Intrapartum Oxytocin (Mis)use in South Asia
Oxytocin is a natural hormone with uterine stimulant properties that plays a prominent role in obstetric practice. Clinical guidelines for oxytocin use intrapartum emphasise that injudicious use has serious potential for adverse outcomes for mother and baby. Oxytocin is readily available in South Asia and widely used in ways that flout these guidelines. Yet recommendations for active management of third stage of labour (AMTSL) include the administration of oxytocin to prevent post-partum haemorrhage (PPH). Troublingly, these proposals seem to ignore oxytocin's already extensive life independent of policy interventions. Taking oxytocin as an example, the paper argues that policy-makers urgently need to engage with the everyday realities of drug availability and use in South Asia.
The primary purpose of the study is to find out the socio-economic demographic and health variables influencing the family planning acceptance in the thirty newly formed districts of Orissa. The study seeks to answer the following questions. What is the dominant set of variables influencing the family planning performance during a given period of time in the districts of Orissa? What are the direct and indirect effects of these variables on the Couple Protection Rate (CPR) in the districts of Orissa? What are the joint effects of these variables on the CPR in the districts of Orissa? (excerpt)