Background: This study aimed to evaluate the effect of oxytocin administration on the duration of the active phase of labor in nulliparous women with term pregnancies.
Methods: In this double-blind clinical trial, 100 pregnant women, candidates for elective normal vaginal delivery (NVD) and who had entered the active phase of labor were randomly divided into two groups of 50. In the first group, oxytocin was infused with normal saline and in the second group, normal saline was infused alone during the active phase of labor. The time from 6 to 10 cm cervical dilation, the time from 6 cm dilation to delivery, and labor outcomes were recorded and compared between the two groups.
Findings: The mean duration from 6 cm to 10 cm cervical dilation was 178.20 ± 32.54 minutes in the intervention group and 197.30 ± 38.71 minutes in the control group, with no significant difference between the groups (P = 0.44). The mean duration from 6 cm cervical dilation to delivery was 187.80 ± 96.25 minutes in the intervention group and 204.00 ± 110.34 minutes in the control group, with a significant difference between the groups (P = 0.009).
Conclusion: Continuing oxytocin infusion during the active phase of labor in nulliparous women induced with oxytocin shortened the duration of the active phase and may help promote NVD by increasing maternal satisfaction.