Wouldn’t it be great if we could just flip a switch when we’re ready for that baby to come?  It would be awesome!  Unfortunately, you know that’s not the case.  But science is getting closer to understanding what causes labor to start.

What Causes Labor To Start

Researchers are amazing at learning things that I love to share.  Last month, a study was published in PLOS with the University of Texas showing how your baby’s telomere fragments affect the pathway of chain reactions that lead to labor beginning.

Whoa, what’s a telomere?

• Telomeres are the end caps on our chromosomes.
• Chromosomes are the little spindled up masses of DNA that we have in all of our cells.

When your baby is floating around inside of you, tiny pieces of their DNA end up in the amniotic fluid, in your blood stream, all over.  It’s quite AMAZING and is the newest cause of excitement in the prenatal testing world for genetic conditions.

Anyway, the telomere pieces are specific stretches of DNA that are lost as we age, even as a baby.

• The older we are, the shorter our telomeres.
• The shorter our telomeres, the more pieces have broken off and have entered into the amionitic fluid.

So when your baby is just perfectly ripe to be freed from the womb, the right level of telomere fragments are floating around in the amniotic fluid.  This causes a path of reactions inside of us that can take place instantly.

1. baby grows and telomere DNA expands
2. telomere fragments break off
3. DNA pieces enter the amniotic space
4. amnion cells with telomere DNA trigger inflammatory cytokine reactions
5. cytokines activate uterotonins
6. uterotonins promote labor beginning

Don’t worry about the big fancy words you may not know.  Here’s a diagram I made to clear it up.

The important thing to remember is that it all starts with the perfect DNA age of your baby.  Unfortunately, this is something we can’t measure exactly….yet.

What Can I Do To Help My Labor Start?

If you understand the basic science of life, you know that you cannot do anything to directly help your baby’s telomeres shorten any faster.  Our DNA does exactly what it wants to do.

But, just like the complexity of life within us, our own bodies have a LOT more going on than just some baby DNA fragments floating around waiting to cause our labor to start.  This is just a single thing we now understand that contributes to the bigger picture.

We know a number of things can do to help induce your labor:

• walking
• sexual activity
• acupressure points
• nipple stimulation

The top two are the best and most scientifically proven to actually make a difference.  But even when you do all the walking and romping in the sack you can, things may not happen immediately.

Remember to be patient. 🙂

Testing of baby DNA fragments in the mother’s blood is an entirely new field of prenatal testing that is being developed and perfected as we speak.  A part of that just may be telomere testing in order to better determine more accurate due dates.

Because, really, hardly anyone delivers on their so-called due date.  It’s just another cause of frustration when women often go beyond it and think they’re late.

Anyway, your job is to trust your body and your baby while preparing for your birth.  If your mind and heart aren’t in it, it won’t help your baby out much when he’s trying to do the best he can to come and greet you.

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Any questions?  I know it’s not exactly what you wanted to hear.  But it’s valid and true for your baby and you.

Please comment, share, and have a great day!