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Written by

Gina Conley, MS

Shaking After Birth??

  • Birth, Postpartum
After your baby is born, most folks report uncontrollable shaking or shivering. This can be really startling if you weren’t expecting it, and even more so if no one is reassuring you that this is completely normal!

So, why do you start shaking after you deliver your baby?

The shaking is a physiologic response to help your uterus clamp down on itself to stop bleeding. This is especially important since after the placenta detaches, it leaves an 8 1/2 in, or dinner plate size, wound on the inside of your uterus. This wound will continue to bleed unless the uterus is able to clamp down on itself to stop the bleeding. If it does not clamp down, then you may suffer from postpartum hemorrhage.

However, it is not the act of shaking that is causing the clamping, but rather the hormone release of oxytocin that causes the uterus to contract and thus clamp down on itself. The shaking is a byproduct of this flood of oxytocin, and the simultaneous release of the catecholamine hormones that were released at the end of labor.

Childbirth Education Review
Overall content is thorough and very helpful. I like that some pieces had videos as well as text to re-read and summarize as this covers a lot of learning styles. I liked that multiple options without judgment were presented and I like the self paced learning. All of the downloadable material is going in a birth binder so I'm well equipped with what I want in the delivery room!
Childbirth Education Review
Each module was easy to digest and super educational. I wish our providers talked more about some of these topics as part of regular care; super grateful for this online course. It made me feel even more prepared for my second birth. Thank you!
Childbirth Education Review
The course was very informational and the visuals/videos were great to help understand on a deeper level the material being presented. The length of the videos made it easy to take the course at your own pace and not feel overwhelmed with too much information at one time!
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Wait, what?? What is a catecholamine hormone??

A catecholamine hormone is a stress hormone, usually released during a flight or flight response, and associated with a heightened sense of arousal.

This increase and stress hormone tends to happen during transition, or the final phase of the first stage of labor, when someone is usually 8 to 10 cm. This increase in stress hormone is really important for a baby, it helps baby transition from one environment to a very different one.

We are demanding that baby suddenly need to breathe on their own, regulate their own temperature, regulate their own blood sugars, and so much more in a very short period of time. So, we need them to be hyped up on adrenaline when they are born so they can make this transition.

However, depending on how labor had been going and how the laboring person is feeling, this stage of labor can be fairly overwhelming. Usually, the laboring person feels confused and anxious, and potentially less confident in their ability to birth baby. If they felt unsafe or unsupported at some point during their labor, this phase may be very chaotic and scary for a laboring person.

The Release = Shaking

After baby has been born, our stress hormones from transition are going to be released from our body in the form of shaking. This will allow the birthing person to then receive the influx of oxytocin to help their uterus clamp down.

So, shaking is super normal and necessary to help support a safe delivery of our babies!

Isn’t this so cool? You can learn much more about the physiology of labor in our education courses to better help you understand what is actually happening during birth so that you can navigate it with confidence!

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