Effects of Engineered Stimulation of Oxytocin on Hormonal Status of Postpartum Women

Oxytocin in the postpartum women is very necessary to maintain breastmilk production. An engineered stimulation of oxytocin by using a tool in a previous study was evident to give effects on the production of breast milk. The purpose of this study was to analyze the effects of an engineered massage tool for stimulating oxytocin on the levels of oxytocin, prolactin and beta-endorphin in the postpartum women. Quasi-experimental study employed a post-test with control group and was conducted in two hospitals in Semarang. A consecutive sampling was used to recruit the samples, involving 32 postpartum women in the control group, 26 in the intervention group I (intervention once-daily) and 30 in the intervention group II (intervention twice-daily). After 9 hours 30 minutes since the labor, the blood samples from the postpartum mothers were taken and examined for the oxytocin, prolactin, and beta-endorphin. The results showed a mean of 353.58 ng/ml for oxytocin, 231.41 ng/ml for prolactin and 178.75 ng/ml for beta-endorphin. There was a significant relationship between the frequency of breastfeeding and the prolactin (p=0.004), and there was also a significant relationship between the breast milk secretion and the prolactin (p=0.005). Beta-endorphin had a significant association with the oxytocin (p=0.000). There was a difference in beta-endorphin levels between the groups given once-daily stimulation, twice-daily stimulation and the control group (p=0.041). The stimulation of oxytocin had an effect on the increase of beta-endorphin which indirectly affected the oxytocin.