Labor cocktail

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Ready-to-eat labor cocktail

As labor cocktail a mixture of various is partly drug-effective materials for introducing the throes referred to in obstetrics is used.

Mode of action

Castor oil is a medicinal component of every contractions cocktail , and other liquids are added to either enhance the effect or improve the taste of the cocktail. The ricinoleic acid contained in castor acts on the intestinal function and thus triggers reactions (e.g. strong contractions of the intestinal muscles). For a long time it was assumed that these signals to the pregnant woman's body that the living conditions of the unborn child are acutely deteriorating and, for this reason, lead to violent labor. However, it has been shown that ricinoleic acid acts directly on prostaglandin receptors in muscle cells in the uterus as well as in the intestine. Therefore, in addition to the symptoms typical of a laxative, there is also a stimulation of the uterine contractions. There are only a few, small studies on the effectiveness that suggest an accelerating effect, but nausea and diarrhea were very common side effects . In a systematic review article, the data situation is assessed as insufficient to assess the effectiveness due to the weak study design. There have been case reports of various complications associated with the use of castor oil in obstetrics, but these are not specific to induction of labor .

application

If the calculated date of birth is exceeded by fourteen days, there is a transfer . In German-speaking countries, the term missed deadlines is also established for the period from 40 + 1 to 41 + 6 weeks of pregnancy . Due to the continuously increasing risk of fetal mortality and morbidity due to placental insufficiency even before the actual transmission, induction of labor from the 3rd day of the 41st week of pregnancy should be recommended in Germany. Induction of labor or a caesarean section is indicated from the 42nd week of pregnancy . The birth-inducing measures can also include giving a labor cocktail.

Risks

Contractions cocktails can be made by medical and pharmacological laypeople and consumed without adequate medical indication and medical supervision. For this reason, the midwife Ingeborg Stadelmann distanced herself from using the recipe she developed and widely used. The desired effect of induction of labor can only occur if the cervix also opens. Therefore, taking a labor cocktail in women who are not yet ready to give birth (lack of cervical maturity) poses dangers for mother and child.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Ingrid Gerhard: Obstetrics integrative: conventional and complementary therapy . Elsevier, Urban & Fischer, 2005, ISBN 3-437-56510-9 , pp. 467 .
  2. ↑ a b Birgit Laue: 1000 questions to the midwife . Gräfe and Unzer, 2008, ISBN 978-3-8338-1209-5 , pp. 214 .
  3. ↑ Antje Findeklee: The effect of castor oil on the labor force has been clarified. Reported by Spektrum.de on May 21, 2012.
  4. ↑ Sorin Tunaru, Till F. Althoff, Rolf M. Nüsing, Martin Diener, Stefan Offermanns: Castor oil induces laxation and uterine contraction via ricinoleic acid activating prostaglandin EP 3 receptors. In: Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. April 25, 2012, doi: 10.1073 / pnas.1201627109 .
  5. ^ JL Tenore: Methods for cervical ripening and induction of labor. In: Am Fam Physician. 67 (10), May 15, 2003, pp. 2123-2128. Review. PMID 12776961
  6. ^ A b G. Briggs, R. Freeman, S. Yaffe: Drugs in Pregnancy and Lactation: A Reference Guide to Fetal and Neonatal Risk. 8., revised. Edition. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2008, ISBN 978-0-7817-7876-3 , p. 271.
  7. ↑ D. Garry, R. Figueroa, J. Guillaume, V. Cucco: Use of castor oil in pregnancies at term. In: Altern Ther Health Med. 6 (1), Jan 2000, pp. 77-79. PMID 10631825 .
  8. ↑ S. Azhari, p Pirdadeh, M. Lotfalizadeh, MT Shakeri: Evaluation of the effect of castor oil on initiating labor in term pregnancy. In: Saudi Med J. 27 (7), Jul 2006, pp. 1011-1014. PMID 16830021
  9. ^ AJ Kelly, J. Kavanagh, J. Thomas: Castor oil, bath and / or enema for cervical priming and induction of labor. In: Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2, 2001, Art. No. CD003099. Review. PMID 11406076
  10. ↑ Procedure if deadlines are missed and transfer - guideline S1 of the German Society for Gynecology and Obstetrics (DGGG). In: AWMF online (as of February 2014)
  11. ↑ Klaus-Peter Schaps et al. (Ed.): The second compact: Gynecology, Pediatrics . Springer, 2007, ISBN 978-3-540-46347-4 , pp. 33 .
  12. ^ Ingrid Gerhard: Obstetrics integrative: conventional and complementary therapy. 2005, p. 468.