cord clamping and the shot of pitocin?

i've heard one school of thought that says it is dangerous to delay the cord clamping if the mother gets pitocin. the reason is that the uterus would contract so strongly against the placenta that the placenta would gush all this blood up the cord and into the baby.

what do you think?

my ob/gyn just let me know that the pitocin shot is "routine" for all births in hospital here. i was hoping to delay cord clamping for this baby if possible, and its kind of a bummer that it can't happen because of some BS routine procedure that shouldn't even be routine.

[Novella]

Originally Posted by 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.

: re: refusing anything that's "routine".

I think it is standard in a lot of jurisdictions. In part because it allows the doctor to exit more quickly after the birth. In part, because it is widely accepted as a very "minor" birth intervention. The WHO actually recommends it as a prophylactic measure. (Of course, I've always considered that the WHO is setting standards for all the world - most especially the developing world. They do acknowledge within their recommendation that it is made because the mother may be at great distance from competent medical care if the bleeding develops into a more serious complication. Not that most doctors in North America would point that out!)

I have read that receiving routine pitocin after the delivery increase one's chances of a post-partum hemorrhage that begins more than 24 hours after the birth. Sorry, no source - you'll have to search it yourself. The gist of that criticism is that the pitocin shot overloads the body with something like many hundred's times the body's natural level - it completely overwhelms natural systems. Then, when the pitocin wears off, your natural resources (which have been knocked senseless) have to pick up more suddenly. Not a frequent complication, but can happen.

[Emily's Mama]

Originally Posted by Novella

: re: refusing anything that's "routine".


I have read that receiving routine pitocin after the delivery increase one's chances of a post-partum hemorrhage that begins more than 24 hours after the birth. Sorry, no source - you'll have to search it yourself. The gist of that criticism is that the pitocin shot overloads the body with something like many hundred's times the body's natural level - it completely overwhelms natural systems. Then, when the pitocin wears off, your natural resources (which have been knocked senseless) have to pick up more suddenly. Not a frequent complication, but can happen.

This is one of the only actual reasonings that I've seen given for why it is a bad thing to have. I had trouble finding many reasons when researching this before. It seems most people think it's unecessary because the risks of hemorrhage are low and therefore doing it routinely is pointless. I do understand this.

HOwever, I've always believed that if there are no/very low risks to doing it then a routine procedure that may help is worth considering. For my birth it turned out I did have a mild hemmorrhage and some retained membrane and had IV pit then. I had already decided in advance to have the leg shot though, as I didn't want to be distracted or worried that I might be hemorraging and it not be noticed or treated (I had a small, irrational fear from time to time during my pregnancy that I would hemorrhage and die! Don't ask me why, I don't know why ). I think I had the leg shot, but it was after baby was delivered, and not during, as she came out so fast

[mom2tatum]

Originally Posted by nuwavemomma

"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."

I feel like that is almost a direct quote from the Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth" or whatever that book is titled...But I remember reading this information in that book three years ago and never forgetting it.


I also had no idea that OB's use it routinely. They are really paranoid beings, aren't they? WTH? I never had it in my hosp birth, but then again, I had mw and everyone there knew I was basically against everything they routinely do and were pretty supportive of it...so I never experienced this. But, wow.

why don't you ask your dr if you can play it by ear?

[justice'smom]

This is very interesting. My first was a hospital birth and I was given pit due to being home for 2 days trying to have a homebirth, with my water broken. So, maybe they kept the pit on. They never told me. My second was a homebirth and I lost a lot of blood, but pit was never once mentioned.

[lillyfire]

I got it after my first birth because my placenta had been stuck for a while and had to be manually removed. Yuck and ouch. I was at a FS birth center and I think they just wanted to try to prevent hospital transfer. For what it's worth, it was no big deal to me, as in it didn't seem to cause crazy contracting or anything. I'd be wary of it as a standard procedure, but I'm glad my MW carries it just in case.

[Murihiku]

My mw suggested it for me for my second birth after I told her how I passed out twice after my first birth. (I think it was low blood pressure rather than excessive bleeding though.) Since my first baby would not latch on for 24 hours after he was born (in spite of no interventions), I suspected my second might be the same and he was (only 15 hours before he did though). So I accepted the pitocin and there were no problems with it.

[nuwavemomma]

Originally Posted by Talula Fairie

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.

I pulled that quote from a discussion specific to postpartum-only use of pitocin - this mom did not have any during labor at all. And in the case of emergency and hemorrhage I certainly would not hesitate to make use of pitocin - absolutely. But I think that natural oxytocin surge is still going on for at least an hour and this quote is referring to the effects of its use during that very sensitive bonding time.

[Jilian]

At our local hospital it has become routine too. They gave my sister TWO WHOLE bags of pit after her son was born! This is after she had a bag during labor. WTF?! He ended up having some breathing issues (chest retractions and could/would not latch on because of it) and being transferred to another hospital with a NICU 2 days later. He got himself a 10 day stay for "preventative antibiotics". They never did find out what was wrong but I strongly suspect the pitocin was to blame.

I'm a labor doula and the only other client I've had that was induced with pitocin had the same exact thing happen. Baby had retractions and was x-ferred to a NICU and they never did find out what happened.

I strongly suspect there is a link between the overuse of pitocin and breathing difficulties in newborns.

[theboodges]

I actually had cytotec after this birth. It has been the easiest with bleeding yet! My last two were induced with Pitocin, and with my second I still bled for almost 3months and ended up anemic. I wasn't in the mood to argue the cytotec when my OB suggested it after delivery, even though it was natural labor and that went well, and I had heard bad things about it, so I just took it. My bleeding is no where near as heavy, and as of today is mostly spotting at only 2 weeks out! Not sure if it is right for everyone though, some people don't bleed much at all after birth anyways!

I will say this is our most alert little one! Not sure if it was related to the lack of pitocin this time, natural birth, or if it is just her personality.

[kltroy]

I told my FP that I did not want pitocin after the birth. She said that was fine, but that if I hemoraged it would be an instramuscular injection (ie a needle stick in the thigh versus going through a saline lock). I was fine with that and did not need any. I did lose quite a lot of blood and was pretty dizzy whenever I stood up for about 12 hours after the birth. I have no idea whether some "preventive" pitocin to help things contract a bit faster would have prevented some of that. There is good clinical evidence (through randomized controlled trials etc) that "managed" third stages result in less blood loss to mom than "unmanaged" ones do. But I didn't want it unless necessary. You can make your own decision - would be worth asking your doctor what the benefits/risks are.

[Smokering]

I had Syntocinon (the NZ equivalent of Pitocin) after Rowan was born, because my placenta took 'too long' to come out. I've discussed it with other mothers since, and I don't think it was 'too long' at all; but the shot in my leg didn't do anything, so the midwife ended up cutting the cord and injecting it up the cord (which I'd never heard of and thought was kinda cool). That didn't work either, and it turned out my cervix had clamped down over the placenta when it was halfway through, and the rest is a bit of a blur of gas and forceps.

So it was originally unjustified (shot 1), and then justified but unhelpful (shot 2). Oh well!