Dear Lactnet Friends:

These are all the abstracts I could find in PubMed.

It works for some and not for others. Another question would be if manual
stimulation generates the same pressures as hand expression. Gestational
age of infant is another variable that may influence outcomes. Would a
woman close to term be easier to induce? How long would nipple stimulation
have to be done?

And women having orgasms don't go into labor. I wish.....my baby was nearly
4 weeks past the due date. It didn't work.

Too many questions, not enough answers.
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Birth. 1999 Jun;26(2):115-22.
A comparison of breast stimulation and intravenous oxytocin for the
augmentation of labor.
Curtis P, Resnick JC, Evens S, Thompson CJ.
Source
Department of Family Medicine, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
27514, USA.
Abstract
BACKGROUND:
Breast stimulation to augment labor has been used for centuries in tribal
societies and by midwives. In recent years it has been shown to be
effective in ripening the cervix, inducing labor, and as an alternative to
oxytocin for the contraction stress test. This study compared the
effectiveness of breast stimulation with oxytocin infusion in augmenting
labor.

METHODS:
Women admitted to the labor ward were eligible for the study if they had
inadequate labor with premature rupture of the membranes and met inclusion
criteria. They were assigned to oxytocin augmentation or breast stimulation
(manual or pump), and were switched to oxytocin in the event of method
failure. Outcomes included time to delivery, intervention to delivery,
proportion of spontaneous deliveries, and Apgar scores. One hundred
participants were needed in each arm of the study to demonstrate a 2- to
3-hour difference in delivery time, with a power of 80 percent.

RESULTS:
Analysis was performed on 79 women, of whom 49 were in the breast
stimulation group and 30 in the oxytocin group. Sixty-five percent of the
participants failed breast stimulation and were switched to oxytocin
infusion. Although augmentation start to delivery was shorter for the
oxytocin group (p < 0.001), no differences in total labor time occurred
between the groups. Nulliparas receiving breast stimulation had more
spontaneous (relative risk 1.7, p = 0.04), and fewer instrumental
deliveries than those receiving oxytocin (relative risk 0.2, p = 0.02). No
significant differences in adverse fetal outcomes occurred between the
study groups.

CONCLUSIONS:
The small number of participants and a variety of problems with the conduct
of the study prevented the formulation of reliable conclusions from the
results. However, the study provided important insights into the
feasibility and problems of developing a high-quality randomized trial of
augmentation by breast stimulation.

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Gynakol Rundsch. 1989;29(4):193-9.

*[Breast stimulation for labor induction in a stress test].*

[Article in German]

Meyer L<http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=Meyer%20L%5BAuthor%5D&cauthor=true&cauthor_uid=2628228>,
Heinzl S<http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=Heinzl%20S%5BAuthor%5D&cauthor=true&cauthor_uid=2628228>
.

*Abstract*

We performed 100 nipple stimulations for a contraction stress test at the
Women's Hospital of the University of Basel. The stimulation was done
unilaterally with a breast pump; each nipple was stimulated for 15 min. 33
of 100 patients had three or more contractions in 10 min (successful test),
60 of 100 patients had two or more contractions; 12 women had no
contractions. Prestimulation contractions have an influence on the success
rate. 50% of patients in the group with prestimulation contractions and
only 26% in the group without prestimulation contractions had a successful
test. The acceptance was good.


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J Reprod Med. 1986 Feb;31(2):116-8.

Induction of labor with an electric breast pump.

Chayen B, Tejani N, Verma U.

Abstract

Nipple stimulation with an electric breast pump was compared with oxytocin
infusion as a means of labor induction. The time from stimulation to the
onset of regular uterine activity and to 200 Montevideo units of uterine
activity and the time until entrance into the active phase of labor were
significantly shorter in the nipple stimulation group. Once the women were
in active labor, there was no difference between the groups in the length
of labor or mode of delivery.


 ================================================================================================================

warmly,

Nikki Lee RN, BSN, Mother of 2, MS, IBCLC, CCE, CIMI, ANLC, CKC
craniosacral therapy practitioner
www.breastfeedingalwaysbest.com
https://www.facebook.com/nikkileehealth

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