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The Orchestration of Parturition: Does the Fetus Play the Tune?

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Endocrinology and Physiology of Reproduction

Abstract

The debate about the relative importance of mother and fetus in the initiation of parturition can be traced back to as early as 460 BC. At this time, Hippocrates proposed that the fetus initiated its own delivery by placing both feet on the fundus of the uterus and pushing. Many years later, the great Italian anatomist, Fabricius ab Aquapendente, argued that the mother played the primary role in initiating delivery of the baby and this was achieved by the contraction of the uterine muscle.

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  1. Department of Physiology, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia, 3168

    G. D. Thorburn

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  1. G. D. Thorburn
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  1. The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

    P. C. K. Leung

  2. University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada

    D. T. Armstrong

  3. Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

    K. B. Ruf  & W. H. Moger  & 

  4. University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

    H. G. Friesen

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Thorburn, G.D. (1987). The Orchestration of Parturition: Does the Fetus Play the Tune?. In: Leung, P.C.K., Armstrong, D.T., Ruf, K.B., Moger, W.H., Friesen, H.G. (eds) Endocrinology and Physiology of Reproduction. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-1971-7_25

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-1971-7_25

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