The role and importance of oxytocin in the birthing process

In a woman’s body, there is a team of four hormones that play the lead role in initiating and supporting the process of labour and birth. This team consists of oxytocin, endorphins, adrenaline and prolactin. The labouring mother’s mental and physical condition, as well as her environment, can affect the release and effectiveness of these hormones thus assisting, or in some cases disrupting, the birth process.

Because it is involved during love making, birthing, breastfeeding, and bonding, oxytocin is often referred to as “The Love Hormone.” It helps mammals feel good and prompts nurturing feelings and behaviour.

Oxytocin is produced in the reproduction organs of mammals (ovaries in females and testes in males) and hypothalamus in the brain, released into the blood via the pituitary gland.

The hypothalamus is stimulated to produce oxytocin by the drop in progesterone a few hours before labour begins. The levels of oxytocin remain relatively stable in the latent, or excitement, phase of labour, rising steadily throughout and then sharply before the birth, stimulating the fetal ejection reflex, a term coined and described by Michel Odent.

Oxytocin release peaks once again with the delivery of the placenta, assisted by the baby at the breast, stimulating the nipples. Maternal oxytocin levels then dwindle over the next hour or so whereas newborn levels peak approximately half an hour after birth and remain elevated for at least four days. This period of time where both mum and baby are under the influence of hormones, namely oxytocin, is known as “The Babymoon”.

As well as a rise in the levels of the hormone oxytocin in labour, the number of actual oxytocin receptors increases gradually as well – gradually throughout pregnancy, then sharply during labour as a result from increasing level of estrogen throughout the body. The rise of receptor concentration ensures that oxytocin can have the effect to help birth the baby at the very end of pregnancy.

Without the introduction of inhibiting factors, which will be discussed later, oxytocin creates a positive feedback loop during labour and birth. As oxytocin is produced in the hypothalamus, released into the body via the pituitary gland, it stimulates uterine contractions, which, in turn, transmits a signal back to the hypothalamus to produce more oxytocin, and this process continues until the baby is born. Afterwards, the physical stimulation of the mother’s nipples broadcast a signal to the hypothalamus in less than a second, causing neurons to release even more oxytocin, aiding the separation and birth of the placenta.

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