Is canal birth lubrication (using products gelly-like) normally used
in the everyday human obstetric practice? If not, why not? I think that it
is a common practice in veterinary medicine. Why not in human
medicine?

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Clarification of Question by tom136-ga on 03 Feb 2003 07:15 PST

The products I am referring to are products aimed to reduce the
friction during the birth, (e.g. when you need to remove a stuck ring
from swollen finger, you can use oil or creams to reduce friction -->
the same principle may be of help during the delivery).

Dear tom136-ga;

Thank you for allowing me an opportunity to answer your interesting
question.

The tight “squeeze” of the birth canal against the body of a newborn
is normally tight enough so as to have somewhat of a “squeegee”
effect, rubbing a large part of the material (natural or otherwise)
off the child’s body as it passes through the birth canal. If you’ve
ever witnesses a birth (I’ve delivered three of my own and two for
others) you’ll quickly note that Mother Nature supplies a great deal
of natural lubricant on its own. What’s more, at the time of crowing
(first showing of the infant’s head) whatever material might be in the
birth canal tends to be expelled. Which means that whatever might be
put in the birth canal to aid the movement of the child through the
last few inches of the birth canal is usually expelled with the child.
In addition, the “bag of waters” (amniotic sac) never completely
empties, so the remaining water (amniotic fluid) tends to leak out
through the duration of the delivery. Since the only lubrication that
would be safe to use (keeping in mind that you’d want to avoid getting
any foreign matter in the newborn’s eyes, nose, etc.) would be a
sterile, water-soluble lubricant, the leaking amniotic fluid would
likely neutralize the lubricant and render it useless anyway. What you
might not be aware of is that at a number of intervals during the
effacing process, the attendant will visually examine the cervix using
a well-lubricated speculum (a tool for opening the birth canal). With
the amount of lubricant that is used to facilitate this instrument and
the number of times the instrument is used already thoroughly
lubricates the birth canal, and so, as you can clearly see, quite a
bit of lubricant it is actually already being used whether one
realizes it or not.

From another safety standpoint, too much gel can pose more risk than
reward. Any residual gel allowed to remain in the birth canal (above
what is already being used to facilitate the speculum) following the
delivery could, theoretically, harbor germs. If any incisions had to
be made or any tears occur, it would be quite difficult to clean all a
large quantity of gel from of the affected areas, creating an added
and unnecessary risk of infection. Gel can also congeal and mask any
hidden bleeding that would otherwise be detected. Another reason why
lubricant use is limited is to prevent “explosive delivery”. This is
when the infant exists the birth canal too quickly, adding the danger
of mishandling the newborn or tearing the mother’s tissues. I’ve seen
this happen and believe me it isn’t good.

Having said all that, it does appear that some attendants do use
lubricants for the specific purpose of helping to ease the delivery
process.

ASK THE OB/GYN
http://www.glfamily.com/html/mj-98/mj-98-ob.html
“Some practitioners use lubricant and perineal massage in labor to
reduce the need for episiotomy.”

OGLALA LAKOTA DIVISION OF DISTRIBUTION
http://www.gwtc.net/~stellar/femglide/
“…often used for patient comfort during the delivery of babies.”

CASCADE HEALTHCARE PRODUCTS
“Childbirth Kit”
http://www.1cascade.com/display/Birth_Kits/
(Among many other things, contains “1 Bottle of Lubricating Jelly OR 6
Packets of Lubricating Jelly”)

Below you will find that I have carefully defined my search strategy
for you in the event that you need to search for more information. By
following the same type of searches that I did you may be able to
enhance the research I have provided even further. I hope you find
that that my research exceeds your expectations. If you have any
questions about my research please post a clarification request prior
to rating the answer. Otherwise, I welcome your rating and your final
comments and I look forward to working with you again in the near
future. Thank you for bringing your question to us.

Best regards;
Tutuzdad-ga


INFORMATION SOURCES


CHILDBIRTH EMERGENCIES
http://firstaid.eire.org/Childbirth.htm


ASK THE OB/GYN
http://www.glfamily.com/html/mj-98/mj-98-ob.html


OGLALA LAKOTA DIVISION OF DISTRIBUTION
http://www.gwtc.net/~stellar/femglide/


CASCADE HEALTHCARE PRODUCTS
http://www.1cascade.com/display/Birth_Kits/


SEARCH STRATEGY


SEARCH ENGINE USED:

Google ://www.google.com


SEARCH TERMS USED:

Lubrication childbirth

Lubrication delivery

Lubrication labor

Lubrication midwife

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Thank you! A very quick answer, and very precise. 
Tom136