Your Brain On Nipple Stimulation
Mechanical stimulation of the nipple triggers the release of oxytocin from the posterior pituitary. Oxytocin binds to oxytocin receptors on the cell surfaces of uterine muscle. Once bound to these receptors, oxytocin activates the phospholipase C-inositol pathway, which results in the release of intracellular calcium. The increased intracellular calcium then acts to stimulate contraction of the myometrial cells, ultimately leading to organized uterine contractions. Oxytocin receptors increase in number by 100- to 300-fold at the time of parturition.
None of these are likely to be harmful , but none have been proven effective. The nursery is ready, the car seat installed, the last of the thank-you notes for your baby shower signed, stamped, and delivered. Medications may include Pitocin, which is a synthetic version of oxytocin. However, doctors prefer not to use these methods unless they are medically necessary. Clamps, whether vibrating or not, can tease and titillate your nipples by giving you versatility.
When labor starts in earnest, you’ll probably start to get regular contractions. On the other hand, light or occasional nipple stimulation during earlier pregnancy is not likely to bring on labor. By comparison, many women in the control group needed other induction methods, like synthetic oxytocin, to get things going. Over 8 percent of women in the control group had a cesarean delivery. In a 2011 study published in the journal Birth, 201 women were asked if they tried to induce labor naturally at home.
Additionally unknown are whether physiological alterations such as hormonal changes on consecutive days have a labor induction effect. Breast stimulation promotes the production and release of oxytocin, which is considered to cause uterine contraction leading to spontaneous labor. Previous studies have measured the oxytocin level in pregnant women during a short breast stimulation time at various minute intervals in 1 day. The increase in the oxytocin level in pregnant women as induced by breast stimulation was either not significant or significant .
Nipple stimulation technique may not be correct or fatigue causes you to stop doing it as often; this is where a breast pump can be helpful, since it requires less effort. Eventually, both techniques will become tiresome or uncomfortable, which may cause you to want to stop doing it. Pitocin is administered continuously, requires little to no effort on your part as a patient (other than working through contractions and being in labor!). During the pump session, it is important to set the environment.
What was common among these studies was stimulation of the nipple and areola for long hours by self-massage at home. However, there is still no standard definition of breast stimulation, thus the method, timing, time, and period vary from study to study. Moreover, an effective intervention time for breast stimulation has yet to be established.
Nipple stimulation can be a tool to help labor augmentation prior to starting Pitocin or avoiding it all together. But it is important to note that nipple stimulation may not be enough, and is not always the equivalent as Pitocin for labor augmentation. Nipple stimulation can help induce the onset of labor and decrease the overall length of labor. Let’s talk about nipple stimulation, and why it may help with inducing or augmenting labor.
Similarly to breastfeeding, it helps to rotate the starting breast. So, if you began with your right, start the next session with your left. If you choose to continue massaging after your contractions start, make sure that you are doing so with the guidance of a medical professional. It is best to wait for 2 to 4 minutes before starting the process over again with your as-yet-untouched breast. The entire breast massage should take between 15 to 20 minutes maximum.
For these reasons, it’s important to speak to your physician first – even if you are having a safe, low-risk pregnancy. Nipple stimulation is also a proven option with evidence-based research behind it that you may want to discuss with your doctor. When attempting to spur labor, many women try to stimulate their nipples manually or by using a breast pump bdsm toys to induce labor.
The jury is still out on whether nipple stimulation is an effective way to induce labor. While oxytocin is released with breast stimulation, in an uncomplicated pregnancy, the uterus only becomes sensitive to it when close to labor. During a healthy, uncomplicated pregnancy, nipple stimulation is unlikely to cause premature labor or miscarriage.