This archive report was first published on 20 November 2019.
Published on November 20, 2019, a groundbreaking study by Sailesh Kumar and his team at the Mater Research Institute at the University of Queensland has shed light on a potential solution to reduce emergency C-sections.
Thousands of women worldwide require emergency C-sections or instrument-assisted deliveries due to their babies becoming distressed during labour. Kumar's research suggests that administering Viagra, a sex-enhancing drug, could significantly reduce this risk.
The study found that Viagra, containing active ingredient sildenafil citrate, dilates pelvic blood vessels, increasing blood flow to the placenta and improving oxygen supply to the baby. This is crucial, as during contractions, blood flow from mother to baby can drop by up to 60 percent, potentially leading to distress.
In a pilot trial involving 300 Australian full-term pregnant women in labour, the medication was found to:
- Halve the rate of women needing an emergency caesarean
- Halve the use of forceps in delivering babies
- Cut the time spent in the later stages of labour by half
While sildenafil citrate has been used in a previous study in the Netherlands, concerns over side effects led to the abandonment of the research. However, Kumar's study has not shown any side effects in mothers or babies, paving the way for further investigation.
The team now hopes to establish a larger study of nearly 8,500 women in labour to test their preliminary findings and gather more data on how many emergency deliveries can be avoided.
