The Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry's new advisory on the use of the life-saving drug oxytocin for women during childbirth has been met with criticism from the medical fraternity.

The advisory that was issued to all states recommends cutting the umbilical cord between the mother and child during natural birth after the placenta exits the mother's body on its own, and to deliver oxytocin as prophylactic only after the placenta is delivered. The delivery of oxytocin after placenta delivery, however is in direct contraindication to the WHO recommendation that India had adopted as well. The WHO guideline (2007) directs oxytocin be given within 1 to 3 minutes of childbirth in a normal delivery to reduce the risk of postpartum haemorrhage. The prophylactic drug reduces the risk of pospartum haemorrhage by 70% and is vital in preventing death of women druing childbirth, which has already been recorded at over 1.2 lakhs annually in India.

Following the Gujarat Model

The particular advisory comes after results of a randomised controlled trial conducted on 450 mothers in Dharmpur (Balsar, Gujarat) and a separate study on a small number of patients in Kolkata claimed the benefits of physiological cord blood clamping on newborns, such as early initiation of breastfeeding, better immunity, improved iron stores, and better outcomes in cognition and development. The practice was replicated by other districts in the state and was soon claimed to be one of the best practices to be implemented under the National Health Mission.

Criticism from medical experts

The advisory has invited criticism from experts of maternal health who mention that while delayed cord clamping may be fine, the delayed administration of oxytocin could be very dangerous for mothers and while it may not occur in all cases, it proves to be immensely useful in evading a grave mishap.

Information for this news piece was sourced from The New Indian Express. Click here to read the original.