we are going to get into the nitty-gritty and maybe messy details about pitocin today
hopefully answer all of your questions about pitocin i'm going to start with the definition
just to make sure we are on the same page pitocin is artificial oxytocin so oxytocin
is the hormone in our body that is the one that regulates labor so oxytocin
makes our uterus contract and contracting of our uterus is the work of labor it is how
our baby gets out it's how our cervix dilates we need it um if we have our labor started
artificially by a doctor or midwife they might use pitocin so pitocin being an artificial version
of the hormone that would start labor so pitocin and oxytocin actually do the same thing so
they both tell our uterus to contract and the big question is is pitocin harder and does pitocin
or are pitocin contractions more painful and that is a tricky question that i want to really
look at the big difference here that we see in artificially induced labor and labor that begins
on its own really has to do with the pace it's the pace that i think we when we hear people say that
pitocin um ketosin contractions are harder or that an induction is harder it's really about the pace
and so i have been thinking and when i teach i try to think of different ways to to um related
to real life and i have a analogy that i want to walk you through that has to do with hiking
and i found this awesome mountain in south africa called table mountain that is a perfect example
that i want to use for this hiking analogy um table mountain is is has several
um hiking trails that lead up to the top so i believe there's four main paths that you can go
up table mountain and when you get to the the top you're there you you get to the same place
and so it's kind of like uh induction la inducing labor and letting labor start on on its own you
get to the same place in that you have a baby at the end right but with table mountain you can take
the longer more scenic and less challenging route up to the top trail so it takes you on a path that
is doable for most people and it will take a while and it's you actually cover more steps on that
route and then there is another route that goes up table mountain that is pretty much a rock face
that has a lot of bouldering that has where you are actually using your hands to climb and it is
for experienced hikers now you cover less distance but it is requires a lot of strenuous activity
so and then there's two that are in between in between these but i like to think of
a labor that begins on its own really takes that nice slower pace so when when we let our labor
begin on its own and let oxytocin do its work our labor generally starts off where contractions are
light they don't last that long and they're pretty far apart and we have a bit of time where we're
kind of learning how that feels and we are um getting used to dealing with it we're starting
to use our coping mechanisms um we are we're feeling our body is feeling what that's like and
then as time passes our contractions get longer they get stronger and they get closer together
so we are being eased into the most difficult part of labor so we start at that early labor
where it's doable for most people you can handle it and then as we go along and get closer
to the pushing phase of labor then it's more intense so it's almost like that hike where
you start off just kind of in the shade and you're walking along and it's easy then it starts getting
more difficult it is higher elevation change and then maybe at the very very end you're having to
go over boulders or do some more strenuous hiking but you have eased yourself into it
pitocin induced labor is more like a hike where you kind of you're waiting around until it's
time to go and then once you start you are full on giving strenuous your most strenuous effort
continuously until you're at the top of the mountain until you have the baby or ready to push
so it's kind of like a full sprint so it can feel harder because we didn't ease into it
and it can feel harder because the contraction pattern is actually closer together at an
earlier time so if we had a labor that begins on its own that two to three minute contraction
pattern is usually a few hours in if not many hours in and then it's at the end of our labor
and with a pitocin induced labor we actually have that pattern that every three minute pattern
that starts at the beginning so we have a pattern that is very close together
very challenging for most people but it is for generally a longer amount of time
more at the beginning the contractions themselves might not be more intense with pitocin
they might or might not depending but the pattern definitely is more intense so there's really no
denying the fact that a pattern a induced labor pattern you are going to experience contractions
closer together for a longer period of time than a labor that begins on its own so going into it
that is something that i just i want everybody to realize that pitocin itself is not evil
we are better off in this world of having pitocin it is there for safety there are there are many
medical reasons that labor needs to be induced and so thankfully we have pitocin pitocin also
is given after you have a baby to help the uterus clamp down in a lot of um health care facilities
they do that routinely not all um and that can be life-saving to prevent a postpartum hemorrhage
so pitocin itself is not evil but that can pitocin contraction pattern can certainly be challenging
so it's something to know especially if you are someone who is maybe interested in a low
intervention birth may be interested or unable to get an epidural wanting to avoid an epidural
you might consider what is that going to look like if i have to be induced and is that something that
is the plan that i want if i have a choice whether or not to be induced now research does say that
people that are induced are more likely to choose pain medication and they're also more likely to
choose pain medication earlier than non-induced so it kind of goes hand-in-hand if you have
intensity that is starting earlier in your labor then you more likely to choose
some kind of pain management earlier in your labor right so the contractions themselves
are not necessarily stronger but yes pitocin creates a pattern that can be more challenging