The management of functional dystocia in the first stage of labor

To summarize: Functional dystocia is easily diagnosed in laboring patients by lack of cervical dilatation for 2 hours in association with weak uterine contractions. If the membranes are intact, amniotomy should be performed. If cervical dilatation at a rate of at least 1 cm/h does not occur promptly, oxytocin should be begun. Efficient and safe use of oxytocin requires knowledge of its clinical pharmacologic characteristics: that the maximum level of a dose is not reached for approximately 40 minutes, that the blood level needed is a reflection of the sensitivity of the myometrium, and the blood level produced by a specific dose is a manifestation of the plasma clearance rate. While it has never been demonstrated that continuous electronic monitoring of the uterus and fetus with intermittent visits from professional personnel is better than palpation and auscultation performed by an educated attendant present continuously, the former practice is more common in the United States than the latter. If maximum use is to be made of the information provided by the uterine monitor, the data must be quantitated. When the patient's inadequate contractility fails to improve in response to the initial dose of 1 mU/m, the dose must be increased until some improvement is noted. Geometric incrementation should be limited to nulliparas in whom each dose of oxytocin is evaluated after a 40-minute infusion period.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)