Cytotec Information

This Cytotec information will help you become more familiar with a drug that has been used as a "labor inducing" experiment with dire consequences for women, babies and their families.

Cytotec is also known as misoprostol and prostaglandin E1.

How does Cytotec work?

What are Cytotec's side-effects?

Who should not use Cytotec?

Cytotec in pregnancy, breast-feeding and children.

Cytotec in labor: why is it being used?

ICAN calls for the ban of Cytotec.

The FDA loophole and off-label use.

The use of pharmaceutical drugs during pregnancy.

Cytotec Information: How Does It Work And What Is It Used For

Cytotec is used to treat and prevent:

Gastric - stomach - ulcers

Duodenal - intestinal - ulcers

Ulcers caused by a class of painkillers called nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs - NSAIDs

It is also used to treat:

Ulcers caused by peptic ulcer disease

Cytotec - misoprostol - works by decreasing acid and increasing mucus and blood flow to the stomach, which protects the walls of the stomach and intestine.

Cytotec Information: What Are Cytotec Side Effects?

Here are the Cytotec warnings as given by the manufacturer.

More common side effects:

abdominal or stomach pain - mild

diarrhea

Less common or rare side effects:

bleeding from vagina

constipation

cramps in lower abdomen or stomach area

gas

headache

heartburn, indigestion, or acid stomach

nausea or vomiting

abdominal pain

convulsions - seizures

diarrhea

difficulty breathing

drowsiness

fast or pounding heartbeat

fever

low blood pressure

slow heartbeat

tremor

You may already know that some people may experience side effects other than those listed.

Cytotec Information: Who Should NOT Use Cytotec?

Cytotec should not be used by:

pregnant women - that should rule out a Cytotec induction...don't you think?

anyone allergic to misoprostol or to any of the ingredients of the medication

Cytotec Information: Pregnancy, Breastfeeding and Children?

Pregnancy:

Cytotec is contraindicated - NOT indicated - for used by pregnant women. Women who may become pregnant should use adequate birth control.

Cytotec increases the risk of miscarriage.

Breast-feeding:

Breast-feeding mothers should not take Cytotec as it may cause significant diarrhea for nursing infants.

This means that if you are given Cytotec while in labor, your newborn will get his first dose while nursing the first time.

Children:

The safety and effectiveness of this medication have not been established for those younger than 18 years of age.

Cytotec Information: Cytotec For Labor

It is becoming more common for obstetricians - and sadly some midwives as well - to use Cytotec to ripen a woman's cervix and induce labor.

Cytotec is a small pill that can be taken orally or broken in pieces and inserted vaginally.

In August 2000, Searle, Cytotec's manufacturer, sent physicians a letter reminding them that Cytotec was not approved for use as a cervical ripening agent and that it was contraindicated for use in pregnancy.

The letter listed serious adverse effects associated with using Cytotec, including maternal or fetal death, uterine rupture, and severe vaginal bleeding and shock.

So you may be asking why Cytotec is still being used?

Since Cytotec is no more effective than other ripening agents such as Prepidil or Cervidil - also called prostaglandin E2 - and being much more dangerous, there must be another reason for its continued use.

Indeed there is...

Cytotec is much cheaper to use. Prepidil or Cervidil can cost over $100 per dose when Cytotec on the other hand costs pennies to use. Moreover it also reduces the need for Pitocin, which therefore adds to additional savings.

By the way, in studies, no uterine ruptures were reported with the use of Prepidil (Dinoprostone) - even though it is itself not free of side-effects - one cannot say the same for Cytotec. Then again, if OBGYNs were patient enough...a woman's cervix would indeed ripen in its own time.

Yes like our fruits and vegetables which are picked before their time, our cervix can be forced to ripen before its time...with the added risk of a c-section for "failure to progress."

Cytotec Information: ICAN Asks For The Ban of The Drug

The International Cesarean Awareness Network - ICAN - called for an immediate ban on the obstetrical use of the drug Cytotec as a labor induction method.

ICAN contends that doctors are putting women at risk by ignoring warnings from the manufacturer - the G.D. Searle Corporation - as well as numerous studies which show that the risks of the drug are quite significant. Moreover as already stated, Cytotec has not been approved by the FDA for obstetrical use.

The warning on the manufacturer's package insert explicitly states that "Cytotec may cause the uterus to rupture in pregnant women if it is used to induce labor." "Uterine rupture," it continues, "may result in severe bleeding, hospitalization, surgery, infertility, or death."

Cytotec causes hyperstimulation of the uterus, a dangerous complication which may also result in fetal injury and death.

According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists - ACOG - an estimated one in five labors are now induced with Cytotec has the agent of choice.

In May 1998 - well over 10 years ago - a study in ACOG's own journal reported that clinical trials on the drug had to be stopped because of safety concerns and that Cytotec should not be used on women with a prior uterine incision. The recommendations came after several studies showed that these women were at a much higher risk of uterine rupture when induced with Cytotec. No instead ACOG ruled that VBACs - vaginal birth after c-sections - were unsafe!

In addition, the Cochrane Collaboration - an international and independent group of physicians and researchers - which analyzes the effectiveness of various drug treatments, issued this statement after its most recent 2002 review on the obstetrical use of Cytotec:

A Virginia consumer group called Virginia Birthing Freedom has initiated legislation which requires health care providers and pharmacists who prescribe or dispense Cytotec to give informed consent to women receiving the drug, including risks and possible adverse effects. ICAN endorses the legislation.

We stand with ICAN in their call for a ban. However, we do think - for obvious reasons - the ban should extend to all pregnant women. What about you, after reading this Cytotec information, what do you think?