Do you know the role of oxytocin and other hormones of pregnancy, childbirth and lactation?

In pregnancy the physical changes that a woman experiences are visible. And although the body changes a lot to make room for the uterus that houses the life of your baby, more so do the hormones that regulate your body. It is not only throughout pregnancy that hormones vary; some increase their concentration, others decrease it. Others even appear without ever having been secreted by the body! And it is also during breastfeeding, women experience endless hormonal changes that will help you feed your little baby.

Childbirth is described as a chemical explosion of love and happiness. It is proven that, unless there is a problem, the woman reaches the highest oxytocin peak at the time of the birth of her baby. But if you do not know what oxytocin is and you are interested in knowing more about the hormones of labor and lactation, stay here:

Although all hormones are divided into the different stages of a pregnancy, it does not mean that they are not present in the others. In certain cases, some are more prevalent or important than the others:

Hormones in pregnancy

Human chorionic gonadotropin

Let's start at the beginning. This hormone is the first that will give a clue of your pregnancy. It is the hormone that is detected in pharmacy pregnancy tests. It is maintained for most of the first trimester to regulate pregnancy. Its function is to protect the baby, thus regulating the other female hormones. It causes the nausea typical of the first trimester of pregnancy, another method of protection that the body has against possible "dangerous" smells or tastes.

Once the placenta begins to make its own hormones, human chorionic gonadotropin will have fulfilled its role and your concentration will decrease even becoming undetectable in urine.

Progesterone

It is the hormone in charge of helping our embryo to accommodate itself in the uterine walls. On many occasions it is prescribed when there is a pregnancy with risk of miscarriage, since it helps the endometrium to get chubby to nest the embryo correctly. It has many functions, and another of the most important is that makes the woman's defensive system detect the fetus as its own. If it did not work in this way, the defenses would reject the fetus again and again, so its low concentration is one of the causes of spontaneous abortion. Other of its "positive" functions are: to relax the uterine muscles to prevent contractions, strengthen the mucous plug and help the placenta to function properly.

However It is also responsible for some of the most typical problems of pregnancy such as: constipation, varicose veins, hemorrhoids, headaches, hot flashes ... The good news is that at the end of pregnancy its concentration decreases, making these symptoms improve a lot. Being one of the hormones also responsible for female libido, it is normal that in the last trimester you notice vaginal dryness and you do not feel like having sex.

Estrogens

Its concentration will always depend on the concentration of progesterone. It is responsible for regulating progesterone and helping the proper development of the placenta. Very important for the maturation of the baby's organs. Also important for the differentiation of your sexual organs. Its increase can cause some discomfort such as breast pain, skin pigmentation or weight gain, but it is the "beautifying" hormone by nature. Together with progesterone they are involved in the onset of labor.

It also favors lactation by contributing to breast development during pregnancy. Even if during lactation, neither estrogens nor progesterone will be present in high amounts in the mother's body as they will be silenced by prolactin. This can cause a kind of temporary "menopause" in mothers, especially in those whose menstruation takes a long time to arrive after childbirth.

Breastfeeding acts as a contraceptive by preventing the woman from ovulating. It is favored when breastfeeding is on demand and the baby does not spend long periods of time without suckling. However, and although it is said that it works as a contraceptive, it is better to prevent if not to want to have another baby as soon.

Hormones in labor

Oxytocin

The hormone of love. It is present in the most satisfying moments of our life such as when we fall in love, have pleasant sexual relations and during pregnancy. It remains stable thanks to the help of progesterone until the moment when labor begins. As labor progresses, your concentration increases. It helps the uterine contractions to be effective for the dilation of the cervix.

The highest peak is reached the moment the woman sees the baby. You will immediately feel unconditional love for your newborn (usually the general rule, better not to mention isolated cases ...). Your body will be ready to feed your young as it helps to release milk (colostrum at first). It is important that its levels are elevated at the end of labor as it will form a security "balloon" in the uterus once the baby is born. This is important to prevent bleeding and to return the uterus to its natural size.

When in labor the contractions are not sufficient for dilation, health workers administer synthetic oxytocin. There are studies that say that high amounts are harmful for the baby and that by promoting strong uterine contractions, it increases the stress suffered in childbirth by the newborn.

Adrenalin

Adrenaline rush is great when riding roller coasters, but not in the middle of a delivery. It is the androgen of oxytocin. Hormone in charge of alert states to sense any danger. Many animals in nature suffer abortions when they see some danger, that is why during pregnancy we must keep it as far away from our body. It is harmful to the intrauterine baby.

Days before delivery, the baby will receive a dose of adrenaline. They will help you endure the labor process and be alert for the first 24 hours. It is normal for the baby to be sleepy one day after delivery due to the rush of adrenaline it will experience. During labor it is important that the woman is in a quiet environment since the increase in this hormone can inhibit oxytocin and slow or stop labor.

So if the relatives of a future mother are reading this, remember: unless she asks you, leave her alone at the time of dilation. A relaxing environment with soft music, pleasant smells and low light will promote dilation. And being this a scientific fact, it is a pity that so few hospitals have exclusive rooms for a quiet and solitary dilation.

Endorphins

They are in charge of natural anesthesia in the postpartum. They begin to segregate at the beginning of labor and increase as the birth approaches. Alter the sensation of pain, This is why many women describe their labor pain as satisfying.. Together with oxytocin, it is responsible for the baby's falling in love once it is born. And as with oxytocin, it is important to relax to promote its increase. The use of the epidural stops the production of endorphins, so the use of this pain reliever must be carefully considered.

Hormones in lactation

Prolactin

Its function is to produce milk once the delivery is over. During pregnancy this hormone was not present as it was inhibited by the action of estrogens and progesterone. Delivery of the placenta initiates the increase in prolactin, staying at very high levels in the first months of the newborn's life. The rise in milk occurs differently in each woman; it usually rises 3 days after the placenta is delivered. There are cases in which it has risen on the first day and other cases in which it has taken more than 4 days.

However one of the most important factors that mark the rise in milk is the frequency with which the baby suckles. The more it is in the chest, the more the prolactin rise will be promoted. This way the milk will arrive earlier (nothing to put the baby every 3 hours 10 minutes on each breast). The newborn's place is on the mother's breast; no cribs, nests or other people's arms. In your mother's breast you will have everything you need; heat and food freely available.

Another of the hormones present in lactation is oxytocin. To avoid, as in childbirth, is adrenaline since a rush of this can cause the milk to stop coming out by the nipple. This also happens with animals. When the mother of a calf perceives a danger, the milk stops coming out of the nipples so as not to leave traces of smell in the event of having to escape.

A volcano erupting with hormones, this being a mother, right?