Deconstructing the Pitocin Label

Brambledoula wrote a long and exceedingly well-informed post about the choices women make for their labor and birth in her blog Hormonal Pregnant Woman. She uses the information provided by the FDA and the manufacturer of Pitocin to show why its wholesale use is such a scary idea.

She discusses the pressure women feel from doctors to have medical interventions, the screwy, lying-down position they recommend in hospital births, and offers many excellent links to more information.

Brambledoula also carefully read ALL the information on Pitocin, the artificial form of oxytocin used to induce labor, that's been published by the FDA and the manufacturer. She notes that Pitocin has never been indicated for elective induction, something that's been omitted from the Physician's Desk Reference!

This is just one alarming quote from her piece:

DELAYED LONG TERM EFFECTS: There have been no adequate and well-controlled studies to determine the delayed, long-term effects of Pitocin on pregnant women, or on the neurologic, as well as general, development of children exposed to Pitocin in utero or during lactation.

Pitocin interferes with -- or eliminates -- the natural pulses of oxytocin that should gently push the infant down the birth canal and out the cervix, while making the mother feel calm, happy and peaceful about the whole process and ready to bond with her newborn.