Oxytocin Hormone and Birth

Less-Painful, More Pleasurable Delivery

Every pregnancy is the result of one orgasm, and hopefully two. Yet for most women, the pleasure ends there. Pregnancy is a time of morning sickness, swollen ankles, strange cravings and unpleasant moods swings, culminating in the agonizing act of giving birth. But is that the reality, or is it simply a concept reinforced through years of anecdotal stories and media portrayals? The truth is, for a growing number of women, pregnancy and birth are emotionally, physically and even sexually fulfilling experiences. " Our knowledge of reproduction suggests there may be a biological reason for connecting pleasure in birth with the best outcome for the baby," says Niles Newton, Ph.D.

In order to understand the sexual nature of pregnancy and birth, we need to go back to the beginning: conception. The reproductive process in men is recognized as being inherently sexual, but the same is not true for women, and certainly not for the act of giving birth - once a baby has been conceived, a woman’s body ceases to be sexual.

Pregnancy, we’re told, is a “condition” that needs treating, rather than a healthy, natural, normal part of life. And so the poking, prodding, testing, and measuring begin, all in the name of “safety.” Yet is this “routine care” actually beneficial and, moreover, even safe?

According to Thomas H. Strong Jr., M.D., author of Expecting Trouble: What Expectant Parents Should Know about Prenatal Care in America, routine prenatal care is unduly expensive, unnecessarily high-tech, and surprisingly unsupported by medical research. But more importantly, it reinforces the belief that pregnancy and birth are inherently dangerous processes.

No wonder so many women view pregnancy and birth as non-sexual. It’s nearly impossible for fear and sexual pleasure to exist simultaneously because fear hormones literally prevent blood and oxygen from flowing to the sexual organs including the uterus. When fear is present in the body, sexual feelings quickly subside, taking with them the very hormones that are necessary for pregnancy and birth to proceed smoothly.

Oxytocin: The “Love” Hormone

"Birth has much in common with orgasm; the hormone oxytocin is released, there are uterine contractions, nipple erection, and under the best circumstances for birth, an orgasmic feeling," says Barbara K. Rothman, Ph.D.

Oxytocin is produced by both males and females during sexual arousal and orgasm; and by females during pregnancy, birth and breastfeeding. Oxytocin makes us feel good and has a pain-dulling effect. High levels of Oxytocin during sex produce better orgasms; and high levels during birth produce stronger, more effective, less painful, and, in some cases, pleasurable contractions.

The majority of women in hospitals today are given synthetic Oxytocin, Pitocin, in order to induce or augment their labours. However, Pitocin makes the contractions more painful, can cause rupture of the uterus, lacerations of the cervix, retained placenta and postpartum hemorrhage.

There are several natural ways to stimulate the production of Oxytocin. Ridding ourselves of fear and the Oxytocin-blocking hormones helps, according to Grantly Dick-Read’s classic, Childbirth Without Fear and these inspiring stories. There are also several excellent DVDs – A Clear Road to Birth, Birth as we Know it, and Birthing Peace. The majority of the births featured in these DVDs take place at home. Just as most of us need privacy during sex, we also need privacy during birth. Something as simple as checking dilation can negatively affect a woman’s labor. Most reports of pleasurable birth come from women who have given birth either unassisted or with a non-interventionist midwife or doctor.

According to Ann Douglas and John R. Sussman, M.D., authors of the The Unofficial Guide to Having a Baby, a single orgasm is 22 times as relaxing as the average tranquilizer and the vagina widens two inches during sexual arousal, a natural “labor-aid” in childbirth.

Many women spontaneously have orgasms in labor without any stimulation as discussed in the film Orgasmic Birth. Pleasure in pregnancy and birth isn’t strange or perverted. It is simply a continuation of the act that led to the conception in the first place.