Viagra could reduce the risk of pregnant women needing emergency Caesarean, study finds

Giving pregnant women Viagra pills during labour may reduce the risk of them needing an emergency Caesarean section, a study has found.

The risk of foetal distress was also lower among women given the little blue pills.

Sildenafil citrate – the generic name of the drug sold as Viagra – works for erectile dysfunction by widening blood vessels and increasing blood flow.

Researchers believe it should also increase uterine blood flow in pregnant women, ensuring more oxygen gets to the foetus, so conducted a trial on 208 subjects.

Half were given up to three doses of Viagra during labour, while the others had a placebo pill. In the Viagra group, 13 out of the 104 women needed emergency Caesarean section. In the control group, 27 women – more than twice as many – underwent an emergency operation.

A study from the Guilan University of Medical Sciences believe it should also increase uterine blood flow in pregnant women, ensuring more oxygen gets to the foetus

‘Our results show that sildenafil is an effective and safe intervention to prevent foetal distress and reduce the need for emergency caesarian during labour,’ said the obstetricians and gynaecologists based at the Guilan University of Medical Sciences in Iran.

The results of their clinical trial have now been published in the Journal of Reproduction and Infertility.

They said larger trials are ‘urgently needed to further validate these results and establish its widespread use in labour management’.

Their results echo a similar 2019 Australian study of 300 women, which also found a ‘very promising’ 50 per cent reduction in the number of emergency surgeries among women who took Viagra in labour.

Foetal distress can occur when the foetus is not getting enough oxygen. According to the researchers, it is the reason for 22 per cent of emergency Caesareans carried out during labour in the UK.

There is the risk of complications with Caesarians, including infection, blood clots, and damage to nearby areas, such as the bladder.