The Power of Oxytocin
- abby3377
- Jul 1
- 6 min read
Updated: Jul 2
Oxytocin, aka "the love hormone," plays a powerful role in labor
What is Oxytocin?
Oxytocin, also known as the love hormone, usually holds a sweet space in your life: Your body releases it when you feel supported, safe, and bonded with those around you, and it works to make you feel loved, attached, and generally content.
Throughout your pregnancy, your uterus works to produce oxytocin receptors, points at which it can receive this chemical messenger. By 37 weeks of pregnancy, you will have more oxytocin receptor sites in your body than at any other time in your life, and your body will be producing large amounts. What's so magical about this hormone?
Labor
During labor oxytocin is the chemical messenger your brain uses to tell your uterus to contract. That's right: Oxytocin, the love hormone, is also the hormone responsible for the grit of labor. While this hormone is one of several factors that moves your body into labor, its role is instrumental, as it works in a positive feedback loop to move you through it all:
Unlike most homeostatic processes in our bodies, which counteract each other so that our bodies stay regulated (think: heat leads to sweat to cool you down), this feedback loop is positive, which means that the more one action happens, the greater each follow-on action works, too. As the cycle continues, oxytocin helps these contractions get stronger and happen more frequently, pushing you to and through labor. Without the magic of oxytocin, the loop would be incomplete.
After Birth
Fortunately for us, oxytocin doesn't stop at birth. Just after the baby is born, its purpose shifts: As oxytocin continues to stimulate your uterus, this time it's helping you to birth out (one last push!) your placenta. This is incredibly important, as the placenta -- an organ the size of a dinner plate that you created from scratch during the first trimester of your pregnancy (ever wonder why that first trimester was so tiring?) -- must detach from the uterus, and that separation causes an open wound. A placenta-sized wound, in fact.
As midwives, this is often our primary concern after birth: Watching for excess bleeding both before the placenta comes out and after it has dislodged. And this is where oxytocin helps. By continuing to contract your uterus, this hormone helps force your placenta to detach and come out, allowing your uterus to squeeze tight, thereby reducing the size of your wound and potential for bleeding. That's why here at the birth center, once a baby is born, we keep our voices soft, our smiles bright, and as long as we're able to, we give the new family the space to bond with baby undisturbed. We want your oxytocin high. It's all for medical reasons!
Breastfeeding and Bonding
After contractions are through and your baby is here, the happiest role for oxytocin arrives: Bonding. Just after birth your body produces a SURGE of oxytocin, priming both you and baby to love on each other quickly. From there oxytocin continues to work its magic through breastfeeding, and every time you nurse your child, from hour 1 until months or years down the road, your body continues to release oxytocin, helping your breasts to release milk. Just as it has every other time, these releases help you to feel loved and close. Sigh.
What You Can Do
So how do you help your body make this magical hormone? Oxytocin is released when we are feeling our most secure: When we hug a loved one, when we feel connected, when we know we're safe, and when we have sex! To prepare yourself for this kind of release during labor, ask yourself: What's in my power to manage? What are physical signals that usually relax me? Is everyone I allow into my birth space someone I love and trust?
Everyone's body and brain is different, and you have to know (or be willing to find out!) what works for you. Here are a few ideas:
Stay at home as long as is safe for your birth. There's nothing like the bright white lights and army of medical personnel to make your body feel stressed rather than safe, and with increased stress comes a reduction in oxytocin. This is the reason so often this transition into medical care can slow down or even stall out labor. The longer you can wait (safely!), the more oxytocin is already circulating in your system by the time you arrive at the hospital or birth center, and the easier it is to overcome stressors.
Make your environment joyful. How can your birthing room feel happy for you? Can you dim the lights, listen to a playlist, light a candle? Some couples value seeing words of affirmation posted, cuddling in their own blanket, or listening to recorded birth guidance such as hypnobirthing.
Wear your own clothing. Staying in your own clothes, particularly when the other option is a sterile hospital gown, can help you feel like you are still YOU.
Touch. In the moment of a contraction, communication is hard, so it's important to have this conversation beforehand: What touch feels good to you? In a stressful situation, what pressure (e.g., hip squeezes, cold washcloth on the neck, hand to grab, supportive hug) will feel good? The reality is that you as the birthing person won't know the right touch until the time comes, but preparing you and the person supporting you during birth beforehand can go a long way.
Delegate, delegate, delegate. There's nothing that will stop oxytocin like the stress of responsibilities. As your due date approaches, hand off tasks, from childcare to dog walking to grocery shopping to house cleaning. As you head into labor, you want your mind clear of these responsibilities so you can focus on what matters: You and your baby!
The Role of Synthetic Oxytocin
Now let's talk about the elephant in the room: Pitocin®. Fortunately for medicine, the knowledge of the role oxytocin plays in birth has been around for more than a century, and after realizing its power (and criticality to labor), a synthetic substitute for oxytocin was created: Pitocin®. You have probably heard of Pitocin®, as this drug, developed for birthers who aren't "progressing" and whose uteruses need the signal to contract, is one of -- if not the -- most highly used medical intervention during birth. And it's a great tool when needed! At the birth center we may use Pitocin® after birth to help the uterus contract and control bleeding.
The problem is that when Pitocin® is used over a prolonged period (as it can be when it's used for hours to stimulate labor), your own production of oxytocin slows and even stops. Once your body realizes this hormone is being provided via medicine, it comes to the (efficient) conclusion that it doesn't have to make it on its own. And unfortunately, while synthetic oxytocin can be critical, the effects may also be harsh: Beyond reports of its significant increase in the pain of labor as compared to non-synthetic contractions, the after-labor effects may mean that you won't receive that surge of oxytocin your body would otherwise create.* So while use of Pitocin® may be important, it's also important for both you and your provider to think through the entirety of its effects.
What to Avoid
The biggest counter to oxytocin is cortisol, the stress hormone: When cortisol goes up, oxytocin comes down, and vice versa. Therefore, the primary way to set yourself up for success is to reduce your cortisol. As described in "What You Can Do," above, this may mean delegating the stressors of your life to your support system. This may also mean continuing to move your body (as best you can in these final days of pregnancy!) and nourishing yourself well through delicious, nutritious foods. Most of all, avoid second-guessing yourself. The more you tune in to what you need, the better you'll be. This is your experience!
*It's important here to distinguish use of Pitocin® for an extended period -- hours -- vs. the small dose used after labor to manage blood loss. The quick hit of Pitocin® used after birth would not be enough to preclude the body from releasing endogenous oxytocin.
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