The protein is reportedly like a safety switch that allows the uterus to contract and could potentially lead to new drugs to induce labour in overweight or obese women.
Shaun Brennecke from the University of Melbourne and Royal Women’s Hospital, who worked with colleagues at Monash University and the Hunter Medical Research Institute in Newcastle on the study, told AAP that until now what started human labour was a mystery.
“Rather than all the hormonal changes which have been talked about in the past, this is the actual switch that starts labour,” he said.
The study, which has been published in the journal Nature Communications, is aimed at finding other options to caesarean sections for pregnant women who are overweight or obese.
