Helping Your Body & Birth Partner Let the Hormones Flow During Labour
By Dr Julia Bartrop – Rebalance Chinese Medicine
Expecting parents beaming with happiness, holding tiny booties. Feeling prepared and excited for birth is key
Your body and baby already know how to birth. What you and your birth partner can do is create the right environment, the right rhythm, and the right support so your birth hormones can flow freely.
Hormones like oxytocin, endorphins and prolactin help labour progress, reduce pain naturally and keep you feeling grounded. When these hormones rise, labour tends to feel smoother, calmer and more connected. When stress hormones like adrenaline creep in, labour can slow down, feel harder, or stall.
This blog gives you simple, practical tools that both parents can use to support labour naturally — all grounded in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) principles of flow, calm, warmth and safety.
Key Takeaways for Natural Labour Support:
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Oxytocin is key: A warm, calm, low-lit environment prevents adrenaline spikes and keeps oxytocin flowing.
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Movement promotes flow: Gentle hip circles, figure-8s, and all-fours rocking encourage pelvic opening and optimal baby positioning.
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Partner involvement: Synchronized breathing, gentle massage, and TCM acupressure reduce tension and support natural birth progression.
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Rest & reset: Warm Epsom salt baths and vagal-nerve breathing (4-second inhale, 6-8-second exhale) help reset energy during long labours.
1.How does environment impact birth hormones in labour?
Gentle partner touch and a warm environment encourage oxytocin flow, helping create a calm and supportive birth space.
A calm environment tells your nervous system: “I’m safe. I can soften. I can open.”
- Dim lighting, warm temperature, soft music
- Minimal interruptions
- Gentle voices, reassurance and steady presence
- A birth partner who stays close, grounded + encouraging
- Staying upright or forward-leaning to help gravity and pelvic alignment
When your body feels safe, oxytocin rises. When the room feels rushed, clinical or intense, adrenaline rises.
2.What are the best labor movements to encourage oxytocin?
These movements help open the pelvis, relieve tension, and increase flow of qi and blood — supporting oxytocin and reducing stagnation from a TCM perspective.
Hip Circles
Stand leaning over a bench, ball or your partner. Slowly circle your hips in one direction, then the other. This loosens the lower back and helps baby descend.
Figure-8 Pelvic Sways
Imagine drawing a sideways “8” (infinity sign) with your pelvis. This encourages optimal fetal positioning, movement and softness.
All-Fours Rocking
On hands and knees, gently rock forward and back or in circles. Great for releasing tension and encouraging baby to rotate.
3. Couple Techniques to Keep Hormones Flowing
Gentle partner touch and a warm environment encourage oxytocin flow, helping create a calm and supportive birth space.
Your birth partner is your “oxytocin guardian.” Their touch, voice and presence matter more than they realise.
- Slow synchronized breathing
Inhale for 4, exhale for 6–8. Long exhalations activate the vagus nerve to reduce fear and tension. - Soft touch and massage
Gentle rubbing of the lower back, hips, or shoulders can stimulate oxytocin. - Acupressure
Points like BL32, SP6 or LI4 can assist with labour (only if shown how to use them safely). - Rhythmic movement together
Swaying, leaning on each other, or holding hands while breathing builds connection and safety.
From a TCM lens, these practices move qi, calm the shen (mind/spirit), reduce stagnation and support the body’s natural opening.
4. When Labour Has Been Long & Mum Is Feeling Depleted
Gentle partner touch and a warm bath create a calm environment, encouraging the release of oxytocin to support a smoother, more comfortable labor.
Long labour happens, and it can drain your physical and emotional energy. Here are gentle reset tools:
Epsom Salt Bath
A warm (not hot) bath with Epsom salts helps relax muscles, reduce stress, soften tension and replenish magnesium.
It also signals to your nervous system that you’re safe — helping oxytocin rise again.
Vagal-Nerve Reset Breathing
While in the bath or sitting supported:
- Inhale softly for a count of 4 through the nose
- Slow long exhale (6–8 seconds) through the mouth
- Repeat 10 times
This reduces adrenaline, lifts endorphins and softens fear.
Re-introducing Movement After Rest
After the bath, try 1–2 minutes of hip circles or figure-8s again. This brings flow back into the pelvis and re-grounds your body.
Dr. Julia Bartrop explains how gentle hip swaying on a birthing ball can help encourage optimal fetal positioning and support the natural flow of labor hormones.
Partner Reassurance
A birth partner can:
- Offer calm words
- Keep the environment quiet
- Provide a warm cloth or soft touch
- Help mum feel safe and supported
A supported mother produces more oxytocin — and oxytocin moves labour.
5. Traditional Chinese Medicine Perspective
In TCM, labour requires:
- Qi flow (movement)
- Blood flow (softness + nourishment)
- Calm Shen (mind/spirit)
- Warmth (oxytocin rises in warmth; cold slows flow)
Hip circles, massage, acupressure, warm baths, slow breathing and partner connection all help regulate qi and blood, calm the shen, and create ideal internal conditions for birth.
From a TCM lens, the more relaxed and supported the mother feels, the smoother labour can become.
Birth Preparation.
Upright positions and mindful breathing improve comfort and hormone flow during labor
Birth preparation begins from 34 weeks — this gives your body time to soften, prepare, and get your birth hormones flowing.
At Rebalance Chinese Medicine, we offer Couples Birth Preparation Appointments where you and your birth partner learn:
✔ Safe acupressure techniques for labour
✔ Movements to help with positioning
✔ Hormone-supportive tools to keep labour flowing
✔ How to reduce stress, fear and tension
✔ Partner techniques that make a real difference
Book your Couples Birth Preparation Session today
📍 South Morang
🌿 www.rebalancetcm.com
💕 Empowering peaceful, confident and connected births
Written By Julia Bartrop – Registered AHPRA Chinese Medicine Practitioner
Julia Bartrop.
References
- Childbirth Connection – Role of Hormones in Childbirth
https://nationalpartnership.org/childbirthconnection/maternity-care/role-of-hormones/ - Buckley, S. (2015). Hormonal Physiology of Childbearing. Childbirth Connection Programs.
- Uvnas-Moberg, K. (2020). The Oxytocin Factor: Tapping the Hormone of Calm, Love and Healing.
- Penny Simkin (2018). The Birth Partner.
- Traditional Chinese Medicine Classical Texts – Qi & Blood Flow in Labour (Huang Di Nei Jing; various translations).
DisclaimerThis blog is for educational purposes only and is not medical advice.
Every pregnancy and labour is unique, and all techniques should be used safely and in consultation with your midwife, obstetrician or healthcare provider. If you have a high-risk pregnancy, complications, or medical concerns, always seek personalised clinical advice before using these techniques.
