October 31, 2002

Fentanyl and the Russian theatre debacle

The news of the release of the hostages in the Moscow Theatre using a gas to subdue the terrorists has been everywhere these past few days. The death of 115 hostages, with another 150 in a critical condition due to the gas has raised a lot of questions and the Russians have been reluctant to reveal the details of the gas that was used.

Today the news is that its general composition is now known - it is an ‘opiate’ drug, chosen because it that sedates and eases pain. The Americans have identified it as Fentanyl. The Russians claim that it was meant to put people to sleep but not to kill them as has happened.

When I read this I couldn’t help making the leap from this poison gas to the Fentanyl and other opiates given to women in labour. They too are supposed to ease pain but are really sedatives. They also have unpredictable results, with some women hardly being affected at all and others almost passing out after a standard dose. People will say that the dosages used in Russia bear little relationship to the amount given to labouring women, but can we be sure these labour drugs are as innocuous as claimed? The fact that research is limited just proves that few people are interested in investigating the safety of drugs given to the unborn baby, it does not prove there is no adverse effect.

It may sound rather harsh, but this catastrophe in Russia may be useful for those of us who are trying to get reform of birth practices in the west. I hope that someone exposes a similarity between the use of this “poison gas” and the drugs that are routinely given to many women during labour and birth. If women knew the risks they were taking with their own health, let alone the health of their unborn babies, I truly believe they would avoid taking opiates (e.g. pethidine, diamorphine, Fentanyl) of all sorts, either as a straight medication or in an epidural mix. Perhaps the stark messages of all these unnecessary deaths in Russia will alert the rest of us (again) to the dangers of medications during labour. It’s perhaps a long bow to draw, but you know where my passion on these issues lies.....

Posted by andrea at October 31, 2002 04:38 AM

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