Hormones in Birth
- Nikki Bridges
- Apr 6
- 6 min read
Updated: Apr 10
Birth is not just physical, it’s a powerful hormonal experience. When supported, these hormones can help create a calmer, more positive and more empowering birth.
There is an amazing mix of hormones working behind the scenes during labour and birth, most of which we’re not even aware of. You may have heard of Oxytocin, often called the “love hormone,” but Oxytocin is just one part of a powerful hormonal team guiding your body through birth.
In this blog, we’ll explore the key hormones involved in labour, what they actually do, why they are so important, and how you can support them to work effectively.
The key hormones involved in birth include:
Oxytocin - drives contractions, supports bonding and breastfeeding
Endorphins - the body’s natural pain relief
Melatonin - the sleep hormone
Adrenaline - the “fight or flight” hormones
Prolactin - the breastfeeding hormone
Prostaglandins - help soften and open the cervix
Relaxin - softens the cervix and pelvic ligaments
Understanding how these hormones work together can help you feel more confident, informed and prepared for a positive birth experience.
What is the Role of Oxytocin During Birth?
Oxytocin plays a central role in labour and birth.
Oxytocin:
Stimulates uterine contractions
Encourages the release of prostaglandins (which strengthen contractions)
Helps labour progress in a steady, effective rhythm
Encourages the release of Endorphins to reduce pain
Promotes calmness and reduces stress
Supports bonding between you and your baby
Helps the uterus contract after birth to reduce bleeding and help the placenta detach
Triggers milk production and the release of milk during breastfeeding
Oxytocin works on a positive feedback loop - the more you produce, the more your body continues to release.
How Can I Encourage Oxytocin for a Positive Birth?
To keep oxytocin flowing during labour:
Create a calm, quiet and private environment
Only invite familiar, trusted people into your birth space
Birth in a space where you feel safe
Have a birth partner who understands how best to support you
Use massage and gentle touch
Practice hypnobirthing or breathing techniques
Listen to calming music or affirmations
Use familiar comforts like pillows, scents, or photos
Humans, like all mammals, are biologically wired to give birth in a safe, private environment.
What is the Role of Beta-Endorphins During Birth?
Endorphins are your body’s natural pain-relieving hormones. They are similar in effect to opioids such as Morphine, helping you cope with the intensity of labour.
Endorphins:
Reduce the pain of contractions for you and your baby
Promote feelings of wellbeing and happiness
Help you enter a focused, inward state - sometimes called “labour land” or “labouring brain”
Support bonding with your baby
Contributes to feelings of euphoria after birth
Encourages the release of Prolactin during breastfeeding
How Can I Support the Release of Endorphins During Labour?
To keep Endorphins flowing, Oxytocin must also be flowing. You and your birth team can encourage this by keeping the environment feeling safe and undisturbed and keeping you feeling calm and supported.
The use of natural pain management techniques will also encourage the natural flow of Endorphins:
Use movement (rocking, swaying, walking)
Try water immersion (bath, shower, birth pool)
Practice breathing and relaxation techniques
TENS machine
Massage or Acupressure
What is the Role of Melatonin During Birth?
Melatonin, also known as the sleep hormone, regulates the body's circadian rhythm - the internal body clock. During labour Melatonin works closely with Oxytocin to keep contractions regular and labour progressing.
Melatonin:
Increases the body's natural Oxytocin
Levels are higher during the night, peaking at 2-4am
Encourages labour to be in sync with the body's circadian rhythm
This is why spontaneous labour often intensifies during the night and most babies are born early in the morning.
How Can I Support the Release of Melatonin During Labour?
Melatonin levels are disrupted by light. To help support Melatonin:
Keep your birth space as dark as possible
Wear an eye mask or sunglasses in a bright room
What is the Role of Adrenaline During Birth?
Adrenaline, known as the "fight or flight" hormone, is essential for survival but during labour, the right balance of Adrenaline is key.
In early labour, a balance between Adrenaline and Oxytocin helps create a state where you are calm, yet focused. This allows you to tune into your body, seek out a place where you feel safe and gradually let go as labour progresses into its more active phase. Near the end of labour (transition), a surge of Adrenaline can provide energy for pushing and helps you feel alert and ready to meet your baby.
Adrenaline:
Increases heart rate and alertness
Redirects blood to muscles (away from the uterus)
Provides energy and focus
What Happens when Adrenaline Is Too High during Labour?
Adrenaline is more likely to be released if you feel unsafe, stressed, observed or frequently interrupted during labour:
Blood is diverted from the uterus to other parts of the body, ready to activate fight or flight
Oxytocin production will decrease
Reduced blood oxygen to baby
Contractions may slow or stop, which may lead to medical interventions
Labour can become more painful, leading to the need for pain relief
You may notice labour slowing when arriving at hospital or having an unfamiliar person enter the room. Your body is stopping your baby being born into an unsafe environment. Contractions will begin again once you feel safe and calm enough for Adrenaline to decrease and Oxytocin to increase.
How Can I Reduce Excess Adrenaline?
Stay informed and understand your birth rights during pregnancy
Educate yourself on the process of birth
Prepare yourself mentally and practice calming techniques
Limit interruptions, people, lights and noise during labour
Surround yourself with supportive people
Ensure your birth partner advocates for a respectful, safe, undisturbed birth space when you can’t
What is the Role of Prolactin During Birth?
Prolactin is the hormone responsible for milk production and bonding behaviours.
Prolactin:
Rises throughout pregnancy
Peaks around birth (especially after the placenta is delivered)
Signals your body to begin producing milk
Supports bonding with your baby
Encourages nurturing instincts
How Can I Support Prolactin Levels?
Minimise interventions during and after birth
Prioritise skin-to-skin contact
Begin breastfeeding as soon as possible
Stay relaxed, calm and supported
The type of birth and environment you and your baby experience during and immediately after birth can have a huge impact on Prolactin and Oxytocin levels. Stress can reduce Prolactin, which may impact early breastfeeding and bonding.
What is the Role of Prostaglandins and Relaxin before birth?
Before labour even begins, your body is releasing hormones to prepare you and your baby for birth.
Prostaglandins:
Soften and thin the cervix (cervical ripening)
Help the cervix open (dilate)
Work with oxytocin to stimulate contractions
Relaxin:
Softens ligaments in the pelvis
Increases flexibility in joints
Helps widen the birth canal
These hormones ensure your body is physically ready for birth.
How Can I Support my Hormones for a Positive Birth Experience?
Think carefully about where you plan to give birth. Your birth environment and the people around you play a crucial role in how your hormones function during labour. Feeling safe, calm, and supported helps encourage the release of Oxytocin, which supports labour progression and pain management. Choose a space and a birth team that will help you feel relaxed, respected and able to focus inward, creating the ideal environment for your body to work at its best.
Find ways to promote calmness and relaxation, such as practicing breathing techniques, affirmations or visualisations. These tools can help reduce stress, support oxytocin release and keep you feeling grounded and in control throughout labour.
Use natural pain management techniques such as massage, movement or water therapy. These can help boost Endorphin levels, providing natural pain relief and supporting a more comfortable and manageable labour experience.
Be mindful of unnecessary interventions, such as induction, continuous foetal monitoring or an epidural, as these can sometimes interfere with the natural flow of hormones and may impact how labour progresses or feels. Interventions can be incredibly important for keeping you and your baby safe when they are needed. Taking time during pregnancy to understand the benefits, risks and alternatives of common interventions can help you feel informed and confident in your choices, whatever direction your birth takes.
How Can Understanding Birth Hormones Improve Your Birth Experience?
Your body is designed to give birth. The hormones of labour work together like a carefully choreographed symphony, guiding contractions, reducing pain, supporting bonding and preparing for breastfeeding.
By understanding these hormones, you can:
Feel more confident in your body
Make informed choices about your birth environment
Create conditions that support natural labour
Work with your body, not against it
In conclusion, birth is far more than a physical process, it is a finely balanced hormonal journey. Each hormone has a unique role, working together to guide labour, ease discomfort and help you connect with your baby. By understanding and supporting this natural process, you can create the conditions for a calmer, more positive and empowering birth experience. Trusting your body, feeling safe, being well supported and making informed choices can all help these powerful hormones work in harmony, allowing you to approach birth with confidence and strength.
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