Episode 197: Pitocin Disconuation – A Doula’s Guide

Once Pitocin is started, the approach has often been to keep it running through delivery. That protocol, has been built into standard induction and augmentation approaches over time.

New research on Pitocin discontinuation once active labor is achieved complicates that approach. There are three major studies we can now look to on this topic. Depending on interpretation, they neither fully support nor fully refute it.

This episode breaks down what an effective labor pattern actually looks like by research standards. Provides information on when and how to raise the possibility of Pitocin discontinuation once active labor is achieved with a client before labor starts. It also covers what to do with evidence that pulls in more than one direction at once.

Join me as I walk through what three different studies found, where they disagree, and what that means for how you support a client through this conversation.

Sources:

Whitley J, Burd J, Doering M, Kelly J, Frolova A, Raghuraman N. “Reduced risk of cesarean delivery with oxytocin discontinuation in active labor: a systematic review and meta-analysis.” American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. 2025;233(1):25-39.e11. DOI: 10.1016/j.ajog.2025.03.015

Jiang D, Yang Y, Zhang X, Nie X. “Continued versus discontinued oxytocin after the active phase of labor: An updated systematic review and meta-analysis.” PLOS ONE. 2022;17(5):e0267461. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0267461

Boie S, Glavind J, Uldbjerg N, Steer PJ, Bor P, CONDISOX trial group. “Continued versus discontinued oxytocin stimulation in the active phase of labour (CONDISOX): double blind randomised controlled trial.” BMJ. 2021;373:n716. DOI: 10.1136/bmj.n716