Stimulated labor proceeds at substantially slower rates than spontaneous labor.
Helps facilitate mother and infant bonding.
Plays a role in human social interactions.
Intranasally can promote the release of breast milk.
The natural driver sustaining women through the painful process and suffering of child birth.
Produces uterine contractions, and induces delivery, and initiates post – birth nurturing.
Oxytocin contracts the smooth muscle of the uterus during and after birth, and during orgasm(s).
It is the body’s natural pain modifier, not just for labor and delivery, but for many types of chronic pain.
Oxytocin is released when a patient sustains of fall, experiences trauma or suffers from other painful events.
May benefit patients with autism.
Produced in the hypothalamus.
It is released into the peripheral circulation via the posterior pituitary, as well as into the CNS, including CSF.
During times of pain or stress it surges into the peripheral nervous system.
An increase in the hormone oxytocin, resulting from positive social interactions, acts to suppress the HPA axis and thereby counteracts stress, promoting positive health effects such as wound healing.
Oxytocin produced by the hypothalamus and released by the posterior pituitary, is associated with social interaction and can be an indicated to assess the current state of stress and well-being.
Oxytocin hormone controls many behaviors and emotions, such as sexual arousal, trust, recognition, and maternal behavior.
Oxytocin is involved in some functions of the reproductive system, such as childbirth and lactation.
The hypothalamus has neuronal projections into the dorsal Horn of the spinal cord that function to prevent pain signals from reaching the brain.
There are oxytocin receptors in multiple sites of the brain and throughout the spinal cord.
Oxytocin activates its own receptors and decreases pain signals, and binds to opioid receptors and stimulates endogenous opioid release in the brain.
Naloxone can block some of the pain-relieving action of oxytocin, as it does with exogenously administered opioids.
Can stimulate cannabinoid receptors.
Can relieve pain and induce a feeling of calm, and lower serum cortisol, stress and anxiety levels.
Heaviest has been reported that it can relieve pain associated with headache, chronic back pain, constipation, irritable bowel syndrome and fibromyalgia.
Exogenously administered it does not remain in the serum longer than a few minutes, but it is able to cross the blood-brain barrier and into the spinal fluid.
Dosages of 20 – 80 international units can lessen chronic pain within 5 – 15 minutes.
Pain relief may last from two to 6 hours.
It has an equivalent of about 30 mg of oxycodone or morphine.