Värkstimulering med oxytocin under aktiv förlossning : En webbaserad kvalitativ enkätundersökning om barnmorskors erfarenheter

Synthetic oxytocin plays a crucial role in obstetric care to induce or enhance contractions. Treatment with oxytocin infusion during labor is associated with both benefits and risks such as increased frequency of emergency cesarean sections, instrumental vaginal deliveries, postpartum hemorrhage, urinary retention and negative birth experience. There is consensus that normal progress means cervical dilation of one centimeter per hour, but definitions and guidelines for when pathological progress occurs vary in different regions. Studies show that there are cases of oxytocin use where there is no indication. There is a lack of knowledge about the role of midwives in the overuse of oxytocin. Purpose: The purpose is to describe midwives' experiences of labor stimulation with oxytocin during active labor. Method: A qualitative approach was used with a web-based questionnaire. Qualitative inductive content-analysis was used. Results: Midwives have varying experiences of oxytocin use. The experiences were described as a balance between following the guidelines, professional intuition, considering the woman's experience and the physiological process. Two approaches can be identified, an active and a passive approach. Conclusion: The midwives' varying use and experience of oxytocin is characterized by a balance between guidelines, intuition, the woman's experience and the physiological process.