Oxytocin, also known as the hormone of love, is one of many naturally produced hormones which flood a laboring momma’s body. Many birth professionals say that what gets baby in, gets baby out. As a primary hormone released during sexual pleasure, oxytocin confirms that statement. Introduced in orgasm, it facilitates little swimmers getting safely to shore and encourages waves in the uterus to welcome them; it is also released during labor and birth. Throughout labor, oxytocin pulses into the bloodsteam causing contractions and peaks at the moment of birth. Baby’s body also releases oxytocin and once born, momma and baby share one of the highest releases of oxyticin in human experience, falling deeply in love with one another at first glance. Spurred on by oxytocin, the cuddling, eye-gazing, snuggling and kissing begin at this point creating a lifelong mother-child bond. Oxytocin continues to show its face after labor to help momma’s uterus contract to original size and again each time momma brings baby to the breast. This keeps her relaxed and in love with baby.
Read more about hormone cocktails here.
Information sourced from work by Michel Odent, MD., published in Midwifery Today (Summer 2002) and Sarah J. Buckley, MD., published in the Journal of Prenatal and Perinatal Psychology and Health (Summer 2003).
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