ADVERTISING

Cytotec (misoprostol / prostaglandin E1) is a common pharmaceutical used in hospitals to help induce labor in women but lately there are have become many concerns about its safety for both the woman and the baby.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) recently warned against the use of using misoprostol to help ripen a woman’s cervix, citing that it can cause uterine rupture, with patients that have previously had cesarean delivery or other uterine surgery most at risk.

In fact, the only FDA approved use of Cytotec is to treat ulcers.

The other agents that are used to help ripen a woman’s cervix include Prepidil and Cervidil (prostaglandin E2). These give the exact same benefits of inducing labor as Cytotec but are much safer, and to date there have been no reports of uterine ruptures with Prepidil.

One reason that hospitals continue to use it over safer alternatives is that Cytotec only costs a few cents for every induction, whereas Prepidil and Cervdil cost around $100 for a single dose, and it’s likely that more than one dose is needed to bring on labor in most situations of induced delivery.

While still rare, there are numerous cases of women who have previously had a caesarean and now are choosing a vaginal birth (VBAC), that have had not only uterine ruptures, but some of those resulted in the death of the baby or emergency hysterectomy of the mother.

There can be complications in all surgery and even without Cytotec, VBAC woman still have around 0.5% of getting a rupture, but compared to those that do use the Cytotec drug (which increases their risk 8 times), then the statistics clearly pose significant health risks for the pregnant mother and her baby.

But what about women with no history of prior surgery or caesarean births, are they still at risk?

The studies show that while cases of pregnant women with no prior scarring or trauma to the uterus that risk is low, but there still have been cases of hysterectomies with women who have been induced with Cytotec. Of course there are risks with all deliveries so their still isn’t significant clear data exposing the risk of this drug alone.

What is clear is that Cytotec is current not approved for obstetric use and the International Cesarean Awareness Network (ICAN) is calling for a total ban of this drug from maternity wards.

Check with your hospital before allowing them to use this drug on you and make sure you are aware of the risks.

Other Posts You Might Like:

• Rib Pain During Pregnancy – What it Means!
• Weight Gain During Pregnancy – What’s Normal?
• Pregnancy Insurance – Health Insurance Coverage when you are Pregnant