The drug Viagra, commonly used for erectile dysfunction, is currently being tested on women giving birth as a way to reduce fetal distress. And just like with preemies, the results are encouraging.1 A preliminary trial has been underway for 18 months in Brisbane, Australia with the drug Sildenafil (which dilates blood vessels in the pelvis).
“University of Queensland professor Sailesh Kumar, from the Mater Research Institute, said there were promising initial results from the Viagra trial involving 230 women.
‘There is close to a 50 per cent reduction in women requiring an emergency caesarean or a forceps delivery for fetal distress when the drug is taken in the early stages of labour. Preventing fetal distress can greatly improve the short and longer-term health outcomes of the baby,’ he said.” 2
Viagra improves oxygen transport to baby
Kumar explains that Viagra increases blood flow to the uterus and placenta, which improves the transport of oxygen and nutrients to the baby and it is this function that may reduce the risk of the baby becoming distressed during labor. And this is important given the fact that more than 60 percent of babies who suffered oxygen deprivation in labor had no prior risk factors (in many of these cases women go on to need an emergency c-section).
Because a lack of oxygen during labor can result inmild to severe cerebral palsy and brain injury (or death in extreme cases) these preliminary results are very promising.
Over the next year, an additional 200 women will be recruited for the trial.
