A scientific report published in 1936 revealed that when the front portion of rat pituitaries was homogenized and the extract injected into other rats, they became diabetic. Oxytocin derives from the pituitary gland, and although present in the rear of the pituitary, which was not selected for use in the experiments, the two halves of a pituitary are poorly defined and therefore difficult to separate. This could have resulted in contamination of the test material with oxytocin, or alternatively, may mean that one or several of the hormones present in the anterior portion of the pituitary may be diabetogenic.

Oxytocin has probably not been sufficiently studied to detect any possible long term adverse effects in children who were exposed at birth. Sandoz Pharmaceuticals, which markets oxytocin in the UK, admitted that "after an extensive literature search" they were unable to find any papers on long term follow up of offspring.

The full studies on which this article is based appear in Poisonous Prescriptions (PODD, PO. Box 1237, Subiaco, Western Australia 6008. £9.95 or $15.45 US).