CHILDBIRTH may become less gruelling with the help of a promising drug that
is due to be tested in Scotland next summer. If it works, the drug could
dramatically reduce the time a woman spends in labour. Shorter labour is likely
to be less painful and lead to fewer surgical interventions by doctors.
On average, first-time mothers spend 18 hours in labour. Speeding up the
process with prostaglandin gels, or synthetic hormones such as pitocin, can
often make labour unbearably painful, and may even make women want to push
before the cervix is fully opened.
The new drug, developed and…
