Objectives: To compare efficacy of intramyometrial oxytocin vs intravenous oxytocin infusion in reducing blood loss during cesarean section. Materials and methods: A prospective randomized controlled trial of 150 women undergoing cesarean section was done. Women undergoing cesarean section were randomly divided into three groups according to method of administration of oxytocin. In group I (n =...

Responses of smooth muscle to kallikreins (EC 3.4.21.8) are generally considered to result from kinin formation. This premise was reexamined with the isolated rat uterus. Rat urinary kallikrein or bradykinin produced dose-dependent contractions of rat uterus but kallikrein was 5-fold more potent than bradykinin. Kallikrein caused an immediate series of rhythmic contractions which could be incre...

The physiological processes involved in parturition (i.e., labor, delivery, and birth) require a complex interplay of hormonal action, neuronal activity, and uterine smooth muscle contraction. During the first two trimesters of pregnancy, the uterus remains in a relatively quiescent state, demonstrating little or no contraction of the myometrium.This inactivity is largely the result of the inhi...

In this report we review modern nonlinearity methods that can be used in the preterm birth analysis. The nonlinear analysis of uterine contraction signals can provide information regarding physiological changes during the menstrual cycle and pregnancy. This information can be used both for the preterm birth prediction and the preterm labor control.

A fundamental problem in developing therapeutic interventions for uterine dysfunction is that the electrical profile of the myometrium, and how it changes in physiological, let alone pathophysiological, situations is unknown. Excitation-contraction coupling of the myometrium is a central component of healthy functioning of the uterus. Even though proper function of this smooth muscle is fundame...

BACKGROUND The timely onset of powerful uterine contractions during parturition occurs through thick and thin filament interactions, similar to other smooth muscle tissues. Calponin is one of the thin filament proteins. Phosphorylation of calponin induced by PKC-epsilon can promote the contraction of vascular smooth muscle. While the mechanism by which calponin regulates the contraction of preg...

The crude extract from E. drupifera was tested for its effects on isolated rat uterine preparations. The extract (2.0–300 μg/ml) produced graded increases in uterine contractions. The contractions were potentiated by neostigmine (1.64 3 1026M) and abolished by atropine (4.4 3 1024M). The extract-induced contractions were not prevented by previous addition to the bath of hexamethonium or 5-hydro...

Intra-uterine pressure was recorded by placing a Foley catheter in the extra-amniotic space before the termination of pregnancy in 25 patients, and Caesarean section in 12 patients. The effects of administration of i.v. ketamine 2 mg/kg body weight, sodium thiopentone 4 mg/kg body weight and ergometrine 0.5 mg, and intra-cervical 0.5% lignocaine 20 ml were measured in the first trimester of pre...

Preterm labor is defined as the presence of regular uterine contractions with progressive cervical changes before 37 completed weeks of pregnancy. Spontaneous preterm labor accounts for 40% to 50% of all preterm births [1]. An estimated 13 million babies (−10% of all births) are born preterm each year worldwide, and approximately 1 million of all newborn deaths are due to preterm birth [2]. At ...

OBJECTIVE To compare the success rates and gestational ages at delivery of nifedipine administration as a tocolytic agent to pregnant women with threatened preterm labor based on cervical length. MATERIAL AND METHOD One hundred eighty eight pregnant women with threatened preterm labor between 26 and 35 weeks were enrolled in the present study. Cervical measurement was performed in all patient...