Oxytocin has calming and analgesic effects on mothers and babies, which statement best describes this effect?

• A. It provides calming and analgesic effects on mothers and babies
• B. It increases stress hormone levels
• C. It delays bonding with the infant
• D. It reduces milk production

Answer: (A)

Oxytocin helps both mother and baby feel calmer and experience less pain by dampening the body’s stress response and modulating how pain is processed. It lowers activity of the stress system (like cortisol) and enhances the body’s own pain-relief signals, in part through interactions with opioid pathways. In addition, oxytocin supports bonding and social interaction, which further promotes a sense of safety and calm during and after birth.

That combination—calming effects, analgesia, and bonding—fits the statement that oxytocin provides calming and analgesic effects on mothers and babies. The other ideas don’t align with how oxytocin works: it does not raise stress hormones, it actually counteracts stress; it does not delay bonding, it facilitates it; and it does not reduce milk production—on the contrary, it promotes milk let-down.