The Most Dangerous Drug on Labor and Delivery

Oxytocin has been a high-alert medication since 2007. Why does ACOG still not require hospitals to stop it during tachysystole?

In 1953, Vincent du Vigneaud synthesized oxytocin, becoming the first person to create a polypeptide hormone in the laboratory. Two years later, he received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for this achievement. His discovery revolutionized obstetrics, giving clinicians a powerful tool to induce and augment labor.