A 28-year-old woman has been in the first stage of labor for several hours. Her uterine contractions are weak, and her labor is not progressing normally
Because the woman insists upon a vaginal delivery, the physician orders that pitocin (a synthetic oxytocin) be infused. What will be the effect of pitocin? What is the normal mechanism by which oxytocin acts to promote birth?
What will be an ideal response
Pitocin will act on the placenta, stimulating production and release of prostaglandins. The pitocin and prostaglandins are powerful uterine muscle stimulants. Oxytocin normally causes frequent and vigorous contractions of the uterine wall. In a positive feedback loop, greater distension of the cervix causes the release of more oxytocin from the mother's hypothalamus, which causes greater contractile force, and so on.
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