How long does it take for drugs to work?

A woman will give birth when she is ten months pregnant. Some women have a very smooth birth, but some women encounter difficulties and cannot give birth for a long time. Therefore, drugs are often used to induce labor, but how long does it take for the drugs to work? The actual situation of each pregnant woman is different, so the time after taking the medicine may be long or short, but the doctor will prescribe the medicine according to the different physical conditions, and it will take effect in about two hours.

1How long does it take for oxytocin to work?

How long it takes for oxytocin to take effect varies from person to person. Every new mother has a different physical condition. Some expectant mothers may see an effect within an hour or two, while others may not respond for a day or two.

Oxytocin can accelerate the delivery process of pregnant women, shorten the time spent in the entire delivery process, and thus allow the baby to be born quickly. Because oxytocin can only be used to induce labor in a parturient when the baby has met the physiological conditions for birth, in order to allow the pregnant woman to gradually adapt to the increased intensity of uterine contractions caused by oxytocin, the pregnant woman's nurse will start the medication from the smallest effective dose or gradually increase the dosage to strengthen the intensity of the uterine's autonomous contractions. Large doses of oxytocin can suddenly intensify the pain caused by uterine contractions in pregnant women, and it may be difficult for pregnant women to adapt to this drastic change all of a sudden.

When a mother uses oxytocin, the doctor will adjust the uterine contractions to occur every 3 minutes and last for 30 seconds, depending on the sensitivity of the uterus to the drug, the degree of cervical dilation, and the response of the fetus in the uterus. If the interval and intensity of contractions are abnormal, the doctor will slow down the drip speed.

During the oxytocin drip process, changes often occur in pregnant women's oxytocin receptors and activity, that is, the sensitivity to oxytocin increases. The reason is that exogenous oxytocin induces an increase in the pregnant woman's own endogenous oxytocin and the release of prostaglandins. Some women are more sensitive to drugs, while others are not sensitive and have no response. As a result, some pregnant women give birth one or two hours after taking oxytocin, while some pregnant women do not respond after one or two days. If there is no response after two days of oxytocin, doctors will generally recommend a cesarean section. If the second baby is sensitive to oxytocin, then it will respond to oxytocin.

Therefore, how long it takes for oxytocin to take effect varies from person to person. The physical constitution of every new mother is different. Some expectant mothers may see an effect within an hour or two, while some may not respond for a day or two.