COMPARISON OF MEAN DURATION OF 3RD STAGE OF LABOUR IN PATIENTS TREATED WITH AND WITHOUT INTRAUMBILICAL VEIN INJECTION OF OXYTOCIN
Abstract
Background: Active management of 3rd stage of labor is done routinely to enhance the process of the placental delivery and decrease the duration of 3rd stage of labor so as to minimize the risk of postpartum hemorrhage. A recent study concluded that intraumbilical administration of oxytocin shortened the duration of 3rd stage of labor significantly as compared to control group and suggested its use in routine practice for its role in the reduction in the risk of postpartum hemorrhage.
OBjectives: The objective of this study was to compare the mean duration of 3rd stage of labor in patients treated with and without intraumbilical vein injection of oxytocin.
Methods: It was a randomized controlled trial conducted at Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Government Teaching Hospital, Shahdara from 15/01/2022 to 14/07/2022.This study involved 60 pregnant women undergoing vaginal delivery which were further divided into two groups. After clamping and cutting of umbilical cord, in addition to routine management of 3rd stage of labor, women in Group-An also received intraumbilical oxytocin while the women in Group-B were taken as controls and only routine management of 3rd stage of labor was performed. The outcome variable was mean duration of 3rd stage of labor which was recorded in minutes from delivery of baby till delivery of placenta and was compared between the groups. A written informed consent was taken from each patient.
Results: The mean age of the patients was 27.2±4.3 years while the mean parity was 2.85±1.83. There were 22 (36.7%) primiparas, 21 (35.0%) multiparas and 17 (28.3%) grand multiparas. The mean BMI of the patients was 27.5±3.9 Kg/m2 and 19 (31.7%) patients were obese. The mean duration of 3rd stage of labor was significantly shorter in women receiving intraumbilical oxytocin as compared to controls (4.33±1.52 vs. 9.40±2.77 minutes; p-value<0.001). Similar difference was observed between the groups across various subgroups based on patient’s age, parity and BMI.
Conclusion: Intraumbilical administration of oxytocin significantly reduced the mean duration of 3rd stage of labor which along with anticipated reduction in the risk of postpartum hemorrhage calls for the preferred use of intraumbilical oxytocin in the active management of 3rd stage of labor in future
