Sir Henry H. Dale first identified oxytocin and its uterine contractile properties in 1906. Like all other neurohypophysial hormones, oxytocin is composed of nine amino acids with a disulfide bridge between the Cys 1 and 6 residues. In the mid-1950s, synthetic oxytocin was successfully synthesized by a biochemist named Vincent du Vigneaud; he was later recognized with a Nobel prize for his work. Oxytocin continues to be an important tool in modern obstetrics to induce labor when indicated and to manage postpartum hemorrhage. It is estimated that labor induction with oxytocin is used in almost 10% of deliveries globally.
It should be noted that there are risks associated with oxytocin intervention during childbirth. Oxytocin should be used judiciously only when necessary and by experienced healthcare practitioners.
Although most commonly linked to labor and delivery, oxytocin actually has broad peripheral and central effects. It plays an important role in pair bonding, social cognition and functioning, and even fear conditioning. Oxytocin also serves a role in metabolic homeostasis and cardiovascular regulation.
Administration of exogenous oxytocin is indicated in the antepartum period to initiate or improve uterine contractions for vaginal delivery in situations where there is fetal or maternal concern. For example, It may be used to induce labor in cases of Rh sensitization, maternal diabetes, preeclampsia at or near term, and when delivery is indicated due to prematurely ruptured membranes. Importantly, oxytocin is not approved or indicated for elective induction of labor. Oxytocin may be used to reinforce labor in select cases of uterine inertia and as adjunctive therapy in the management of incomplete or inevitable abortion. In the postpartum period, oxytocin may be used to induced contractions in the 3rd stage of labor and to control postpartum bleeding or hemorrhage.
Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States
VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, West Los Angeles, CA, West Los Angeles, California, United States
San Francisco VA Medical Center, San Francisco, CA, San Francisco, California, United States
Akershus University Hospital, Lørenskog, Norway
Division of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care Medicine, Oslo University Hospital - Rikshospitalet, Oslo, Norway
Washington University in St. Louis, Saint Louis, Missouri, United States
Institute for the Care of Mother and Child, Prague, Czechia
faculty of medicine Cairo university, Giza, Egypt
Beijing Normal University, Beijing, Beijing, China
Charité- Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
Aswan University Hospital, Aswan, Egypt
University of California, San Francisco, Berkeley, California, United States
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