Objective: Postpartum hemorrhage is the most important
reason for maternal mortality. In developed countries, the
reason of 13% of maternal deaths is postpartum hemorrhage
while this percentage reaches more than 30% in
other countries. In this study, the effect of oxytocin use in
different times at the 3rd stage of delivery on changes in the
postpartum hemoglobin levels was compared.
Design and setting: In the study, 89 pregnant women to
whom oxytocin was administered after placenta separation
were studied in Group 1, 89 pregnant women were
included in Group 2, and oxytocin was administered after
delivery of the shoulder. The levels of hemoglobin and
hematocrit before and after delivery were quantified.
Results: The biochemical parameters were examined,
there was no significant statistical differences in the levels
of hemoglobin and hemotocrit before delivery between the
two groups. When compared to Group 1, Δ-hemoglobin
(P=0.001), Δ-hematocrit (P=0.001), the change between
the prepartum and postpartum hemoglobin percentage
(P=0.001), and change between the prepartum and postpartum
hemotocrit percentage (P=0.001) were statistically
lower in Group 2.
Conclusions: It was determined that the use of oxytocin
after shoulder delivery has more effects on decreasing the
amount of postpartum hemorrhage.