Whelping - Oxytocin versus Calcium

Susan Patterson

Whelping - Proper use of Oxytocin versus Calcium

by Myra Savant Harris and Susan Patterson

OXYTOCIN

Most vets want to base the oxy dose on weight (which is never done with humans; it is not weight regulated) then that 0.1 ccs per 10 pounds of body weight turns into 2 ccs for a 200 pound Mastiff. When you take into account that it would only take about 0.3-0.4 ccs (mixed one cc per 1000 liters of IV fluids, run through an IVAC pump) dripped over 24 hours or so to get from induction to delivery on a 200 pound woman!

I still think that it is used much too generously in vet medicine and it is generally given as a bolus injection. And, the worst part is that it is not uniformly dosed. We all follow the exact same protocol for the administration of oxytocin, but vets do not. A clumber breeder's vet gave her prefilled syringes with 1 cc of oxy in each. She used four of them. Five of her nine puppies were born dead, a very predictable outcome. The other thing that bothers me about using it in the canine is that it is simply never....and I do mean never....used on a human unless she is being monitored and I don't mean listening to the fetal heart tones with a doppler. Monitoring means nothing unless you use both uterine monitoring and fetal heart monitoring because the only component of fetal monitoring that is diagnostic is what the fetal heart (actually the brain as I'm sure you know) does during and immediately after a contraction. It is the correlation between the contraction and the fetal heart rate that is diagnostic for fetal distress and there is no substitute. I still firmly believe that oxytocin has no place in home use. As a clean out shot, perhaps if there are definitely no puppies left to kill, but used to change the quality or quantity of the contractions...Never.

O for Oxytocin

written by Myra Savant Harris - 8/9/2012

I found this article about the damaging effects of Oxytocin, a drug routinely used in hospital labor/delivery departments by obstetricians for inductions and augmentation of labor. It was so well researched that I felt it must be shared with dog breeders everywhere. It covers the use of oxytocin and its many dangerous side effects. Oxytocin is specifically only approved by the FDA when medically indicated. This means that there must be a medical reason why the baby must be delivered right now rather than letting mom go into labor on her own. It is not safe to use for elective inductions according to the FDA. Most of the information here was taken from the article but changed into canine terms because it was originally an article about human use of Oxytocin. The same principles apply. Here is the link to the entire article:

http://www.birthroutes.com/2010/05/pitocin-not-approved-by-the-fda-for-elective-or-nonmedical-inductions-.html

Oxytocin crosses the placenta and enters the blood and brain of the fetus within seconds or minutes. There appears to be a correlation between fetal exposure to oxytocin and autism in the exposed offspring. The manufacturer of oxytocin warns the provider in the package insert:

Maternal deaths due to hypertensive episodes, subarachnoid hemorrhage, rupture of the uterus, fetal deaths and permanent brain damage of the baby due to various causes have been reported to be associated with the use of oxytocin for induction of labor or for augmentation of labor. Because oxytocin is used so commonly to stimulate and augment labor it is important that each dog breeder who uses it has a full understanding of its potential dangers:

• maternal hypertensive episodes (abnormally high blood pressure)
• subarachnoid hemorrhage (bleeding in area surrounding spinal cord)
• anaphylactic reaction (exaggerated allergic reaction)
• postpartum hemorrhage (uterine hemorrhage following birth)
• cardiac arrhythmias (non-normal heart rate)
• fatal afibrinogenemia (loss of blood clotting fibrin)
• premature ventricular contraction (non-normal heart function)
• pelvic hematoma (blood clot in the pelvic region)
• uterine hypertonicity (excessive uterine muscle tone)
• uterine spasm (violent, distorted contraction of the uterus)
• tetanic contractions (spasmodic uterine contractions)
• uterine rupture
• increased blood loss
• convulsions (violent, involuntary muscle contraction(s)
• coma (unconsciousness that cannot be aroused)
• fatal oxytocin-induced water intoxication (undue retention of water marked by vomiting, depression of temperature, convulsions, and coma and may end in death

Fetal and Newborn Effects of Oxytocin Use

The following adverse effects of maternally administered oxytocin have been reported in the baby:

• bradycardia (slow fetal heart rate)
• premature ventricular contractions and other arrhythmias (abnormal heart function)
• neonatal retinal hemorrhage leading to blindness
• permanent central nervous system or brain damage
• fetal death

Uterine stimulants which shorten the oxygen-replenishing intervals between contractions, by making the contractions too long, too strong, or too close together, increase the likelihood that fetal brain cells will die. The situation is analogous to holding an infant under the surface of the water, allowing the infant to come to the surface to gasp for air, but not to breathe. All of these effects increase the possibility of neurologic insult to the fetus. No one really knows how often these adverse effects occur, because there is no law or regulation in any country which requires the doctor to report an adverse drug reaction to the FDA.

The entire birth experience in the canine world has seemingly lost contact with the importance of the natural rhythms of birth and how vitally they are connected to the natural daily rhythms of life. Being born without medical interference and drugs gives all mammals an important imprint for life. Navigating through birth, both drug and intervention free, provides young of the species with these important imprints; birth is a very important transition that sets babies of all species up for life. In a normal, natural labor the contractions build, increasing in intensity, they go up and peak, and then they come down the other side. There is a natural space in between each contraction in which both mom and baby can rest and gather their strength for the next wave. When oxytocin is administered this natural cycle is lost, and contractions are unrelenting, one after the other, with no rest. This is what makes it both more painful for the birthing mom and traumatic for her babies. Please consider an oxytocin free birth experience for your bitches. You won’t be sorry you did.

CALCIUM

Calcium given prior to whelping can fool the parathyroid gland into not doing its job, which is to release the bodies calcium during whelping. Many people put their bitch on puppy food or use a food with a high calcium-phosphorus ratio and they are simply not aware of the impact. Or they supplement or unintentionally feed extra calcium rich foods. Know what your food calcium-phoshorus ratio is, the closer to 1:1 the better, check it out here http://starsenchihuahuas.com/information.html

Calcium during whelping - Proper use of calcium during whelping allows the body to work with itself to maximize contractions without putting the puppy at risk. Calcium works with the calcium released by the parathyroid to increase contractions without premature placental detatchment. You can use OralCal Plus, Tums, Citrical Tablets, or other calcium supplements that you purchase for human consumption.

I have also had good success with getting calcium into my girls by offering them Premium vanilla ice cream, yogurt, cottage cheese, or Mother's Pudding (see recipe elsewhere in Files). The advantage of using both ice cream and Mother's Pudding is that it also gives the bitch extra glucose (energy) to feed the muscles during contraction. If I cannot get glucose into them that way then I syringe a sugar/pedialyte mixture after each calcium dose. The calcium and the glucose work together to help the body efficiently go through labor and whelping, maximizing muscle contractions for efficient productive pushing.

Additionally you can help stimulate whelping by having nipple stimulation with puppies nursing, walking, and vaginal feathering all work to help the bitch in safe and efficient ways.

WONDERFUL PROGRAM PLANNED

Everyone will want to be at the September meeting. We will have the first in a series of programs. The September program will be 'Maximizing Conception in the Bitch', by Dr. Robert V Hutchinson. The video program will be followed up soon by 'Whelping and Neonatal Survival'.

Calandra M. Davis proudly brags -

Monticello Chloe Louise Davis earned 4 blue ribbons April 28-29, 2017 in an agility competition in Columbia, SC hosted by the Charleston Dog Training Club and the Greater Columbia Obedience Club.

She had 2 clean runs in Open Preferred JWW (8 inch) and 2 clean runs in Novice Preferred Standard (8 inch). Her handler was her owner, Calandra Davis.

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Technical info:

Monticello Chloe Louise Davis NJP. TS06261502. 09-18-11. B (Female). Breeder: Jonathan Alford. By Monticello Royal Flush & Monticello Time After Time. Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. Owner: Calandra Davis, 2207 Larks Court, Augusta, GA 30909. Chloe. Handler: Calandra Davis.

Friday 4/28/2017:
Open Preferred JWW - 8 Inch - Judge: Lisa Selthofer
Distance: 125 yards SCT: 47 seconds
Score: 100 (Q) Time: 45.81 seconds 1st Place

Novice Preferred Standard - 8 Inch - Judge: Bob Jeffers
Distance: 138 yards SCT: 79 seconds
Score: 100 (Q) Time: 63.46 seconds 1st Place

Saturday 4/29/2017:
Open Preferred JWW - 8 Inch - Judge: Bob Jeffers
Distance: 128 yards SCT: 48 seconds
Score: 100 (Q) Time: 46.52 seconds 1st Place

Novice Preferred Standard - 8 Inch - Judge: Lisa Selthofer
Distance: 141 yards SCT: 81 seconds
Score: 100 (Q) Time: 56.12 seconds 1st Place