AFJOG

African Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology | Volume 3 | Issue 2 | 2025 | 25 ORIGINAL RESEARCH African Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology | Volume 3 | Issue 2 | 2025 | Birth outcomes of primigravid women augmented with oxytocin in two regional hospitals: A comparison of gradual vs accelerated regimen for some patients, which reduced the number of eligible files and led to exclusions based on lack of relevant data rather than study criteria. A notable omission was the lack of data on the time of decision for C-sections, which would have provided a more accurate comparison between the two regimens and accounted for unrelated delays post-decision. While the small sample size limits generalizability, and the study was not sufficiently powered to assess obsolete differences between the two regimens in terms of efficacy, the findings suggest that neither dose regimen is detrimental to foetal outcomes, with the accelerated dose potentially reducing the interval to delivery. Additionally, the study did compare C-section rates with non-augmented primigravidae. Despite these limitations, the study provides valuable insights into oxytocin augmentation protocols in labour management. CONCLUSION Though small, this study compared two oxytocin augmentation dosing regimens in primigravid women and found no significant differences in maternal or neonatal safety between accelerated and gradual approaches. Our preliminary data suggests that the accelerated dose shortens the active phase of labour in primigravid labouring women, despite achieving normal delivery in only one-third of cases. Future larger scale trials are needed to establish evidence-based guidelines for oxytocin augmentation that balance efficacy, minimize adverse outcomes, and optimize patient safety and comfort. Declaration: None Acknowledgements: We extend our gratitude to Harry Gwala Regional Hospital and RK Khan Hospital for granting us access to their facilities for data collection. We also thank the staff members at both hospitals for their assistance and support throughout the research process. Author contributions: All authors contributed to the study’s conception and design. Material preparation and data collection were performed by BN, as well as write up of manuscript. MAH contributed to idea generation and study guidance. HMS gave idea and implementation oversight, as well as guidance with manuscript write up. All authors read and approved the final manuscript. Conflicts of interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest. REFERENCES € £ ¢” ž £ ‚• Ÿ” ‚  € ‚    ¥ ”     ¦  ƒ„ „†ƒ„‹™ˆšƒŠ‡‹„ˆ “ ŽŽ Ž „ „ ‡Ž– – ƒ„ „ „‹ „„‰ ƒ   ‘ ’¸ ”  ’ ž   ” €‚¦ ”   “ œ  ¦­ ƒ„„Š† „‰™‹š Š  Š‰ “ ŽŽ Ž „ „ ‡Ž– – ƒ„„Š „Œ „ ‹ ‹ ’ ’ ’ —  ® ¤ ž ­  “  ” ž • ƒ„„Œ†‹…™ƒšƒŠ‹‹„‰ “ ŽŽ Ž „ „ ‡Ž– “ ƒ„„Œ „‹ „„‰ ˆ Ÿ — ¤’ ¢ ¦ • “ ’ ž   ‘ —” ’ ¢   ”  ¥ ” ¹ ¦  ŠŠ…† ‰‹™‡š Œ‰ˆ Œ‰Œ “ ŽŽ Ž „ „ ‡Ž„„„ƒŠ‹‰Œ™Š…šŠ„ˆˆˆ ¢ º ¤ € ‘ ’ ” ¥ ” ¦­  ƒ„„Š†ŒŒ™ ƒš ‹…ƒ ‹…‰ “ ŽŽ Ž „ ‹ „ŠŽ„„„ ‡‹ˆ„Š„‹‹…ŒŒ ƒ ‡ ’ “ •  ” « ˜  “”®”  «    € • “ ƒ„… ‰ ‘ ”  ’ ” ” ‘ • ž ¦  ƒ„ƒ„†‡‰Œ„ŒŠ “ ŽŽ Ž „ „ ‡Ž– “  ƒ„ƒ„ „‹ „ Œ ‘ ¤ ¦ ‚ » ¦¥ ” ”    ’ ƒ„„ˆ†Šˆ™ „šŒ‹ŠŒˆ… Š     ˜ œ  ” ¥  “ ” ” ž   ƒ„„Š†ƒ„„Š™ˆšž „„‹ƒˆ‡ “ ŽŽ Ž „ „„ƒŽ ˆ‡…Œ…Œ „„‹ƒˆ‡ “”ƒ „ ‘” ž ¢ ‚  ‚ ‐  ”  ‐ ¥ ” ” ” ž   ƒ„ ˆ†ƒ„ ˆ™ „šž „„Š‰„ “ ŽŽ Ž „ „„ƒŽ ˆ‡…Œ…Œ „„Š‰„ “”ƒ ‚    ’  “ ” ” “  “ ž   ƒ„„Š† ƒ„„Š™‹šž „„ƒ„‰ˆ “ ŽŽ Ž „ „„ƒŽ ˆ‡…Œ…Œ ž „„ƒ„‰ˆ “”ƒ ƒ ’ ž —  ” — “ ¥ ” ” ¦  ŠŠŠ†Šˆ™‹šˆ……ˆ‡‹ “ ŽŽ Ž „ „ ‡Ž „„ƒŠ‰Œˆˆ™ŠŠš„„‹‹Œ… ‹ ¢ ¢ • “ ¤‚ œ ž ¤ ž”  ¢ “ … ˆ„ ” “ ” ” ¦­  ŠŠ‹†Œƒ™‡š „„Š „ ƒ ˆ ” ­ ‚ ¼ ƒ„ƒƒ ƒ„ƒ‹ “ ŽŽ  Ž³“½ ‡Š„ƒ ™ ƒ ” ” ƒ„ƒˆš   ” ¾ ¡ ” ­  “   ­ ‘’ž •  ž ƒ„ƒ †ƒ ™ š‹‹‹ “ ŽŽ Ž „ Œ‡Ž ƒŒŒˆ„ƒ „‹‰ŠŒƒ ‡ ‚› ˜ ” ”“       “ “ ”  ˜ ’ “   ”  • ’ ƒ„ƒƒ†ˆ ƒ‹Œ “ ŽŽ Ž „ ‡„ˆ·ƒ“ – ƒ„ƒƒ ˆ ƒ‹Œ ‹‹‹…Š ‰ ’ ” ‚ ’ ’ ’ ” ”  ’  “ ” “ “   “    ˜ ¦• ƒ„ƒ„†‡™ƒš ‰  Œ„ “ ŽŽ Ž „ „„ƒ·ƒ “ˆ ‹Š… Œ ¦ ¦ ¦— – ¦ž “” žœ ¤— ” ’ ž ”       “ ”    ” ” € ƒ„ƒƒ†ƒ™ˆš‹ ‹‹ƒ…“ ŽŽ Ž „ ‹‹Š„Ž ƒ„ˆ„„ƒŠ Š ‚ ¢ “ • ‚ ’ ’ ¿ ”  ‘ ’ ¢ ”  ¥  ”  ¢ ¤ ƒ„ ‡†ƒˆ ƒ‰ˆˆ “ ŽŽ Ž „…Š„Ž…ŒŒ‹ˆ…„‰‡…ƒ‰ˆˆ ƒ„ ‘”  ¤ ‘ — • ˜ ’ ˜ ¦” ” ”  ¥ ¤” ¦  “ ‘ ƒ„„‡† ƒˆ™ š‹‰ˆ “ ŽŽ Ž „ „ ‡Ž– – ƒ„„…„ˆ „… ƒ ‚  ¥ ” œ  ¦ƒ„„ˆ†Œ‰™ š‡Œ “ ŽŽ Ž „ „ ‡Ž– – ƒ„„ˆ „‡ „„ˆ ƒƒ ˜ ›¢ › ›¢ ” •ž ¢ ›ž ž ¢ • ¥  ” ”  “ “  “ ” ”  ” ƒ„ ‰†ƒ…™ š…Š‡‰ “ ŽŽ Ž „ „Š‰Ž – „„„„„„„„„„„„„ ‡… ƒ‹ ¡ ˜ ˜ ” ‚ ˜ ” •  ”  “  ° ” ¥ ” ˜” ” ‚ “ ” € ‚ ƒ„ƒ„†‰™ š „ˆ„ ƒˆ ‘ • ”  ¥ ” ” ¦” ‘ ¦  ŠŒ‰†Šˆ™‡š…ƒ…‰ “ ŽŽ Ž „ Ž– ˆ‰ „…ƒŒ ŠŒ‰ „‹ ˆƒ ¥ ƒ… ” ¢  ’ € € € — ’ ’  ”       ‘ œ ƒ„ ˆ†ƒ„ ˆ‡ˆ„ƒŠ “ ŽŽ Ž „……Žƒ„ ˆŽ‡ˆ„ƒŠ