Oxytocin and the Partner’s Role in Labour and Delivery
By Gabriella Pacini, Midwife, Lactation Consultant
Oxytocin is a hormone that is formed in the pituitary gland and is released in connection with different types of intimacy and contributes to the initiation and fortification of relationships. Most importantly, oxytocin makes these relationships more permanent; it is called hormones of love. Oxytocin is present in any condition that is related to love: when we are making love, when we are in love, when we feel good, calm, in intimate settings with our friends or with our relatives, such as for example a Christmas eve dinner. Obviously we also produce oxytocin during childbirth and breastfeeding.
The oxytocin that is released in the brain during childbirth and lactation increases the mother’s capacity for social interaction, induces a sense of calm and makes her feel good. She becomes less stressed and more relaxed. Oxytocin is effective also in the male brain; men release this hormone if they are with their partner during labor, but in lower quantities. Scientific reports show that men who have been given oxytocin (by nasal spray) react in the same way. They become less fearful, looked more into the eyes of others and are more cognizent of other’s emotional state. They become more trusting and generous. This happens because oxytocin activates several areas in the brain related to social interaction. These effects are not present when synthetic oxytocin (also called pitocin) is introduced to the body by an IV.
What happens during labor and delivery:
Oxytocin during labor provokes strong and effective contractions in the womb. These contractions usually last only 30-40 seconds and are very intense. Between contractions most women have no pain and can rest for some minutes. This rhythm, intense contractions followed by pauses, permit a very effective release of another hormone that is important and useful: endorphins. Endorphins are strong painkillers, very similar to morphine, that are released from the pituitary gland in a part of brain that is very close to where oxytocin is produced. The source is located in the centre of the human brain, which is the oldest part of the brain, it is connected to the cortex which is a part of the brain that humans have developed more recently. Endorphins give us pleasure and make us sleepy, for this reason it is very important not to disturb a woman during labour, not just during contractions but even when she is resting between contractions. The old and new parts of our brains work against each other, we can easily release hormones from this ancient part of our brains if the cortex is not stimulated. This means that if someone is worried, disturbed, scared or feels insecure about something, the level of adrenaline (which is produced in our cortex) increases which in turn inhibits the release of oxytocin and endorphins. This can affect labor and delivery, as it makes it more difficult to produce the hormones needed to “drive” labour. Contrarily, labor and delivery are easier if the woman is calm and in a comforting environment with someone who is not fearful or scared and thus able to give proper support. A comforting environment means that the light is not too bright, low levels of noise, no one asking about documents, blood tests and others things during contractions or while resting between contractions. Partners can do this for women in labour.
What happens immediately after the birth
Behaviours of mother and baby:
Oxytocin creates a bond between mother and child in the same way as the others mammals, which means that they feel good and calm when they are together. If a new mother leaves her child, or if someone takes the baby away from her, she can easily became anxious.
After birth, women have the highest levels of oxytocin of their lives. This makes mothers less scared and more calm, and more responsive to the signals of their babies . The practice of putting the newborn on the mother’s chest, or better, giving the mother the possibility of taking the baby in her arms herself, when she feels ready (usually mothers don’t want to touch the baby immediately but only after 2-3 minutes) contributes to making the experience of the first meeting as positive as possible. For this reason it is important to choose a place for the birth that permits the mother to take care of the baby from the beginning, right after birth, and not just when she goes home. Many hospitals have now acknowledged the effectiveness of skin to skin contact and have started to ensure that babies benefit from this closeness, but not all of them are attentive to this particular moment. If we observe what happens when the baby is placed on the mother’s tummy right after birth, we can see that most babies gradually begin to move their hands towards their mouths and towards the mother’s breast. They start to crawl up the mother’s stomach to the breast. Babies are usually very alert and reactive in the first 2 hours immediately after birth. This is another very important reason to avoid any separation from the mother if it is not justified for medical reasons. After this time babies become more tired and fall asleep, for this reason it is important avoid any medical intervention that is not absolutely needed or other practices that we can postpone, like a bath, measuring, weighing, dressing etc.
The interaction between mother and baby is so strong that when she takes her baby and puts him on her chest, the temperature of her chest increases rapidly so that she can warm her child. This change of temperature is a result of adaptation of blood vessels, but happens only by skin to skin contact. If this is not possible, for example because the mother is still in the surgery room because of a C- section, the father can use his chest to warm the baby. The new mother is usually calmer if she can have the baby with her, because then she releases oxytocin and endorphins and in the same way, she might feel uncomfortable doing anything else that is not directly taking care of her baby. All her energy is concentrated on her baby. This means that for a new mum it might be difficult, in the first weeks, to do something that would feel normal at other times such as driving a car, watching violent TV shows, or meeting unfamiliar people. It is also possible that other conditions can increase other hormones, like adrenalin or noradrelain, that do not allow the mother to relax herself, decreasing levels of oxytocin and endorphins and due to this she might become depressed and be in need of professional help. To avoid this condition it is important to give her the possibility to release the “good hormones” in an undisturbed birth and avoid any separation from the child and give her support.
What happens to fathers during childbirth?
Involving fathers in the process of childbirth provokes a natural increase of oxytocin in their blood, and also, probably, a different behaviour. But we do not yet have any studies that explore the different release of hormones in the male body when they actively participate in the birth process but we do know that the secretion of hormones in the blood can be very contagious and so it seems reasonable that if a partner is involved and intimate during the labor, his level of oxytocin also increases and makes him more calm and relaxed. We have observed this during childbirth. Conversely if the father feels that he can’t be near the mother or help her in any way, he can feel more anxious and frustrated. In any case we know that a father’s high levels of oxytocin raise the oxytocin levels of the labouring woman which in turn raise the father’s oxytocin in a continuing spiral… and this makes labor and delivery easier and more rapid.
By Bellies Abroad Midwife & Lactation Consultant Gabriella Pacini
Photo by Alick Sung 
