Clearly, these drugs can be used only and exclusively by medical personnel in hospitals and only in cases of actual need, since they are capable of causing sometimes serious side effects and because their use is certainly not without contraindications.
For these reasons, the pharmacological induction of childbirth is a medical intervention that can only be implemented when this action involves greater benefits and lesser risks, both for the mother and for the fetus, compared to the "expectation of the spontaneous onset of the birth. To be honest, this statement is not only valid for what concerns the pharmacological induction of childbirth, but it is equally valid for the non-pharmacological type.
?When we talk about drugs for the induction of childbirth we are referring to a group of medicines made with active ingredients capable of stimulating and promoting uterine contractions and able to promote the maturation of the cervix, therefore the relaxation of the muscles present in this " area. In this way, the aforementioned drugs are able to stimulate, induce and favor the labor of childbirth and the birth of the child.
These active ingredients can have natural origin, or represent synthetic analogues of molecules naturally present in the body involved in the mechanisms that induce childbirth. In any case, the drugs in question - even if obtained synthetically - are all capable of mimicking the effects of endogenous molecules involved in the spontaneous onset of labor.
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On the market there are drugs for the induction of childbirth based on prostaglandins of different types: some of them are used to favor labor and the birth of the live fetus; others, on the other hand, are indicated only and exclusively to induce childbirth in the case of In any case, the main characteristics of both oxytocin and prostaglandins used in this field will be briefly described below.
naturally produced by the organism that has numerous functions within it. At the end of pregnancy, this hormone is responsible for stimulating uterine contractions and inducing labor.The synthetically obtained oxytocin is part of the composition of drugs for the induction of childbirth administered to the pregnant woman intravenously by specialized healthcare personnel only and exclusively in a hospital setting.
Mechanism of action
The drugs for the induction of labor based on oxytocin (Syntocinon®) act in a similar way to the hormone naturally produced by the body. More specifically, the oxytocin contained in them binds to the appropriate receptors for oxytocin (receptors linked to G proteins) present in the uterus. Once the bond has taken place, the receptors are activated causing a cascade of signals that leads to the contraction of the smooth muscle of the uterus with consequent induction of labor and delivery.
Side effects
The drugs for the induction of birth based on oxytocin can cause side effects exactly as can happen with the administration of any other drug, even if the active ingredient in question has natural origins. However, among the main adverse effects that can manifest itself, we remember:
- Hypotension;
- Cardiac arrhythmias;
- Nausea and vomit;
- Uterine hypertonicity;
- Uterine rupture;
- Disseminated intravascular coagulation;
- Allergic reactions in sensitive individuals;
- Fetal distress;
- Fetal asphyxia;
Of course, although oxytocin has natural origins, following the intake of medicines containing it, the possibility of allergic reactions in sensitive patients cannot be excluded.
