Oxytocin is a shy hormone….

Oxytocin needs to feel comfortable before being released. Since it is the love hormone this makes sense. When we are feeling in love we feel safe. Love is not something that is easy to feel when we are in danger.  

Oxytocin is a fussy hormone. Everything needs to be just right for this hormone to want to make an entrance. The more comfortable the environment and the more relaxed the labouring woman, the more her oxytocin will be able to flow.

A sense of security
The labouring woman needs to feel secure and safe. Mammals will find a secure place to give birth. A wonderful example is female elephants who will form a circle around the labouring mother elephant with their backs turned to her.

If a labouring mammal feels threatened her labour will stop until she is in a safe place again. Human beings are not that different physiologically. We also are mammals after all. While many women choose to give birth in hospitals because they feel it is their safest option, they may find that when they arrive at the hospital their bodies react in a way which tells us that they are not feeling safe in that environment. The bright lights, the talking, the signing of papers, the questions, having to interact with strangers, the ticking clock, the cold sterile rooms, the high beds, the lack of privacy, the fetal heart monitors…these can all contribute to a feeling of being unsafe. This may make it difficult for oxytocin, the shy hormone, to makes its appearance. One can then anticipate a longer and more difficult labour.

How do other mammals prepare for birth? They will find a quiet, dark place, far away from anyone, somewhere where they will feel safe and secure and know that they will be undisturbed.

A woman at the end of her pregnancy is much the same. We joke about the ‘nesting instinct’ when a woman at the end of her pregnancy frantically cleans her home in preparation for the birth. Some women cannot rest until the curtains are hung just right or the floors are scrubbed or all her affairs are put to rest. Doing this makes it possible for them to feel ready to have their baby

The Thinking Brain needs to switch off
One of the prime ingredients for shy oxytocin to take effect is that the thinking brain needs to switch off. So we need to make sure that the labouring woman’s thinking brain (called the neo-cortex) is not stimulated.

We stimulate the neo-cortex during labour by talking to the labouring woman about logical things, such as telling her how many centimetres dilated she is, or asking her to remember when her waters broke. We stimulate her neo-cortex with these observations and questions, and as a result we slow down her release of oxytocin.

A woman needs to be able to fall into her labour (like falling asleep) and not be ‘woken up’ by the outside world. If she can be given the space to switch off her neo-cortex, oxytocin will be able to do its job.

No observers
Feeling observed also stimulates the neo-cortex, so it is important that the mother does not feel watched. Observers and unnecessary people make the mother feel observed. Cameras can also slow labour down because they can make a mother may feel observed which will “wake her up.”

Darkness
It is important that there are no bright lights around a labouring woman. Drawn curtains, candles and other dim lighting will help to supress the thinking brain and aid in the stimulation of oxytocin.

Warmth
The labouring woman needs to be warm. A fire or a heater or warm water is helpful in relaxing her body and her neo-cortex. In fact, immersing herself in warm water at the right time (when she is in established active labour) can relax the mother so much that her cervix will dilate completely.

Oxytocin/adrenaline antagonism
Adrenaline prevents oxytocin from being released. Adrenaline is the hormone we produce when we are frightened, anxious, stressed or cold. It is known as the ‘fight or fright’ hormone. Adrenaline supresses oxytocin. It can completely stop labour or make the labour longer and more painful.

Anyone who is present at a birth needs to very aware of his or her levels of adrenaline. This is because adrenaline is contagious, which means that if you are feeling anxious or scared or nervous, everyone else in the room will soon start feeling that way too. If you are at a birth and you are feeling tense or nervous or scared, try to calm yourself down. If you can’t, it will serve the mother better if you leave the room until you are feeling better.

Have a look around and see how the other people in the room are behaving. If you can see that someone is feeling uncomfortable, you can gently let that person know that it is okay for him or her to take a break and perhaps leave the room, or go for a walk, or try to have a sleep. This must be done in a gentle and non-aggressive way because if you get angry or make someone else angry you will create more adrenaline.

Sometimes people are relieved to be told that they can take a break from the birth. A birth is a very intense experience, which can be very overwhelming.

The Basic Needs of a Woman in Labour Are:

•    To feel safe
•    To leave the neo-cortex (the thinking brain) switched off
•    Silence
•    Darkness or low lights
•    Warmth
•    Not feeling observed
•    No adrenaline

Ruth Ehrhardt
http://www.homebirth.org.za