Effects of using either saline or glucose as a vehicle for infusion in labour

Seventy pregnant Nigerian women requiring oxytocin for the induction or augmentation of labour were randomized into two groups, one administered 5% glucose, and the other 0.9% saline as vehicle for oxytocin. Another group of seventy women who did not receive intravenous fluids in labour were included for comparison. Sodium ion concentration in maternal antepartum and postpartum plasma as well as umbilical cord plasma samples were estimated in all the patients. There was a statistically significant fall in the maternal postpartum plasma sodium concentration relative to the ante-partum values only in patients receiving 9% glucose solution (P less than 0.001). There was also a significant correlation between the sodium levels in maternal postpartum and cord plasma samples, suggesting that these changes were transmitted to the fetus transplacentally. The use of normal saline as a vehicle for oxytocin administration in parturient women can prevent the hyponatraemia associated with the use of 5% glucose for this purpose.