07/26/2022
Many factors are at play for primal labor initiation, but one of the first steps in your babies journey earthside is the production and release of the protein: Surfacant.
In this image we witness the thoracic cavity being compressed within the birth canal which is resulting in fluid being expelled from the nostrils.
Prior to birth, the lungs are filled with amniotic fluid, mucus, and surfactant. As the fetus is squeezed through the birth canal, the fetal thoracic cavity is compressed, expelling much of this fluid. Some fluid remains, however, but is rapidly absorbed by the body shortly after birth.
The first inhalation occurs within 10 seconds after birth and not only serves as the first inspiration, but also acts to inflate the lungs. Pulmonary surfactant is critical for inflation to occur, as it reduces the surface tension of the alveoli.
UT Southwestern researchers found evidence that a substance secreted by the lungs of a developing fetus contains the key signal that initiates labor. The substance, called surfactant, is essential for normal breathing outside the womb.
A baby normally begins producing surfactant sometime between weeks 24 and 28 of pregnancy. Most babies produce enough to breathe normally by week 34.
"Our study provides compelling evidence that the fetus regulates the timing of its birth, and that this control occurs after these two gene regulatory proteins − SRC-1 and SRC-2 − increase the production of surfactant components, surfactant protein A and platelet activating factor," said senior author Dr. Carole Mendelson, Professor of Biochemistry, and Obstetrics and Gynecology at UT Southwestern
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Thewombsisterhood.com
