Abdominal Muscle Contractions During Labor

Abdominal Muscle Contractions During Labor

Once uterine contractions become strong during labor, pain signals originate both from the uterus itself and from the birth canal. These signals, in addition to causing suffering, elicit neurogenic reflexes in the spinal cord to the abdominal muscles, causing intense contractions of these muscles. The abdominal contrac-tions add greatly to the force that causes expulsion of the baby.