Abstract

Active management of the third stage of labor has yielded remarkable reductions in rates of postpartum bleeding. The present study was conducted to determine if there is any difference in the efficacy of intravenous oxytocin over oral misoprostol in the management of the third stage of labour. Material & methods: Parturients who were randomized into Group A(n=50) were administered 400 µg misoprostol sublingually, given immediately after delivery of the fetus. The parturients in Group B(n=50) were administered 10 IU of oxytocin intravenously also after the delivery of the neonate. The primary outcome and Secondary outcome measures were evaluated. The data obtained was recorded in a computer and analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 11.0 (SPSS Inc, Chicago, IL, USA). Results : The mean age, parity, and period of gestation in weeks had no statistically significant differences in both groups. In group B 10% parturients needed additional uterotonics and in group A 6%parturients needed additional uterotonics. Average blood loss was more in group A. Side effects like Nausea and shivering was more in group A. Conclusion :The findings from this study demonstrated that oral misoprostol is as efficacious and safe as intravenous oxytocin in the management of the third stage of labour and that the side-effects of misoprostol are tolerable and self-limiting. We concluded that oral misoprostol could be used as an alternative oxytocin agent for the third stage of labour

Description