For women who require oxytocin to either induce or augment labor, the optimal dose of oxytocin required to provide adequate uterine contraction strength and frequency is not able to be predicted. As a result, oxytocin is started at a low infusion rate and slowly increased until the optimal dose is determined. Variable responses to oxytocin among women may occur due to desensitization of the oxytocin receptor. A recent study by Chad Grotegut, MD, Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and colleagues, demonstrates that among women undergoing induced labor at term, that variation in maternal genotype among genes regulating oxytocin receptor function and desensitization are associated with the duration of labor, the risk for cesarean delivery, and the total dose of oxytocin required in labor. These findings may lead to more personalized approaches to the management of labor at term.