Oxytocin the shy hormone

Oxytocin is a hormone produced by the hypothalamus and secreted by the pituitary gland. The name is derived from the Greek; ‘oxus’ and ‘toxkos’, meaning quick childbirth. It’s known as the hormone of bonding, love, intimacy, trust and connection. Some people call it the ‘cuddle’ hormone, others the ‘shy’ hormone. Oxytocin is released when we feel safe and unobserved. We all know how uncomfortable it is when we’re being watched, even if we don’t know by whom. It’s a primitive survival mechanism and most animals will walk away if you stare at them (apart from my dog Penny!)

We need to be alert in times of perceived danger and being watched is one of those times.

Men and women both produce oxytocin during sex. At it’s peak oxytocin creates orgasm with the release of the man’s semen and helps with contracting the vagina and uterus in the woman to help the sperm swim towards the egg, to assist in conception.

Then in birth, It’s not quite clear what initially starts labour but it is certainly well documented that labour contractions are stimulated by high levels of oxytocin. Labour progresses as oxytocin increases and as oxytocin increases the contractions get stronger. World renowned Obstetrician Dr Michel Odent famously calls birth and the first hour of life ‘the first peak experience of love’

During childbirth it’s very important to feel unobserved and safe to help oxytocin increase and labour to carry on smoothly, hence why many mammals will seek a hidden, small, dark, quiet space.

“What makes a baby births a baby !”

I call this The Lion Effect. You cannot be calm and stressed at the same time. It would be a potentially dangerous situation if you were really chilled out and relaxed when around cats but then couldn’t be bothered to run away from a lion! Stress hormones over ride oxytocin to keep you safe. But stress hormones slow or can even stop labour progressing. So my role as a doula is to be aware and notice things in a woman’s birth space that are triggering her stress response, before they become a problem. Different things stimulate stress hormones; being watched; hunger; feeling cold; bright lights…to name a few. Even questions and intellectual conversation stimulate the thinking part of the brain which also inhibits oxytocin. Hush tones and keeping talking to a minimum are key when protecting a birth space.

Interesting fact : The chemical makeup of oxytocin includes 12 oxygen molecules. The chemical makeup of adrenalin, on the other hand, includes just three molecules. This is one of the reasons why breathing slowly and deeply helps us to calm down and relax. Mindful breath work is something I teach in my hypnobirthing classes as a way to turn focus inward, creating a calm, sleepy feeling when thinking of the birth. When practiced regularly, meditative breathing becomes easier and more natural to enjoy in labour to calm your mind and allow your body to open as your baby moves down. Long, slow exhales help to turn your mind inward where the beautiful secrets of a new life reside.

The highest peak of oxytocin in mum and baby comes immediately after birth

In an undisturbed birth, a mother’s oxytocin levels sky rocket! Holding your baby in your arms, looking into each other’s eyes for the first, with skin-to-skin, stimulates a massive release of oxytocin. With the mixture of oxytocin, endorphins and the milk hormone prolactin, the effect on you is an intense amount of love, dependency and new mothering behaviour directed straight at your baby. In an undisturbed birth, your baby also releases high amounts of oxytocin and endorphins… the two of you become equally dependant and loving towards each other from the first time your eyes meet.

My baby looking into my eyes for the very first time

Another interesting fact about oxytocin; it helps regulate body temperature by redistributing heat from one place in the body to another. During breastfeeding the blood vessels around the breast are dilated by oxytocin so that the baby can keep warm while they feed. Interestingly, this also happens in fathers when they hold their babies.

When there are high levels of oxytocin in the body the reaction to pain diminishes. By feeling safe, calm and relaxed, oxytocin makes an animal (or human) slower to respond to pain. This is important as feeling safe, warm, private and loved during childbirth helps to lessen the experience of pain. It’s not that the pain has gone necessarily, it’s just that it takes on less importance in the body. The natural production of oxytocin also stimulates endorphins, the body’s amazing pain relieving hormone (it’s actually as strong as the drug morphine). A mother’s oxytocin crosses the placenta and stimulates a hormonal reaction in the unborn baby to quieten their brain ready for delivery. Baby also produces high levels of oxytocin and endorphins during birth, keeping them calm and ready to cope with the naturally reduced oxygen supply during contractions. When synthetic oxytocin is injected into the blood stream during labour, the feedback mechanism is broken and the body stops producing its own supply. Synthetic oxytocin increases uterine contractions but does not produce the same emotional/behavioural effects. Synthetic oxytocin is also harder to control. Natural oxytocin releases in bursts with rests in between. Synthetic oxytocin is released into the blood stream as a constant flow and it’s effects last much longer than the natural hormone, sometimes producing stronger and longer contractions making labour more painful and putting the baby at risk of distress and oxygen deprivation. Im not a fan of the ‘normalising’ of the chemical induction of labour and the growing rate of the routine induction of labour in the UK is becoming a huge concern.

As well as creating calm, bonding, love and healing, oxytocin stimulates the hormone prolactin straight after birth. On a physical level prolactin is responsible for the production of breastmilk and on a behavioural/emotional level it produces mothering instincts and behaviours. Oxytocin also stimulates growth, not only by promoting the development of mammals as a whole but also by accelerating the healing of wounds. Oxytocin heals and rejuvenates mucous membrane, and produces anti-inflammatory reactions. How wonderful for your body to provide such an amazing natural healer straight after birth.

Mother nature at her finest!

Love Dani Xxx