alleryStart learning →Braxton Hicks contractions, also known as false labor, occur as a result of:
ADecreasing progesterone levels in late pregnancy
BA sudden spike in oxytocin
CRupture of the amniotic sac
DThe bloody show
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: A. Decreasing progesterone levels in late pregnancy
1. Progesterone normally inhibits uterine contractions throughout most of pregnancy.
2. As pregnancy enters its final months, progesterone levels plateau and then begin to drop.
3. Weak, irregular Braxton Hicks contractions directly to this decreasing progesterone.
4. These differ from a true oxytocin-driven labor contraction pattern, so 'a sudden spike in oxytocin' is ruled out as the cause of Braxton Hicks contractions specifically.
_Source: OpenStax Anatomy and Physiology (CC BY 4.0), Ch 28 "Development and Inheritance", p.1344-1345 §Physiology of Labor_
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