In caring for a client who is receiving oxytocin to induce labor, the nurse should be alert to which ...

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An adverse effect of Pitocin is the presence of hypertonic contractions that result in decreased maternal hypoperfusion and dehydration. Although hypertension is an adverse effect of Pitocin, fetal distress occurs after as a result of maternal hypoperfusion and dehydration. As proactive practitioners, nurses want to assess the earliest possible manifestations of adverse effects of hypotension and diuresis. Oxytocin can cause hyperstimulation of the uterus leading to ineffective contractions during the first and second stages of labor, but not the third stage.