When a woman goes into labour, is it her body that decides the baby is ready, or does the foetus send some sort of signal to the mother’s body to say it’s ready to come out?

Question

As above. Also, how would the answer to this title question explain babies that are born premature, or babies that are born so late that the labour has to be induced?

Thank you in advance! I have wondered this for a while!

In: 161

Answer 1

True, it’s not completely understood how or why women go into labor (which is crazy to me, given how many babies have been born! You’d think we’d know more!)

It is thought to have to do with a few different hormones working together – starting with a release of estrogen, which tells the uterus to be on the lookout for oxytocin, which is what starts the contractions.