MIAMI BEACH — Intraumbilical vein injection with oxytocin following cord clamp was effective for preventing placental retention and reducing postpartum blood loss in a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind study presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine.
The study is the first to suggest that oxytocin might be beneficial in preventing complications in the third stage of labor, though not its duration, said Dr. Labib M. Ghulmiyyah of the University of Cincinnatti.
A total of 79 women with uncomplicated singleton pregnancies were randomized to 30 mL of saline or 20 IU of oxytocin in 30 mL of saline. The mean time to placental delivery did not differ significantly between the two groups, but significantly more women in the saline group than in the oxytocin group had a retained placenta after 15 minutes (5 vs. 0 women).
The groups had similar mean hemoglobin levels prior to delivery, but those who received saline had significantly lower mean postpartum hemoglobin levels (used as a measure of blood loss) than did those in the oxytocin group.