When Does Parturition Occur?

Parturition means childbirth. Childbirth is the culmination of pregnancy, during which a baby grows inside a woman's uterus. Childbirth is also called labor. Pregnant humans go into labor roughly nine months after conception.

How does parturition occur?

During the parturition process in humans, the cervix dilates and relaxes together with cortisol, oxytocin, and estrogen hormones. It is released to start milk production and labor. The uterus contracts to push the fetus towards the cervix and continues until the fetus comes down the passageway.

What causes parturition to begin?

When the contractions of labor begin, the walls of the uterus start to contract through stimulation by the release of the pituitary hormone oxytocin. The contractions cause the cervix to widen and begin to open.