Question

A woman in the third trimester of her first pregnancy expresses fear about the birth canal being wide enough for her to push the baby through it during labor. she is a petite person, and the baby seems so large. she asks the nurse how this will be possible. to help alleviate the client's fears, the nurse should mention the role of the hormone that softens the cervix and collagen in the joints, which allows dilation and enlargement of the birth canal. what is this hormone

Answer 1

relaxin

Relaxin, secreted by the corpus luteum of the ovary as well as the placenta, is responsible for helping to inhibit uterine activity and to soften the cervix and the collagen in joints. Softening of the cervix allows for dilatation at birth; softening of collagen allows for laxness in the lower spine and so helps enlarge the birth canal. The effect of estrogen is to cause breast and uterine enlargement. Progesterone has a major role in maintaining the endometrium, inhibiting uterine contractility, and aiding in the development of the breasts for lactation. Human placental lactogen (hPL), also known as human chorionic somatomammotropin, serves as an antagonist to insulin, making insulin less effective, thereby allowing more glucose to become available for fetal growth.