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Transcript of “How melatonin helps during delivery”
Melatonin is normally associated with getting you ready for bed, not babies, but he is an important part of the delivery room team – assuming he show up.
Pushing that ENORMOUS head through that tiny hole, is a daunting task. Fear and overwhelm, leave many women opting for the “soft” option.
But, giving birth naturally is what Mother Nature planned.
So……………. she has got you covered.
Pushing TOGETHER
Oxytocin, sweeps on the scene – kickstarting and running the birthing process.
At her command, the muscle cells lining the uterus, which have stoically remained fixed, during the expansion, begin contracting in unison.
Push…………….wait. Push…………….wait.
Oxytocin is not pushing alone. Researchers from Florida State University College have discovered oxytocin is getting some help – from a most unexpected place.
Your night valet, melatonin, steps up to help.
Melatonin in the labour ward
Melatonin is normally associated with getting you ready for bed, not babies.
He usually spends the day, hiding in a big cupboard inside the pineal gland. When the sun disappears below the horizon and darkness sets in. He bustles around, drawing the curtains, folding down the bed and popping a mint on your pillow. Within an hour or two of his arrival, you’re a sleepy head……
The research team discovered, myometrial tissue i.e. the muscle tissue found in the uterus, becomes responsive to melatonin’s promptings during labour. Using an immunoblotting technique on biopsy samples, they found the tissue expressed the melatonin 2 (MT2) receptor during labour, something that was not seen in a non-pregnant uterus.
Not unexpected
The discovery that the uterus responds to melatonin in labour, was not a complete surprise.
Melatonin levels ebb and flow around the day/night cycle. But, scientists have known for some time, that as a women approaches the end of her pregnancy, the melatonin levels at night, become higher and higher.
And after birth, they drop back down to normal. Or below normal.
Melatonin doing team building
Curious…………… the team investigated what melatonin was doing in the labour ward. They found he was doing a little team building among the muscle cells.
Specifically, he was encouraging the individual muscle cells to switch up production of a protein with a very boring name, but an important job, the C43 protein. This protein is a gap junction protein. Gap junctions are special connections that form between individual cells. Melatonin encourages the individual muscle cells to connect with their neighbours.
The more connections between a group of cells, the more likely they are to perform as a team.
And………………….. it takes team work, to manoeuvre big heads through small holes.
Melatonin rolls up his sleeves
But, melatonin does more than just prep the delivery crew………………
In the final moments, when the pushing and shoving has begun in earnest, he comes alongside oxytocin, ensuring the muscles lining the uterus, push a little harder.
He is a real trooper.
Despite the fact that he hates getting dirty, in the moment, he rolls ups his sleeves and heeves. Getting baby delivered is part of his duties.
Assuming he is there….
He is “sensitive”
Some say he is a coward……………
Just a flicker of light, sends him into the cupboard. He can tolerate fire or candle light, both of which have a red hue, but he is not able to handle blue light.
This means that if your labouring IN THE LIGHT, he’s not there to help you.
Oh dear……………
He is probably missing from the vast majority of births today. Hospitals are BRIGHT places and more and more doctors, induce labour at the start of their work day………….. unlike the stork, who typically delivers at night.
Want an extra pair of hands helping you, push baby out, then you need to TURN DOWN THE LIGHTS, both in the run up to the big day and ON THE BIG DAY.
Getting melatonin on your side will make delivery easier.
Further reading
The stork should be deciding when your baby arrives
You’re ready to deliver, the date is set …………… and then NOTHING. Maybe the NOTHING is a sign, your baby is not ready, some babies need 37 more days to develop
The final touches happen in the last weeks before birth
Mother Nature waits till the end, to add the finishing touches, these finishing touches ensure the baby makes the transition from the womb, to world, smoothly.
Babies who arrive via c-section arrive programmed to be fat
Babies who arrive by c-section, avoid the PAIN but GAIN a lot more bacteria which belong to the Firmicutes family. And these are the “fat” bacteria.
If you are an expectant Mom or know someone that is – invite them to participate, so they can create Better Body Chemistry during their pregnancy and raise a HAPPY HEALTHY little one.
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